Chicago Sinfonietta: MLK Tribute Concert
$45
Joel Thompson — breathe/burn: an elegy
Jeffrey Scott — Sinfonietta of Dreams
Jay Hamilton / Bruce Hamilton / David Hamilton / Joe Horton / Pete Seeger / Ruth Crawford Seeger — We Shall Overcome
Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
Antoine T. Clark, guest conductor
Ifetayo Ali-Landing, cello
Florence Price – Dances in the Canebrakes (arr. William Grant Still)
Joel Thompson – breathe/burn: an elegy (world premiere, Chicago Sinfonietta commission)
Jeffrey Scott – Sinfonietta of Dreams
Adapted by Hamilton, Horton, and Seeger (arr. Roy Ringwald) – We Shall Overcome
Chicago Sinfonietta's annual MLK Tribute Concert is a tradition we've shared since the orchestra was founded by Maestro Paul Freeman more than 30 years ago. In celebrating Dr. King, the Sinfonietta has selected three enthralling works by a trio of African American composers: Florence Price, Joel Thompson, and Jeff Scott.
The concert begins with William Grant Still’s orchestral arrangement of Florence Price’s piano work, Dances in the Canebrakes, a Chicago Sinfonietta signature piece. Composer Joel Thompson (Seven Last Words of the Unarmed) returns with a new commission piece titled breathe/burn: an elegy, composed in memory of Breonna Taylor and performed with Chicago cellist Ifetayo Ali-Landing in the role of soloist.
Jeff Scott’s work, Sinfonietta of Dreams, was written in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We close the online concert with a Chicago Sinfonietta tradition: We Shall Overcome, performed in unison from homes across the country in a spirit of hope and resilience.
The broadcast begins at 3pm Central / 1pm Pacific.