Letters to America

“Letters to America” is the culminating event of the Durham Symphony Orchestra’s (DSO) 50th Anniversary season. Join them for a landmark event celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and 50 years of the DSO serving the community, promoting music education and uplifting the love and legacy of American Classical Music! The event brings together DSO’s community and arts partners, the Pauli Murray Center, Hayti Heritage Center, North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green, Kristi Vincent Johnson, Director of Dance at NCCU, and Kidznotes.

The concert will feature two new compositions: a celebratory opening work by Maestro Curry and “Letters to America” by North Carolina composer Brittany J. Green, co-commissioned by the DSO. Written for orchestra and Grammy Award–winning soprano Karen Slack, “Letters to America” uses text derived from historical sources and public contributions and marks the 250th anniversary by centering the voices, stories and experiences of Black women in America. The Durham performance will include a video dance vignette inspired by the work and produced by students from NCCU.

The program will close with Antonín Dvořák’s “Symphony No. 9” (“From the New World”), which anchored Maestro Curry’s first performance with the DSO. This beloved symphony offers yet another lens on America—that of a great European composer whose mature work showcases the innate beauty and grandeur of African American spirituals and Native American music.