KALAMAZOO, MI — In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke these words on the campus of Western Michigan University: “With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation to a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”
Nearly 61 years since King's WMU visit, the
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (KSO) will join the Kalamazoo arts community for a concert honoring Dr. King's life and legacy. The "Symphony of Brotherhood" event will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, January 21 in Miller Auditorium with doors opening at 2 p.m. for a youth leadership fair.
This musical celebration will showcase performances by the
Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra and combined choirs from Kalamazoo Central and Loy Norrix High Schools. Before the concert,
Kids in Tune, the KSO's innovative youth training orchestra modeled after
Venezuela's El Sistema, will also be performing.
The KSO’s Director of Education and Community Engagement, Liz Youker underscores the event's importance: “The side-by-side is a longstanding tradition between the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra. It’s always such a powerful coming-together of professional and aspiring young musicians. We are excited to bring it back in an expanded format, this time with an outward community focus."
From 2 p.m. until the concert begins and during intermission, a youth leadership fair will feature a variety of Kalamazoo-area youth and service organizations that will have tables with information, including
El Concilio,
Kalamazoo Youth Development Network (KydNet), KRESA's
Youth Opportunities Unlimited/My City,
Merze Tate Explorers,
Read and Write Kalamazoo (RAWK),
Rootead, and Southwest Michigan's Second Wave
Voices of Youth.
“Anything that centers community and collaboration is worth celebrating and amplifying," says Dr. Kandace Lavender, Executive Director of Read and Write Kalamazoo, who will deliver a spoken word performance in response to Bonds' evocative work. "The collaboration with the KSO is an opportunity for art to do what it does best; influence the minds and hearts of those willing to listen."
Notable highlights of the concert include Margaret Bonds' "The Montgomery Variations," freestyle variations inspired by the Negro Spiritual theme, “I want Jesus to Walk with Me.” Bonds, moved by Dr. King's dynamic advocacy for racial justice, composed this piece. The audience will also experience Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait," connecting Abraham Lincoln's legacy with Dr. King's civil rights leadership.
"I hope the Kalamazoo community takes time to celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the many others who will be highlighted in the KSO event and feel compelled to carry on the torches they left behind still lit and leading the way,” says Lavender.
Community leader and philanthropist Larry Bell will narrate Copland's "Lincoln Portrait." The concert concludes with the uplifting "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson, featuring the KSO, Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra, and Loy Norrix and Kalamazoo Central high school choruses. Additional pieces are Aaron Copland’s "The Promise of Living" and André J. Thomas’ "I Dream a World," The Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra, led by Andrew Koehler, plays a pivotal role in this collaborative celebration of Dr. King's enduring legacy.
"Martin Luther King Jr. Day has increasingly become a day of service when we honor Dr. King’s legacy by sharing in the work of bettering our community," says Youker. "We wanted to offer our stage as a convening place and a platform for shared reflection and aspiration as we strive to become a more equitable and inclusive Kalamazoo.”
Concert tickets are available online through the Epic Center’s Community Box Office by calling 269.250.6984 or at
www.KalamazooSymphony.com. Adult tickets start at $18 and Under 18 tickets (for children under the age of 18) start at $15.
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