A 62-minute multimedia piece composed for The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza is getting a second life. EMERGE Coalition Inc. will present “Echoes From a Memory,” blending live chamber music, archival film, and voice to explore the lives of John and Jacqueline Kennedy.
The work premiered at the museum during a two-night event on November 16 and 18, 2023.
The museum, which examines Kennedy's life and legacy, commissioned Jesus J. Martinez's 2019 score “3 Hours in Dallas,” which was composed to accompany a 16.5-minute film about Kennedy's final Dallas motorcade.
A Texas Composer's Ongoing Dealey Plaza Connection
Martinez, a Texas native and Southern Methodist University master's graduate in music composition, serves as executive director of EMERGE Coalition Inc., which was founded in 2020, per Voyage Dallas.
The AT&T Performing Arts Center's 2026/2027 Elevator Project season features eight productions spanning dance, theater, and music.
Funding and a Familiar Venue
The program draws support from municipal and philanthropic sources, including the Eugene McDermott Foundation, the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, the Theodore and Beulah Beasley Foundation, and the Texas Commission on the Arts — funding that helps reduce financial barriers for groups without permanent venues of their own.
Hamon Hall itself is a 2,700-square-foot performance space inside the Winspear Opera House at 2403 Flora St. in the Dallas Arts District. EMERGE Coalition has used the Elevator Project pipeline before, presenting “EVERGREEN [to grow],” a cross-disciplinary musical experience addressing climate change, during the program's May 2024 season at the Wyly Studio Theatre as part of the group's “OFF the Beaten Path” concert series.
Part of a Broader West End Cultural Push
The staging arrives as Dallas County has been expanding historic tourism around Dealey Plaza, including the free “Legacy Dallas” exhibit that opened inside the Records Building in August 2026, reinforcing the West End as a cultural tourism corridor, as Hoodline previously reported. CultureMap notes that the performance is subject to change due to weather or other concerns.
