UPDATED: The rescheduled concert from November will now be on Sunday, January 12 at 3 p.m. Admission is FREE. For more information and tickets, click here.
Queens University of Charlotte will present a group concert led by the Queens Choral Union director Justin Smith that celebrates the enduring principles of American democracy at the Sarah Belk Gambrell Center on its main campus in Myer’s Park.
The event is part of the university’s Connected Campus 2024 program, “For The People: Democracy in Conversation.” The series of programs has included art exhibitions, lectures and Get Out the Vote events since September. In Worldwall: On Democracy, students were invited to share their ideas on democracy. Following the 2024 presidential election, the concert will be the final event in the series.
campus and community members were invited to share what democracy means to them by posting it on a word wall in the Gambrell lobby. Courtesy of Queens University of Charlotte.
According to Peter deVries, the director of the Queens University Chamber Orchestra, the concert will feature a collaboration between the university’s choir and orchestra, and three other choirs: the Mitchell Community Chorus, Central Piedmont Community College Chorus and Palmetto Voices, a local choir specializing in African American spirituals.
The combined choirs will bring together over 100 voices, filling the stage with a moving and resonant sound. According to DeVries, the concert promises to be a spectacular showcase of these different groups all coming together to honor the ideals of democracy in the United States.
A powerful musical experience with historical significance
The concert will open with “Variations of America” that promises to set the stage for a night of powerful and evocative performances. Following this, the audience will be treated to the title song, “Testament of Freedom” by Randall Thompson. The piece was based on the writings of Thomas Jefferson and completed as World War II came to an end.
DeVries believes that music has a unique ability to elevate words, allowing for deeper understanding and appreciation. He draws a parallel to how different religions use music to imbue their most important beliefs, emphasizing the profound impact that music can have on the human spirit.
In addition to Thompson’s composition that rallied national pride in 1943, the choirs will together perform other works by composers “extolling the great American experiment,” according to organizers.
DeVries says it was a bold decision for the country’s Founding Fathers to choose democracy over monarchy, a move that has shaped the United States since the adoption of the Constitution in 1787. He emphasizes that the wisdom and foresight of leaders like Jefferson have helped the nation avoid the anarchy and chaos that can accompany elections in other countries.
Smith goes on to say that the concert aims to remind audiences of these enduring principles and the importance of protecting them.
Following this year’s election, the concert will do more than just honor a historic musical composition. Both Smith and deVries stress that it is important for us to remember that despite our conflicts and disagreements, the United States has persevered. They hope the concert will serve as a reminder of the values that unite us
Preparation for the concert involved extensive rehearsals by all four choirs and the Queens University Chamber Orchestra. While a lot goes into these productions, including extensive planning and outreach, Smith says that the most rewarding part is in the performance itself, where the musicians can share their art with the audience. Both he and deVries are excited to see the culmination of the groups’ hard work and the impact it will have on the community.
If you go
Testament of Freedom is the closing event in the Connected Campus 2024 – For The People: Democracy in Conversation. ollowing an incident that caused water outages in several buildings on the Queens University of Charlotte campus, Testament of Freedom was postponed. Event organizers did not yet have a date for the concert. For more information visit calendar.queens.edu/event/concert-the-testament-of-freedom.
Alanah Payne
Reporter (she/her)
Queens University News Service
