The Dream Unfinished presents: #SingHerName
The Dream Unfinished is an activist orchestra which aligns with NYC-based civil rights organizations.
In 2015, our debut season included three chamber concerts and headline symphonic concert, which marked the one-year anniversary of Eric Garner's passing. This year we are focusing on women of color who have been impacted by police violence, through the music of Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and Ethel Smyth.
#SingHerName Chamber Series
Our chamber series will take place in venues throughout Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn, and include panel discussions with activists from partner organizations the Center for Constitutional Rights and Black Women's Blueprint. These chamber concerts will be free-of-charge and open to the public.
#SingHerName Headline Concert
Our headline event will take place on July 13, 2016, to mark the one-year anniversary of Sandra Bland's passing, and take place in Cooper Union's The Great Hall. The orchestral and choral concert will feature a world premiere by composer Courtney Bryan, with text by poet Sharan Strange. The #SingHerName chorus and The Dream Unfinished Orchestra will be led by Grammy-nominated and Grammy-award-winning conductors James Blachly and John McLaughlin Williams. Proceeds from the concert will go towards our partner organizations. Soloists include WQXR's Helga Davis, pianist Michelle Cann, and Fiddler on the Roof's Kelly Hall-Tompkins will act as concertmaster for the performance.
What the money is for:
- $10,000 funds a three-part chamber series, 45-member chorus, 55-member orchestra, the commission of a new work, and covers free admission for 100 community members in our headline concert.
- $15,000 funds all of the above, and includes an additional chamber concert, expands the ensembles to a 60-member chorus and 70-member orchestra, and covers free admission of 200 community members into our headline concert.
- $20,000 funds all of the above, with an additional free orchestral concert programming the works of our featured 2016 and 2015 composers.
What backers receive:
Priority Access: At our headline event, backers of all levels, will be admitted into the hall 5 minutes in advance of general seating. Backers will also have reserved front row seats in all chamber events.
An Activist Orchestra?
People are skeptical when we call ourselves an activist orchestra, and that is the point. Unlike what most assume, many classical musicians care passionately about what's happening on the streets outside of their concert halls and practice rooms. By using the orchestra as a tool for social justice, and by showing that even classical musicians care about people like Sandra Bland and Eric Garner, this promotes greater awareness to the issues we're raising.
Classical music has its own history of racism, especially in regard to the composers we perform and the musicians we hire. With our unwavering commitment to program unsung composers, and our bringing together of what many called "the most diverse orchestra they'd ever seen in New York City," we want to address these discriminatory practices head-on. By bringing these issues to the forefront, and showing that classical music has the potential to truly be a universal language that embraces people of all backgrounds, we hope to inspire audiences to work towards a society that does the same.
Still not convinced? Check out these clips from last year's headline event:
Or read about last year on:
Alex Ross's Blog, The Rest is Noise
Risks & Challenges
We've done our research and curated the musical programming. We've secured speakers such as Gina Belafonte and Terrance McKnight. We've begun recruiting musicians for our ensembles. We just need the funding to fill the hall and make the music happen. While we're prepared to undertake this series with the shoestring budget we had last year, the more capital we have, the more noise we can make for social justice, and the more audiences we can bring to our music. The louder we can Sing Her Name.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can't contribute to our campaign, there are other ways you can support The Dream Unfinished:
- Help us spread the word and share our campaign on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
- Join us at one of our chamber concerts; they're free and open to the public.
- Follow our campaign updates as we shape our season.
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Contact Us
if you're interested in volunteering at any of our upcoming events.
Whether it's as small as a $1 or a tweet, your support makes all the difference. Be an instrument for change. Help us today. And join us this year as we Sing Her Name.
