Nashville Symphony Collaborates with National Museum of African American Music, Public Library & More for Let Freedom Sing on January 19
Free celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and civil rights movement will include special guests, exhibits, presentations and panel discussion
The Nashville Symphony’s annual Let Freedom Sing concert – which celebrates the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement – will take place at 7 p.m. on Sunday, January 19, at Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
The 27th edition of the event will feature conductor Dr. Henry Panion III leading the Nashville Symphony, Celebration Chorus, Celebration Youth Chorus and special guests on an inspiring selection of classical works, songs, traditionals and more. Prior to the concert, presentations and exhibits by the National Museum of African American Music, the Nashville Public Library’s Civil Rights Room, WPLN’s Versify podcast and Choral Arts Link will be open in the Schermerhorn lobbies beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Composer Adolphus Hailstork, whose An American Port of Call was performed during the Symphony’s opening weekend in September, will be in attendance for the performance of his work I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, and he will also take part in a post-concert panel discussion with Panion and Choral Arts Link director Margaret Campbelle-Holman.
Tickets will be available to the public starting Thursday, January 9, and are “pay what you can.” Reserve tickets at NashvilleSymphony.org/LetFreedomSing, by calling 615.687.6400 or visiting the Schermerhorn Box Office in downtown Nashville.
Let Freedom Sing
7 p.m., Sunday, January 19, 2020
The Nashville Symphony’s 27th annual Let Freedom Sing concert honors the life, legacy and triumphs of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. Joined by special guests, the Nashville Symphony, Celebration Chorus and Celebration Youth Chorus perform an inspiring selection of classical works, songs, traditionals and more. Arrive early for several pre-concert presentations and exhibits starting at 5:30 p.m., including:
➢ “From Nothing to Something” Presented by the National Museum of African American Music
From Nothing to Something is a presentation demonstrating how people of different cultures created instruments from memory using limited resources. These instruments were literally made out nothing (household items or natural materials) and were used to create something wonderful – music. Concert attendees will be able to see and hear the following in the lobbies of the Schermerhorn:
· East Lobby: Spoons
· Balcony Lobby: Spoken Word
· West Lobby: World Percussion
➢ Nashville Public Library Civil Rights Room
View an exhibit documenting the Nashville Sit-Ins in the East Gallery, adjacent to the East Lobby.
➢ Choral Arts Link and Versify present: From the Back of the Bus
Choral Arts Link and the WPLN’s poetry podcast Versify present From the Back of the Bus, a storytelling project with local poets and activists. Nashville civil rights leaders sat down with local writers to tell their stories, which were then transformed into poetry. See each activist featured in banners displayed in the Main Lobby, and read the full poems and biographies available at the project table.
Following the performance, guests are invited to stay for a panel discussion, “Arts and Activism,” featuring conductor Henry Panion, Choral Arts Link director Margaret Campbelle-Holman and composer Adolphus Hailstork and moderated by poet Joshua Moore.
Tickets for Let Freedom Sing will be available to the public starting Thursday, January 9 and are “pay what you can.” Reserve tickets at NashvilleSymphony.org/LetFreedomSing, by calling 615.687.6400 or visiting the Schermerhorn Box Office in downtown Nashville. Learn more here.
The GRAMMY® Award-winning Nashville Symphony has earned an international reputation for its innovative programming and its commitment to performing, recording and commissioning works by America’s leading composers. The Nashville Symphony has released more than 30 recordings on Naxos, which have received 25 GRAMMY® nominations and 13 GRAMMY® Awards, making it one of the most active recording orchestras in the country. The orchestra has also released recordings on Decca, Deutsche Grammophon and New West Records, among other labels. With more than 140 performances annually, the orchestra offers a broad range of classical, pops and jazz, and children’s concerts, while its extensive education and community engagement programs reached 45,000 children and adults during the 2018/19 season.