A Dream Deferred

Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King

Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra
Sunday, January 18, 3PM
South Shore Cultural Center
7059 S South Shore Dr., Chicago

Music of African American composers, new spiritual and gospel adaptations for orchestra, and speakers David Dixon and Johnny Haskins. Featuring guest vocalist Van Gilmer.

Concert Program:
We Shall Overcome - Traditional, arr. Ilya Levinson
Elegy, A cry from the Grave - Carlos Simon
Deep River - Traditional, arr. Harry Burliegh
Selections from Littler Folk Suites - William Grant Still
Solace: A Mexican Serenade - Scott Joplin, arr. Fine
The Old Boatman - Florence Price, arr. Perma
Freedom Medley - Traditional/Van Gilmer
A Dream - Philip Simmons/text by Dr. Martin Luther King
    Lift Every Voice and Sing - J. Rosamund Johnson

Music as a Bridge for Healing and Gratitude

American Music Festivals is dedicated to using music as a force for justice, memory, and renewal. At the heart of our work is cultural exchange through the preservation of the orchestra — both musicians and repertoire — ensuring our powerful tradition continues to thrive, inspire, and connect communities.

Through concerts and collaborations across the U.S. and internationally, we bring diverse voices to the stage, honor cultural traditions, and sustain the orchestral art form as a living bridge between past and future. In doing so, we strengthen community bonds, affirm local voices, and create spaces where music becomes a shared resource for healing and justice.

November 2nd Concert in Lincolnwood Community Center:
Resonance and Reckoning

At American Music Festivals, we believe the orchestra — musicians and repertoire together — has the power to heal, connect, and preserve memory. The November 2 concert was living proof of that belief, and of the orchestra’s ability to generate community impact.

• Healing through music: Audiences experienced orchestral performance as a source of renewal and connection, showing how preservation becomes inseparable from emotional impact.

• Justice and community: By uniting faith leaders, nonprofit advocates, and a diverse audience, the orchestra itself became the bridge between grassroots voices and cultural institutions, strengthening community trust and collaboration.

• Cultural memory: The repertoire carried traditions and stories across generations, ensuring they remain alive and relevant in the present, while affirming the identities of the communities represented.

• Orchestral preservation: Preserving the orchestra — musicians and repertoire — ensures not only the survival of a tradition, but its power to strengthen communities through healing and justice.”

• Momentum for the future: November 2 proved that when orchestral preservation is the foundation, communities respond — and with your support, this momentum will carry forward into future seasons.

  
  

Thanks for your kind support!

American Music Festivals promotES cultural exchange, PRESERVES ORCHeSTRAL HERITAGE, and BRINGS COMMUNITIES TOGETHER

In Chicago, Hawaii, and around the world, AMF partners with diverse communities, bringing people together to enjoy great classical music exploring and sharing cultural traditions through concerts and interdisciplinary programming.

American Music Festivals is committed to preserving and furthering orchestral heritage.  Our music making has attracted an amazing team of musicians, community advocates, and marketing experts to our cause.  It has helped us build partnerships and professional relationships with organizations and individuals around the world. Our concerts tell a story that speaks to the power of music to move people, help change perspectives, and to challenge norms.  American Music Festivals is excited to continue to help create and contribute to orchestral events, products, and messaging, that move communities forward. 

Thanks for being a part of our vision.

American Music Festivals
has been committed to cultural exchange Since 1997.

Please join US AS WE BRING OUR UNIQUE VIEWPOINT TO CLASSICAL MUSIC PROGRAMMING.

CULTURAL EXCHANGE

In the United States and abroad we work with communities to share culture, celebrating our differences.

ORCHESTRAL HERITAGE

American Music Festivals helps preserve orchestral traditions--with a sensitivity to all the humanities.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Our collaborative events bring people TOGETHER, creating understanding and friendship.

ARTISTIC AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Through concerts and related outreach, American Music Festivals articulates cross cultural and intergenerational connections. 

In Chicago, Hawaii, and around the world,
American Music Festivals
helps sustain our orchestral heritage