During his often-quoted “I Have a Dream” speech, civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used the following musical metaphor: “With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”
Given the slain leader’s knowledge of and appreciation for music, tributes to Dr. King have often included musical selections ranging from classical pieces that he learned to love from his piano teacher mother Alberta and from his Boston Conservatory-educated wife Coretta to beloved spirituals and hymns such as “Balm in Gilead” and “Take Me By the Hand, Precious Lord.”
Each year Artistic Director Anthony Trecek-King chooses works from these and other strains for Boston’s signature MLK tribute celebration, annually produced by the Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC) at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall – the very place where Coretta Scott met her future husband.
