Baritone Kenneth Overton with violinists Ashley Horne and Claire Chan, violist Amadi Azikiwe, and cellist Wayne Smith. (Photo by Steven Pisano).Members of The Harlem Chamber Players joined in this sold-out production October 22-24. Read or hear what the following had to say about "To America": The New York Times, New York Magazine, New York News 1, TimeOut New York, The New Yorker, WQXR, Seen & Heard International, Classical Post, ViolinChannel, OperaWire.
If you missed the live performance, you can still experience it in the online recording here.
Inspired by the poetry of James Weldon Johnson, who is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery and best known for his anthem Lift Every Voice and Sing, this immersive, cemetery-wide performance event combines music, history, literature, and dance into a single sweeping, shuddering cry into the night. It is a lament, a love song, a prayer, and a plea to America in a time of deep uncertainty, in remembrance of all that this nation has been, and all that it can be.