In the midst of the Festival season, To Be Heard: Of Many, One Song offers a powerful and reflective evening of American music—one that listens closely to the voices, ideals, and contradictions that have shaped our shared story.

The concert opens with Aaron Copland’s iconic Fanfare for the Common Man, a bold and unmistakable tribute to dignity, resilience, and the strength found in ordinary lives. From there, William Grant Still’s Afro-American Symphony brings jazz, blues, and classical tradition together in a groundbreaking work that expands the sound of American symphonic music and affirms voices long overlooked.

Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, for soprano and orchestra, offers an intimate and lyrical reflection on childhood, memory, and a nation on the brink of change—capturing both the tenderness and the unease of America in the early twentieth century. That sense of contrast and transformation deepens in Joseph Schwantner’s New Morning for the World, which sets the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a work of profound gravity and hope, reminding us of the ongoing pursuit of justice and unity.

The evening concludes with Leonard Bernstein’s radiant Make Our Garden Grow from Candide, a stirring affirmation of community, renewal, and the belief that—together—we can build something enduring.

Thoughtfully curated and deeply resonant, To Be Heard: Of Many, One Song is not a political statement, but a human one—an invitation to listen, to reflect, and to recognize the many voices that continue to shape the American song.