Event description
Saturday, May 11, 2024, 8pm: The Dream Unfinished
Reference to “the dream unfinished” is a poignant reminder that we don't yet all share the same opportunities, freedoms, and liberties that are the foundations on which our country was built. Told through the voices of a diverse selection of composers, the music for this concert celebrates the ideals of the American Dream, and explores racial injustice, hope, human resilience, and the possibility of realizing a world where people are not enslaved and where people of all backgrounds can coexist harmoniously.
Florence Price’s Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight depicts Abraham Lincoln's restless spirit walking at midnight and mourning the struggles of his nation. The setting used for this concert was first created by our Artistic Director, Dr. Michael Driscoll.
Incorporating a rich mix of influences, including classical, jazz, and African American spirituals, William Grant Still’s Plain Chant for America both celebrates what we aspire to be and reminds us of what is yet to be accomplished.
Other works on this program, often using settings of Langston Hughes’ poetry, explore the same themes through Margaret Bonds’ The Negro Speaks of Rivers and I, Too; Randall Thompson‘s Testament of Freedom; Florence Price’s Song to the Dark Virgin and My Dream; Irving Berlin’s Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor; André Thomas’ I Dream a World; and Dorothy Rudd Moore's Fourth of July Speech.