A Conversation Still Needed: William Grant Still and Black Lives

Coro Allegro, Boston’s LGBTQ+ and allied classical chorus, presents Jonathan Q. Berryman, Director of the Heritage Chorale of New Haven, in “A Conversation Still Needed,” the second program of our Amplifying Black Voices series, led by Black composers, conductors, artists, and advocates with whom we are proud to have partnered.

In 1999, Coro Allegro and the Heritage Chorale of New Haven were the first LGBTQ+ and African American choruses to collaborate on William Grant Still’s 1940 double choir work, And They Lynched Him on a Tree, a collaboration we reprised 20 years later. Explore the story of this courageous work and the continued struggle for Black lives and equal justice in America.

Also on the program: William Grant Still’s Summerland, performed by Pinkham Award-winning pianist Darryl Hollister, and two new virtual choir collaborations, Still’s The Blind Man and M. Roger Holland’s gospel setting of Lord, Make Me an Instrument.

Guests include:

Marietta Simpson, mezzo soprano, Distinguished Rudy Professor of Music, Indiana University, and soloist in the 1999 performance
Judith Anne Still, archivist and advocate for her father’s music
Ron Williams, baritone, and narrator of the 2019 performance
Singers from both choruses

Moderated by:

Coro Allegro Artistic Director David Hodgkins
Executive Director Yoshi Campbell

Coro Allegro is honored to welcome the Equal Justice Initiative and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama as our community partners.

Sponsored in part by David & Shiela Hodgkins and grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.
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Audience reviews from the premiere with composer Fred Onovwerosuoke
“Brilliant start to the Amplifying Black Voices series. Great, great job!!”
“Incredibly powerful, relevant, and timely”
“Thank you to FredO and Coro Allegro. How amazing is this music!”
“ It was wonderful! I can’t wait for the next one.”