‘I Dream a World’ sets Langston Hughes’s visionary poem to music that draws from the rich intersections of classical, spiritual, and jazz traditions. Composer Damien Sneed—known for his genre-spanning work across opera, gospel, and concert music—creates a lyrical meditation on freedom, dignity, and shared humanity. Through Hughes’s timeless words and Sneed’s expressive score, the piece offers a hopeful reflection on a world shaped by justice, compassion, and belonging.

Within America250: ‘Voices of Virginia’, this work serves as a resonant bookend to the earlier tribute honoring Hughes’s close friend and contemporary, Anne Spencer. Though Hughes is often associated with Harlem, his artistic and personal ties to Lynchburg—including visits to Spencer’s home and garden on Pierce Street—root his vision within the cultural landscape of Virginia. As the program nears its close, ‘I Dream a World’ echoes Spencer’s legacy and invites audiences to reflect on the enduring power of words, art, and imagination to shape a more just future.

Music: Damien Sneed (2021), text by Langston Hughes (1941)

Vocalist: Allen Adair

Piano: Thomas Getty

Damien Sneed is a multi-genre composer, conductor, pianist, and educator whose work bridges classical, gospel, jazz, and contemporary music. Sneed has collaborated with icons including Jessye Norman, Wynton Marsalis, and the Metropolitan Opera. He is the founding artistic director of Chorale Le Chateau and was music director for the North American tour of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. A passionate educator and advocate for diversity in the arts, Sneed continues to inspire through his compositions and performances that center cultural heritage, innovation, and social consciousness.

Langston Hughes (1901–1967) was a poet, playwright, novelist, and one of the most influential voices of the Harlem Renaissance. Known for his portrayals of Black life in America, he fused poetic verse with the rhythms of jazz, gospel, and blues to uplift the everyday experiences of his people. Hughes traveled widely, wrote prolifically, and shared his work with audiences across the country—likely reaching more people through public readings than any other poet of his time. He had deep ties to Virginia, maintaining a close friendship and correspondence with Lynchburg’s Anne Spencer, and frequently visited her home on Pierce Street. Both poets were part of the Harlem Renaissance and their creative kinship bridged geography and generations. 

I Dream A World by Langston Hughes 

I dream a world where man

No other man will scorn,

Where love will bless the earth

And peace its paths adorn

I dream a world where all

Will know sweet freedom's way,

Where greed no longer saps the soul

Nor avarice blights our day.

A world I dream where black or white,

Whatever race you be,

Will share the bounties of the earth

And every man is free,

Where wretchedness will hang its head

And joy, like a pearl,

Attends the needs of all mankind-

Of such I dream my world!