Symphonic Jazz Orchestra Presents A Salute To Maurice White
World Premiere of Maurice’s Long Lost Orchestral Music
23 years ago, Maurice wrote new music for the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra. It is only NOW being premiered in a special tribute concert, A SALUTE TO MAURICE WHITE, May 9th & 10th in Long Beach, California.
The concert’s capstone is a remarkable story of rediscovery and artistic revival. PASSAGES was composed by Maurice 23 years ago and believed to be lost to time. Shortly after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, then retiring from performing with Earth, Wind & Fire, White poured his considerable talents into writing and producing music. SJO music directors George Duke and Mitch Glickman commissioned Maurice and his writing partner, Bill Meyers, to create a new, 10-minute work in 2003, which was filmed in a series of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. Unfortunately, the project was never completed, and the original score, sketches and tracks were shelved. A search for the archival video was successfully conducted, and the work was discovered in B-roll video footage shot during the creation of the piece. Meyers painstakingly rebuilt the piece from that footage.
These concerts mark the first opportunity for audiences to experience White’s powerful and expansive orchestral score that bridges eras and genres—capturing his creative spirit of its original moment while resonating freshly in the present day.
“My father’s essence was always jazz at his core,” says KB White, son of Maurice White. “This resurrected piece is incredibly exciting because it brings him back to his foundation. What he created was a presentation of his spirit, and he wanted people to take their time with it, to truly explore it. For him, it was always about discovery.”
Tickets are still available for A SALUTE TO MAURICE WHITE, performed by the 68-member Symphonic Jazz Orchestra featuring special guest vocalist Chanté Moore. The Grammy-nominated and Soul Train Music Award winning vocalist will be singing new orchestral arrangements from Maurice’s catalog of timeless songs.
Sat & Sun, May 9th & 10th, 2026 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Long Beach, CA
Reserve tix by visiting SJOmusic.org.
