Crowd packs Powers for symphony's MLK tribute

By Sarah Poulton

Vindy.com correspondent

The bitter cold air that filled the streets of Youngstown didn’t hinder nearly 2,000 people who shared the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy at Edward W. Powers Auditorium Saturday evening.

Black and white, young and old came together for the fourth annual Musical Tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The program featured some of the area’s finest talent in a two-hour musical and visual tribute to King’s struggles and sacrifices for the Civil Rights Movement.

The tribute featured the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, the MLK Celebration Chorus, choreographer Andria William’sok dance team, students from the Youngstown Early College Program, Mayor Jay Williams and his wife, Sonja Williams.

This is the first year the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra joined the MLK Chorus for the Martin Luther King Jr. Musical Tribute. Younstown Symphony’s new music director, Randall Craig Fleisher, and his wife, Heidi Joyce, wrote “Spiritual Journey” as a celebration of MLK’s life.

Arnold Wagner, musical director of the MLK Chorus, said this is the third year the group has participated in the event. The multi-racial, multi-cultural chorus comprises 75 community members ranging in age from 15 to 70.

They sang a variety of music from classic sacred to Negro spiritual.

“It’s a variety of music all designed to celebrate Martin Luther King and his struggle for freedom,” Wagner said.

Youngstown Symphony Society President Pat Syakok said she considers “Spiritual Journey” to be the cornerstone of the tribute. She said there were parts of past performances the organizers wanted to keep, but at the same time, they wanted to explore new avenues.

“Spiritual Journey,” based on the texts of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches, is a narrative piece that combines symphonic music and spirituals, she said.

It’s been a tremendous artistic collaboration as well as a collaboration between institutions,” Syak said. “...Quite frankly, this is what this is all about. If [King] were here today, I think he would applaud this endeavor.”

While the piece had been performed before in many different venues, this is in a way a premier of a piece.

Fleisher said he recently revised his 1991 piece in order to add the chorus and divide the narration between two people.

He initially wrote the piece to be performed by the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. He used Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” as inspiration to reflect how the Civil Rights Movement and black culture influenced classical music.

“[Spiritual Journey has] always gotten a very positive reaction,” Fleisher said.

For a video montage of events that shaped Dr. King's life and America during the civil rights movement, visit http://www.youtube.com/v/w61QB8_KOuc&rel=1.