(Philadelphia, January 4, 2021)––The Philadelphia Orchestra, in partnership with Global Citizen’s Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, is proud to present its 31st annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Tribute Concert online on Monday, January 18, at 7:00 PM on www.philorch.org and www.facebook.com/PhilOrch. As part of the Our City, Your Orchestra series, the program led by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., through music and interviews with prominent Philadelphians who are continuing Dr. King’s work today. This digital concert is free; RSVP now at www.philorch.org. The concert is generously presented by PECO, with additional support provided by the Annenberg Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Orchestra’s 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr., Tribute Concert is part of Our City, Your Orchestra, a series of FREE online concerts performed by small ensembles and recorded without audiences at Black-owned businesses and iconic cultural locations throughout the region. Repertoire is chosen specifically for, and in collaboration with, each location to speak to its unique mission, and interviews with leaders at each venue also help to tell their stories. Performances are available for free on on www.philorch.org/our-city-your-orchestra and www.facebook.com/PhilOrch with new locations being added in 2021.
“On behalf of Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra, we are honored to continue this important tradition online this year and to take this opportunity to share a broad range of repertoire that speaks to Dr. King’s vision for a better world,” said Philadelphia Orchestra President and CEO Matías Tarnopolsky. “In the spirit of the Our City, Your Orchestra series, we also look forward to turning the spotlight on Philadelphians who are doing remarkable work in our communities. Together, we celebrate Dr. King and his legacy, as well as the power of music to bring us together.”
The digital concert will feature new performances as well as excerpts from previous Our City, Your Orchestra presentations, including vocalist Patrice Hawthorne and a string quartet performing the spiritual “Go Tell It on the Mountain” from the Historic Belmont Mansion/Underground Railroad Museum and a performance of Ajibola Rivers’s Rumba, from Suite No. 2, from Harriett’s Bookshop. Vocalist Laurin Talese will join Yannick and the Orchestra for a powerful performance of John Rosamond Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” known as the Black national anthem. Members of the Orchestra’s brass sections will perform Giancarlo Castro’s Diversity. In addition, Charlotte Blake Alston will reprise her narration of excerpts from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, set to a previously recorded performance by Yannick and the Orchestra of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. This stirring arrangement has been a staple of the King Day of Service for the past 15 years, and will continue in this online presentation.
The broadcast will also highlight prominent Philadelphians who are carrying on Dr. King’s vital work today, including founder and owner of Harriett’s Bookshop Jeannine Cook, Pennsylvania State Representative Jordan A. Harris, and Reverend Mark Tyler of Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Viewers will also hear from Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, President of Global Citizen and Founder and Director of the King Day of Service Todd Bernstein, PECO President and CEO Mike Innocenzo, and Reverend Abbey Tennis of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia.
“Global Citizen is proud to continue our partnership for the seventh consecutive year with the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra,” said Todd Bernstein, president of Global Citizen and founder and director of the King Day of Service. “At such a challenging time, this online musical celebration brings us together in spirit and highlights the Orchestra’s Our City, Your Orchestra series. Under the leadership of Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, this exciting tribute to Dr. King highlights the contributions of Black composers, musicians, and vocal performers, and underscores Dr. King’s legacy of equity and inclusion. Hopefully, next year we will all be together again, in person."
The Philadelphia Orchestra is proud to collaborate with PECO on this event. PECO has proudly supported the Orchestra’s programs and events for over 20 years. This year’s concert sponsorship expands PECO’s support of the Orchestra’s innovative programming and the many Martin Luther King Day of Service activities throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Tribute Concert
January 18 at 7:00 PM
www.philorch.org and www.facebook.com/PhilOrch
Johnson “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Laurin Talese Vocalist—PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA DEBUT
Traditional “Go Tell It on the Mountain”
Julia Li Violin
Christine Lim Violin
Che-Hung Chen Viola
Yumi Kendall Cello
Patrice Hawthorne Vocalist
Rivers Rumba, from Suite No. 2
Ohad Bar-David Cello
Ajibola Rivers Cello
Angela Zator Nelson Percussion
Castro Diversity
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Jennifer Montone Horn
Jeffrey Lang Horn
David Bilger Trumpet
Jeffrey Curnow Trumpet
Anthony Prisk Trumpet
Nitzan Haroz Trombone
Matthew Vaughn Trombone
Blair Bollinger Bass Trombone
Carol Jantsch Tuba
Christopher Deviney Percussion
Frank Selections from Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Barber Adagio for Strings
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Charlotte Blake Alston Speaker
This digital concert is free; RSVP now at www.philorch.org.
The Martin Luther King, Jr., Tribute Concert is presented by PECO. Additional funding for this concert is provided by the Annenberg Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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About The Philadelphia Orchestra
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