This special annual holiday event will amplify messages of diversity and hope for this festive season. “The Ballad of the Brown King,” a Christmas cantata composed by Margaret Bonds, in collaboration with the Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes, will be performed in Seattle for the first time. Written in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr, Bonds’ nine-movement choral work focuses on Balthazar, the “Brown King” of the Three Kings, who traveled to Bethlehem to witness the nativity scene.
Seasonal works composed and arranged by Black musicians round out this family holiday tradition, and they include:
“St. Francis’ Prayer” by Margaret Bonds
“Song for Snow” by Florence Price
“A Carol for All Children” by Adolphus Hailstork
“Ave Maria” by R. Nathaniel Dett
“I Believe This Is Jesus” arranged by Undine Smith Moore
“Christus Natus Est” by Rosephanye Powell
“Silent Night” arranged by Rhonda Polay
“This Little Light of Mine” arranged by Moses Hogan
“Glory, Glory, Glory to the Newborn King” arranged by Moses Hogan
As always, a candlelit rendition of “Silent Night” will conclude the concert.
