'Freedom Songs' is April 11 at TC

Apr 04, 2023

Temple College Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Sara Harris Baker, will perform Freedom Songs on April 11 at the Mary Alice Marshall Performing Arts Center. Steve Lemmons photo

DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE

An April 11 concert at Temple College will feature songs inspired by freedom fighters from around the world, including a tune with lyrics penned by Thomas Jefferson, a song about the life of Harriet Tubman and a traditional Southern spiritual.

The concert — Freedom Songs — will be performed by the Temple College Chorale at 7:30 p.m. in the Mary Alice Marshall Performing Arts Center.

“After our all-Mozart concert during the fall semester, it seemed like a good time for Chorale to explore more contemporary composers,” said Dr. Sara Harris Baker, Chorale director and Temple College’s Fine Arts director.

“Singing has been relevant in bringing change and peace to various parts of the world,” Baker said, “The act of singing bonds people together under a common goal, much like the calls for revolution.”

Chorale is a premiere, auditioned choral ensemble made up of music students from Temple College and Texas A&M-Central Texas, alongside members of the community.

Freedom Songs will include:

Randall Thompson’s Testament of Freedom, the lyrics of which are the writings of Thomas Jefferson
Stand Up from the movie Harriet, about the life of Harriet Tubman
Ani Ma’amin, a Hebrew song sung by prisoners in concentration camps during World War II
Tshosholoza from South Africa, sung by those opposing apartheid
Myr Zaraz, a song in Ukrainian calling for peace
Ain’t No Grave Can Hold My Body Down, a traditional spiritual from the southern United States
Do You Hear the People Sing from Les Miserables, the anthem of the French revolutionaries