Concert in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 26, 2024 | 7:30pm

Concert attendees will experience the heart of the African-American musical experience, including spirituals, gospel, jazz, and popular, performed by the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra, Choir, Chorus, Treble Chorale, the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers; and SMTD alumni and faculty. There will also be a reading of King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

"A Time for Peace"

A highlight of the program will be a performance of “Zaman El Salaam/A Time for Peace,” arranged by associate professor of music education Baruch Whitehead. Written by Israeli musician and peace activist Yair Dalal, the song was the centerpiece of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo as 50 Israeli children, 50 Palestinian children, and 100 Norwegian children were joined by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta.

Featured soloists for the MLK Concert performance of “Zaman El Salaam/A Time for Peace” will be Palestinian musician Naser Musa—a master of the Middle Eastern guitar-like instrument the oud—and Jewish vocalist Jaden Levine, a 2023 Ithaca College graduate who currently works with the New York Philharmonic. They will be joined by the Ithaca College Choral Ensembles and Symphony Orchestra, Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers, and Dorothy Cotton Youth Singers.

Special Accommodations

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact zmcdonald@ithaca.edu. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.