The Dessoff Choirs' Freedom Concert, modeled after “freedom concerts” presented by the late Coretta Scott King, offers a choral tapestry of music that reflects on events of the past while promoting hope for the future. Featured works include Ralph Vaughan Williams’ plea for peace, Dona nobis pacem (1936); Robert Sirota’s homage to the nine victims of the Mother Emanuel AME massacre, Prelude and Spiritual for Mother Emanuel; and works by three female composers. The concert closes with the well-known civil rights freedom song Oh Freedom.
| “Dona nobis pacem” from Mass in B minor | Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) |
| Dona nobis pacem | Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) |
| “III. Adonai, Adonai Lo gavah libi” from Chichester Psalms | Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) |
| Prelude and Spiritual for Mother Emanuel | Robert Sirota (b.1949) |
| Cry Peace | Libby Larsen (b.1950) |
| Blessed Assurance | Nancy Wertsch (b.1943) |
| We shall walk through the valley | Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989) |
| Oh, Freedom | arr. Malcolm J. Merriweather and Charles Duke |