“I Dream a World: The Harlem Renaissance and Beyond” is a celebration of music and poetry from, and inspired by, the explosion of artistic expression emanating outwards from 1920s New York. With a program curated by Dr. Tammy Kernodle of Miami University of Ohio and New World Symphony Artistic Director Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas, “I Dream A World” features a kaleidoscopic view of African-American sound.
Guest Kevin Young, The New Yorker poetry editor and Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture, pairs poetry by figures such as Langston Hughes and Pauli Murray with choral arrangements and small combo performances by The Ambassador Chorale of Florida Memorial University and New World Symphony Fellows.
And conductor Thomas Wilkins leads the fellows in “Victory Stride: The Orchestral Legacy of the Harlem Renaissance,” featuring colorful orchestral expressions by composers including Duke Ellington, Florence Price, and William Grant Still.