What powerful dream would compel you to travel by wagon and foot across the entire country? Across the Great Plains and deserts, through the Rocky Mountain passes facing starvation, predators, disease and the elements?

More than 500,000 people set out on such a journey on the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trail, just one of a series of notable migrations in America’s history; some taken voluntarily by people seeking new opportunities and some by those forced to march.

Whether on long, perilous journeys or wherever one calls home, music has communicated joy and provided a means for survival. Folk music ties to one’s past and the dream of a future; Spirituals inspired hope for freedom and were integral to community.

“You can cage the singer but not the song.”

–Harry Belafonte

Copland’s Old American Songs includes Shall We Gather at the River—a song expressing dreams of a better life—and the beloved Simple Gifts. Copland’s use of the Shaker melody elevated it to the role of an indelible American anthem.

This program includes folk songs by Stephen Foster, considered the father of American music, and Spiritual arrangements by William Grant Still, known as Dean of African American Composers. Standing shoulder to shoulder with these giants is William Billings and the Sacred Harp tradition, perhaps the oldest form of truly American music. Sung a cappella, this music raises the roof!