Part of our American story is the conversation that different threads of our culture have through time.

Composer Chandler Wilson’s piece “Conversations” weaves together the songs “America the Beautiful” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing”. “America the Beautiful”, a poem written in 1893 by Katharine Lee Bates (who lived in a “Boston marriage” with her partner Katharine Coman), paints a majestic view of the country’s landscape and the dreams its people had at the turn of the 19th century. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was written by James Weldon Johnson and set to music by J. Rosamond Johnson in 1905. They wrote about the resiliency, pride, and dreams for freedom and equality for African Americans at the time. The two songs worked their way through American culture at the same time, thus inspiring Wilson’s work that places the melodies together in new and unexpected ways. It is one of the pieces we will present this Saturday evening during our “Americans We” concert. Enjoy this clip from our rehearsal, then click the link to purchase your tickets to this show. You won’t want to miss all the pieces we have in store! 📅 Saturday, June 20, 7 PM 🏛 Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College 📍 900 West End Ave SW, Atlanta 30310 🎟 atlantafreedombands.com/events/americans-we/ #pridemonth #semiquincentennial #afb33 #BetterWithTheBand @morehouse1867