Wheaton College Artist Series Presents: Songs In Flight

Pulitzer Prize-, MacArthur Genius Grant-, and Grammy Award-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens, alongside other internationally acclaimed and award-winning artists soprano Karen Slack, countertenor Reginald Mobley, baritone Markel Reed, and pianist Paul Sánchez will present, award-winning composer Shawn E. Okpebholo song cycle, "Songs in Flight.”

This powerful work is inspired by “Freedom on the Move,” a database spearheaded by Cornell University comprising over 30,000 newspaper advertisements placed by North American enslavers to aid in the capture of runaway enslaved people. The New York Times aptly describes the composition as one that “zeroes in on… the simultaneous presence of good and evil, perseverance and depravity, combining beauty and harshness.”

The concert also features an evocative solo set of songs by Giddens as well as a performance of Okpebholo’s "Two Black Churches," a set of songs described by The Washington Post as "devastatingly beautiful," continuing the powerful narrative of history, resilience, and hope.