The Nine Lives Project
Nine Lives is an immersive musical and choreographed performance involving different media, including jazz, dance, and animation. The suite reflects on issues of social justice, racial inequality, and gun violence. It is based upon the 2015 shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, in which a white supremacist killed nine Black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church. The Nine Lives Suite was completed in 2019 by northeast Ohio-based composer Chris Coles.

The Nine Lives Project will be presented as part of our 10th annual Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival (RCJBF), September 5-7, 2025. The RCJBF celebrates the Akron area’s deep cultural heritage rooted in Black musical traditions, which is often overshadowed by larger cities like New York City, Chicago, and Detroit. This performance will include musicians of the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, another northeast Ohio-based nonprofit that brings music education to youth.