CONCERT: Let Freedom Ring

Description

Let Freedom Ring celebrates the artistry and resilience of African American women who helped shape the sound of American classical music. Their music stands proudly alongside the great works of the European tradition, offering new colors, rhythms, and stories that enrich our shared musical heritage.

The concert opens with Strum by Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981), a work bursting with energy, warmth, and rhythmic vitality. Written for string quartet, Strum draws on American folk traditions and the spirit of community that runs through Montgomery’s music, setting a joyful tone for the evening.

The program then turns to the trailblazing Florence Price (1887-1953), the first African American woman to have a symphony performed by a major U.S. orchestra. Her music, lush and full of heart, weaves together classical traditions with the sounds of spirituals and folk melodies. Her Octet for Brasses and Piano (1930) highlights her expressive, distinctive voice, while the tender Adoration (1951), performed by the Portsmouth Brass Ensemble under the direction of John Page, offers a moment of quiet grace.

The Expansion Quartet closes the program with Price’s String Quartet No. 2, a deeply expressive work that captures both her technical brilliance and her emotional depth – music that continues to resonate nearly a century after it was written.