Our People: a Celebration of Black and Queer Voices

So Loud, So Proud

The multimedia program Our People is a celebration of Black and queer voices. Tonight, we celebrate who you are and honor those who made that freedom possible. The program by tenor singer Freddie Ballentine and pianist Kunal Lahiry is based on four pillars: Isolation, the estrangement from society because you are different, as well as the peace that this realization brings. Damnation, which centers on the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. The third pillar is Requiem, a tribute to those who did not live to see where we are today. And finally, Revolution: So Loud, So Proud. We are here and celebrating that we are exuberant and full of pride in who we are.

Ballroom

Interacting with the ballroom dancers, Ballentine and Lahiry take you on a journey that resonates with many: the voyage of discovery to be who you are, and to embrace and celebrate that with pride. Featuring plenty of classical music by Schubert, Purcell, and Rachmaninoff, among others, alongside songs from The AIDS Quilt Songbook by Ricky Ian Gordon (I Never Knew), John Musto (Heartbeats), and David Krakauer (The 80's Miracle Diet), and proud anthems like My People by Ricky Ian Gordon and the defiant Backlash Blues by Nina Simone.