1965: A Martin Luther King, Jr., Reflection Tribute Performance featuring the CSO Gospel Choir and CSO Spiritual Ensemble, in collaboration with the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, brings the legendary civil rights leader’s legacy to life through music, imagery and narration Saturday, January 17, 2015, with a matinée at 3:00pm and evening performance at 7:00pm at Cathedral of Praise, 3790 Ashley Phosphate Road, North Charleston, SC. This performance is free and open to the public. Entry ticket required; freewill donations accepted.
Directed by Atlanta-based guest conductor Jason Ikeem Rodgers, moving orchestral and choral selections, spirituals and gospel, will be woven together with historical images of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement with narration provided by Dr. Karen Chandler of the College of Charleston.
Reflecting on the 50th anniversary of pivotal year 1965 and civil rights changes ushered in by Abraham Lincoln’s 1865 Emancipation Proclamation, Dr. King’s galvanizing persona, John F. Kennedy’s and Lyndon B. Johnson’s steadfast and progressive political moves—the Civil Rights movement was in full swing. Malcolm X would live for one month that year and in August 1965 the landmark Voting Rights Act was passed by Congress granting anyone 21 years and older the right to vote no matter the color of their skin.
“Once again I am honored to partner with the City of North Charleston to bring our three musical elements, orchestral players and singers from both groups together, as we honor Dr. King’s contribution to civil rights and economic equality. The event is a way for the community to reflect upon his wisdom, sacrifice, and hope that inspire our nation,” says Lee Pringle, President and Founder of the two choirs, the Colour of Music Festival Orchestra, and executive producer of the event.
“Conducting performances honoring Dr. King is a career highlight for me. I look forward to showcasing moving choral and orchestral selections carefully chosen to tell Dr. King’s extraordinary, epic story,” says, Jason Ikeem Rodgers, Guest Conductor.
1965: A Martin Luther King, Jr., Reflection
A Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Performance
Approximate running time: Two hours
WHO: CSO Gospel Choir and CSO Spiritual Ensemble with members of Colour of Music Orchestra; Jason Ikeem Rodgers, Conductor
WHEN: Two performances: Saturday, January 17, 2015, 3:00pm and 7:00pm
WHERE: Cathedral of Praise, 3790 Ashley Phosphate Road, North Charleston SC
TICKETS:FREE ADMISSION: Ticket required for entry. FREE entry tickets (four per request) available in person at Cultural Arts Department Office at North Charleston City Hall and Charleston County Public Library (downtown Charleston) and Cathedral of Praise.
Freewill donations encouraged to support CSO Spiritual Ensemble and CSO Gospel Choir community outreach efforts.
Generously sponsored by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department
About Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Prime mover of the Montgomery bus boycott, keynote speaker at the March on Washington, youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Dr. King’s policy of nonviolent protest was the dominant force in the civil rights movement during its decade of greatest achievement, from 1957 to 1968. Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Commemorating the life of a tremendously important leader, we celebrate Martin Luther King Day each January.
About the CSO Gospel Choir
For fourteen years, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) Gospel Choir, Charleston’s celebrated culturally diverse choir, performs gospel, spirituals and sacred music for annual concert events including a Palm Sunday performance, CSO Gospel Christmas, Piccolo Spoleto, regional events throughout the southeast and numerous engagements in Europe including Paris, London, Rome and Prague and Ghana, West Africa. CSOGospel.com
About the CSO Spiritual Ensemble
Founded in 2008, the Charleston SC based, 35-member CSO Spiritual Ensemble honors the “spiritual,” the historical musical form born of the suffering and endurance of African slaves after arriving to the southern shores of this country. The CSO Spiritual Ensemble performs throughout the southeastern US and regularly for local and regional special events. CSOSpiritual.com