Still Dreaming: A Musical Tribute to MLK with Remarks by Ibram X. Kendi
Company: Milton Community Concerts
Milton Community Concerts, in collaboration with Courageous Conversations for Racial Justice, will present a livestream benefit concert, “Still Dreaming: A Musical Tribute to MLK”. This one-hour program will feature a diverse and prestigious group of composers and performers in a program to benefit the Neponset Neighbors Together Fund through the United Way. This concert will also feature an appearance by antiracist activist and best-selling author Ibram X. Kendi. The concert can be found on the Sparrow Live concert platform for a minimum donation of $10, and will continue to be streamed throughout the month of February in celebration of Black History Month.
Soprano Brianna Robinson will be singing the powerful and dramatic song cycle “Songs of Love and Justice” by Adolphus Hailstork, from the writings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ms. Robinson is an Emerging Artist with Boston Lyric Opera, and is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Ohio Wesleyan University.
Soprano Mary Johnston Letellier will be singing four deeply moving songs by Black American composers Cedric Adderley, Nadine Shanti, David N. Baker, and Thomas H. Kerr, Jr, featuring texts by Mari Evans, Langston Hughes, and Paul Laurence Dunbar that reflect on civil rights and racial justice. Ms. Letellier is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music and is currently on the voice faculty at the University of Southern Maine.
Baritone Philip Lima will close the program with “I Have a Dream” by Lee Hoiby, a rousing musical setting of Dr. King’s iconic speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, 1963. Mr. Lima is a distinguished performer on the operatic and concert stage, having performed with the Boston Pops and over sixty musical organizations around the world. He is a graduate of Boston University and is currently an assistant Chair of the Voice Department at the Berklee College of Music.
Ibram X. Kendi will be speaking about Dr. King in a featured narration during this program. He is currently the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is the author of many books, including three #1 New York Times bestsellers. In 2020 Time Magazine named his one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
All singers will be collaborating in this program with pianist Timothy Steele, producer of Milton Community Concerts and Music Director at First Parish of Milton. Special narration will also be provided by Cynthia Harmon; recording engineers are Eric Miller and Gabriel Raines.
Due to COVID precautions Ms. Robinson and Mr. Lima will be singing live beginning at 3pm, but at separate times and differing locations in the Meetinghouse at First Parish of Milton. Ms. Letellier and Ms. Harmon, and Mr. Kendi will be prerecording their portions of the program. All net proceeds from this livestream concert will go to support the Neponset Neighbors Together Fund, a COVID-19 fund to support neighbors of Milton, Mattapan, Hyde Park, and Dorchester who are adversely impacted by the current health crisis, with a focus on our most economically vulnerable neighbors. Funds will go to assist families with rent, food, utilities, internet connectivity for families with school-aged children, essential supplies and medications, and other basic needs.
A generous grant from Celebrate Milton is assisting in the production of this concert.
Soprano Brianna Robinson will be singing the powerful and dramatic song cycle “Songs of Love and Justice” by Adolphus Hailstork, from the writings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ms. Robinson is an Emerging Artist with Boston Lyric Opera, and is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Ohio Wesleyan University.
Soprano Mary Johnston Letellier will be singing four deeply moving songs by Black American composers Cedric Adderley, Nadine Shanti, David N. Baker, and Thomas H. Kerr, Jr, featuring texts by Mari Evans, Langston Hughes, and Paul Laurence Dunbar that reflect on civil rights and racial justice. Ms. Letellier is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music and is currently on the voice faculty at the University of Southern Maine.
Baritone Philip Lima will close the program with “I Have a Dream” by Lee Hoiby, a rousing musical setting of Dr. King’s iconic speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, 1963. Mr. Lima is a distinguished performer on the operatic and concert stage, having performed with the Boston Pops and over sixty musical organizations around the world. He is a graduate of Boston University and is currently an assistant Chair of the Voice Department at the Berklee College of Music.
Ibram X. Kendi will be speaking about Dr. King in a featured narration during this program. He is currently the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is the author of many books, including three #1 New York Times bestsellers. In 2020 Time Magazine named his one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
All singers will be collaborating in this program with pianist Timothy Steele, producer of Milton Community Concerts and Music Director at First Parish of Milton. Special narration will also be provided by Cynthia Harmon; recording engineers are Eric Miller and Gabriel Raines.
Due to COVID precautions Ms. Robinson and Mr. Lima will be singing live beginning at 3pm, but at separate times and differing locations in the Meetinghouse at First Parish of Milton. Ms. Letellier and Ms. Harmon, and Mr. Kendi will be prerecording their portions of the program. All net proceeds from this livestream concert will go to support the Neponset Neighbors Together Fund, a COVID-19 fund to support neighbors of Milton, Mattapan, Hyde Park, and Dorchester who are adversely impacted by the current health crisis, with a focus on our most economically vulnerable neighbors. Funds will go to assist families with rent, food, utilities, internet connectivity for families with school-aged children, essential supplies and medications, and other basic needs.
A generous grant from Celebrate Milton is assisting in the production of this concert.
Performances run through
2021-02-28For more information visit
https://www.miltoncommunityconcerts.com/stilldreaming, 3:00 pm
Milton Community Concerts
535 Canton Avenue
Milton, MA 02186
United States
Type:
Recital & Concert