To our dear audience —

Thank you all so much for being with us tonight for this powerful performance.

Stand the Storm is both an homage to American composers and a spotlight on the struggle that those composers and their respective communities have undergone throughout our history. But perhaps above all else, this concert isa commitment to a more hopeful future.

Each of the works on tonight’s program represents the duality of moving forward through adversity while simultaneously celebrating progress. They are works that ask, “what comes next,” while also saying, “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished.” They do not allow us to be complacent, but they also do not allow us to despair.

From the joyous linking of arms in the choreography of “Glory.” From the celebration of Barack Obama’s historic inauguration in And the People Celebrated. From the precise pairing of psalms in Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms that juxtapose strife with the pursuit of peace. From Rollo Dilworth and Claudia Rankin’s message that “what’s taken matters,”and the dual meaning of “Weather” in Weather: Stand the Storm. Time and time again we see this common reflection of the human spirit, proving that perhaps there is more that unites us than divides us.

There is work to be done, and it is my hope that this concert will inspire you to take the same courage and resiliency found throughout this music out into the world after you leave the concert hall tonight. We will continue doing our part to uplift overlooked American voices to help move us all forward. I believe that doing so is an act of unity, not of division.

Thank you for standing the storm with us.

Eugene Rogers
Artistic Director, The Washington Chorus