About

“Emancipation Again”

A New Music Series by Glenn McClure

Summary

150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted, we still struggle to make a world in which anyone can reach their full potential.  What do the words of this document mean to us as Americans? What do the words of this document mean to those around the world who see the US as a model for individual rights and democracy?

“Emancipation…Again” is a civic, educational and artistic exploration of the legacy of freedom.  This web-based, global collaboration will bring scholars, artists, educators, and K12 students together in a variety of forums to share their unique experiences on Emancipation.  Musicians and educators in the US, West Africa, and Europe will create joint works of music and art that combine their unique views of their common history…the Atlantic Slave Trade.  By sharing these views in music, writing, drama, and visual arts, we can all get a more complete picture of our global heritage.  Furthermore, we seek to take the former triangle of slavery and bondage and transform it into a triangle of creativity and global collaboration.

The Musical Freedom Trail

This series of new works begin with music and texts from West Africa, then mix with texts and music styles from 19th century Europe and America.

The performances follow the trail that many slaves used in a quest for their freedom.  We begin with the Emancipation celebration in Birmingham, Alabama with the University of Alabama Choir.  We travel next to southeastern Virginia for our next performance with the Virginia Wesleyan University Choir and Steel Band.  The trail culminates in a series of concerts in Upstate New York at SUNY Geneseo, the John Brown Farm in Saranac Lake, NY and finally in the home of the great abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, Rochester, NY with the Rochester Oratorio Society.