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2025 Martin luther king, jr. commemorative concert: we shall overcome

Montpelier Chamber Orchestra, Montpelier Community Gospel Choir and Shidaa Projects and special guests present a new downtown Montpelier event on Sunday, January 19th, 2025 4 pm - 6 pm at City Hall Arts Center in the Lost Nation Theater.

The program will include:

- Fifty-five performers presenting various artistic works over 2 hours with a post-concert reception with the artists..

- Montpelier Community Gospel Choir singing songs of the civil rights movement.

- Shidaa Projects performing West African-style dancing and drumming featuring International award winning Samuel Maama Marquaye accompanied by the Shidaa drumming team led by Artistic Director Jordan Mensah.

- Montpelier Chamber Orchestra strings playing the works of African American composers, including Matthew Evan Taylor and Florence Price.

- Michael Arnowitt, pianist, performing the works of African American composers, civil rights music, as well as a piece he composed in honor of George Floyd. 

- Reverend Joan Javier Duval leading a grounding invocation and sharing her legacy tour experience.

- Verdis LeVar Robinson serving as Master of Ceremonies, with a background as both a Universalist Unitarian Minister and a professor of African American studies.

The event will be ticketed, with adult tickets at $20, senior tickets at $15 and the first 50 youth tickets sold are free (children 18 and under). There is not currently a working elevator at City Hall Arts Center. The event will be livestreamed to accommodate those who can not manage the steep steps. Llivestream provided by ORCA Media.

MCO is proud to bring virtuoso pianist Michael Arnowitt to perform on the new-to-us piano gifted to us this summer by a patron and housed at Lost Nation Theater. Thank you to Front Four Gallery for supporting our piano tuning fund.

Event sponsors include: Montpelier Alive, Ben and Jerry’s Foundation, Front Four Gallery, Lost Nation Theater, Paul Perley Cellos, and TURNmusic. Concession sponsor: Cold Hollow Cider Mill.

Creating a new event on this scale requires planning across multiple organizations and individual contributions. Want to sponsor or volunteer at this event? Email us! Ads are available for purchase in the program - well wishes and business ads accepted.

For parents and caregivers:

Learn about the history of the song, We Shall Overcome.

Learn about the role music, particularly protest songs, played in the Civil Rights Movement. How did these songs contribute to the movement's goals and message? Listen on Spotify.

Elevator Outage:

Due to the July 2023 Catastrophic Flooding, LNT/City Hall’s elevator is inoperable, requiring climbing stairs to attend in person. The concert will be available digitally on ORCA media to make the show accessible to those unable to physically join us. We appreciate your understanding during this emergency situation.

2025 spring program

Featuring the Holberg Suite by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) and additional pieces for chamber orchestra.

About the Holberg Suite: https://ton.bard.edu/griegs-holberg-suite/

Dates: March 22 7:30 pm and March 23 3 pm

Location: Lost Nation Theater at City Hall, Montpelier

Admission by donation. Suggested: Adults $20, Seniors $15, Kids ages 11-17 $10, ages 10 and under FREE.