The view from the Idea Center

Editing is not a job for the timid or proud. You’ve got to have a steely resolve and a lot of humility to step back, look at that beautiful story or song you’ve birthed and cut what isn’t essential.

Knowing this makes me want to meet Mark Lomax.

Lomax is a composer, drummer, activist and educator whose “400: An Afrikan Epic” tells the story of Black America over the course of a 12-album cycle. The symphony, as he calls it, was released last year, the 400 ^th anniversary of the start of America’s transatlantic slave trade.

A full performance of “400” lasts more than eight hours. Lomax honed it down to just one.

That’s impressive.

The condensed version “drops the needle on some of the major themes of the larger works,” Lomax told ideastream’s Dan Polletta. He and his ensemble will perform the one-hour piece at Severance Hall on Monday as part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s celebration of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., which features a free open house of music. Lomax will answer audience questions afterward.

Here’s your chance to ask him not only how he came up with his epic work, but how he whittled it down.

And if you’re looking for other things to do in the next few weeks,  ideastream's Arts and Culture team has suggestions for you.
 

See you bright and early Monday morning on the radio,
Amy Eddings

Need to KnOH

Headlines from Northeast Ohio and Beyond
 

• GM Lordstown Battery Plant Plan Includes Wetlands Mitigation
• Medina County Seeking Families For Rising Number Of Foster Children
• Lake Erie Slow To Freeze Over, Bringing Potential Erosion
• Rep. John Lewis' Fight For Civil Rights Began With A Letter To Martin Luther King Jr.
• Fetching With Wolves: What It Means That A Wolf Puppy Will Retrieve A Ball

Your ideas

Many area activities will honor Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, including free or discounted admission to Northeast Ohio museums. A full day of free events at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood kicks off with a sermon from Rev. Otis Moss Jr., the retired pastor of Cleveland’s Olivet Institutional Baptist Church and friend of King's. How will you and your family mark the day? Will you take in some exhibits or music, make it a day of service and volunteer or something else? Call us at  (216) 916-6476, comment on  our Facebook page or join the conversation in Public Square. We'll feature some of your thoughts and comments here in Noon(ish) and on Morning Edition.