Durham Symphony's 'Voices of the Unarmed: Justice, Love, Resilience'

The Durham Symphony Orchestra (DSO) concert offers an impassioned program weaving together music, text, and conversation as it explores the themes of justice, love, and resilience. Forums with community stakeholders and students will further amplify the concert’s messages.

Joel Thompson’s 'Seven Last Words of the Unarmed' for chorus and orchestra, a poignant tribute to unarmed Black men killed by police and authority figures, will anchor the concert program. The Concert Singers of Cary and the NC Central Kikazi Alumni Chorale will join the DSO for the performance. The DSO will also foreground the work of Durham’s nationally recognized HEART program (heartforthis.org) by featuring the world premiere of 'Overture-Fanfare in D Major' by the critically acclaimed young African American composer Herman Whitfield III. After his parents dialed 911 to summon medical help, Whitfield (unarmed, unclothed, and experiencing a mental health crisis) died in his Indianapolis home during the encounter with responding police. The hope-filled words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will close the program in William Henry Curry’s stirring 'Eulogy for a Dream'.

Emphasizing the program’s message of love and unity, DSO Music Director William Henry Curry said, “My most essential heroes had in common extraordinary powers of resilience. When my own resilience has been tested, these quotes from Martin Luther King have helped to revive my spirit: ‘The only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend is love. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood."

Composer Joel Thompson will join with the DSO and the Durham community in a variety of forums to amplify and explore the themes of the concert. Working in collaboration with Religious Coalition for Nonviolent Durham, Restorative Justice Durham, Durham Community Safety’s HEART Program, Durham Public Schools, Duke University Chapel, Duke Arts, the Wilson Center for Science and Justice, and Duke’s Center for Racial Healing and Transformation, the DSO has planned a forum with civic leaders, community members, and partners to bridge the concert’s themes with the lived experience of Durham’s residents. Joel Thompson and William Henry Curry will meet with students in Durham Public Schools on February 13 and meet separately with teachers for an afternoon of professional development on February 14. Immediately following the February 14th performance in the Carolina Theatre, the audience is invited to a post-concert panel discussion with the artists and community leaders. The panel will also include as special guests Gladys and Herman Whitfield Jr., parents of Herman Whitfield III.

“Voices of the Unarmed: Justice, Love and Resilience” is made possible by generous grants from The Clinton Family Fund, Duke University Chapel and Duke Arts, North Carolina Arts Council, and the City of Durham’s Special Events Funding. Season support for the Durham Symphony Orchestra is provided by the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, the Durham Arts Council, and the City of Durham.

Complete Concert Program

Francis Scott Key/Arturo Toscanini: The Star-Spangled Banner

Aaron Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man

Herman Whitfield III: Overture-Fanfare in G Major (World premiere)

Joel Thompson: Seven Last Words of the Unarmed

Concert Singers of Cary and the NC Central Kizazi Alumni Chorale

Intermission

Bedrich Smetana: “The Moldau”

William Henry Curry: Eulogy for a Dream

Event Details:

- Post-concert Panel Discussion and Q&A: Open to all ticket holders

-Tickets are free but reservations are required.