The Classic Song Research Initiative, a partnership between the Hampsong Foundation and the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, formally launched its first exploration of “The Art of Democracy” with a series of conversations in June 2020. On July 4, 2020, the project will continue with a web feature offering a glimpse into some works of art that ask questions of our American democratic experiment, many of which are related to the conversations last month.

Two special musical works, presented for limited viewing/listening, explore the words of two great American leaders: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln.

You can watch these events live online on July 4, 2020:

• 11am Eastern / 17h Central European: Adolphus Hailstork’s Songs of Love and Justice (1992), setting the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (introduction to the work by Dr. Louise Toppin)
• 2pm Eastern / 20h Central European: Michael Daugherty’s Letters from Lincoln (2009), featuring special conversations with the composer as well as conductor Laura Jackson

The events will be broadcast live on the Hampsong Foundation’s Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/hampsong.foundation/

These audio/video presentations will be available in this form (on Facebook and subsequently on this website) for one week following the live broadcasts (until July 11).

In addition, we will feature some work by the artists and scholars who joined our June 2020 “The Art of Democracy” conversation series, including Dr. Bill Banfield, Dr. Maria Corley, Dr. Caroline Helton, Dr. Emery Stephens and Dr. Louise Toppin.

More information here: https://hampsongfoundation.org/resource/the-art-of-democracy-conversation-series/

Image above: The Contribution of the Negro to Democracy in America; Charles White, 1943; Mural; Hampton University, Hampton, VA, USA