Community Music Center of Houston Presents the 42nd Annual Musical Tribute in Honor of Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr.
Two Performances Across Houston in Partnership with Christ Church Cathedral and St. Philip Presbyterian Church
HOUSTON, TX — The Community Music Center of Houston (CMCH) will present its 42nd Annual Musical Tribute in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in two performances across Houston, featuring the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra (SJCO), guest vocalists, choir, and spoken word.This free, family-friendly annual tribute brings together orchestral works, spirituals, contemporary Black classics, and dramatic oratory to amplify Dr. King’s legacy and affirm the ongoing fight for social justice and equality.
Performance Dates & Locations
Performance One
Saturday, January 17, 2026 | 7:00 PM
Christ Church Cathedral
Performance Two
Sunday, January 18, 2026 | 5:00 PM
St. Philip Presbyterian Church
4807 San Felipe, Houston, TX 77056
Both concerts are free and open to the public. Donations are accepted.
Program Highlights
The tribute will showcase masterworks from the canon of Black American music, including spirituals and early classical compositions, that reflect the depth and breadth of Black musical genius. The evening opens with an audience-led rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the enduring classic written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900 and composed by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson. SJCO will perform “The Bamboula – Rhapsodic Dance” by early 20th-century Afro-English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, followed by the African American spirituals “Soon I Will Be Done” and “Follow the Drinking Gourd.”
The program continues with selections from George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess,” performed by classical vocalists Dorceal Duckens (baritone) and Mahoganee Medlock (soprano). Premiered in 1935 during the Jim Crow era, the opera’s path into major U.S. opera houses was slow and fraught. As Opera Gene notes, Porgy and Bess received its first major American opera-house production in 1979 at Houston Grand Opera, six years before its debut at the Metropolitan Opera.
The program then moves the canon forward into the modern era with a tribute to Grammy Award–winning artist D’Angelo, whose work embodies the evolving lineage of Black musical expression. SJCO will feature “Brown Sugar” and “Cruisin’” from D’Angelo’s landmark debut album Brown Sugar, inviting audiences to experience how Black musical traditions continue to advance and shape American culture.
Intermission and Second Half
After intermission, vocalists Duckens and Medlock return to perform Reverend Dr. Lena McLin’s operatic work Free At Last, A Portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1973). McLin, a childhood friend of Dr. King and one of America’s foremost Black composers, was mentored by her uncle, Thomas A. Dorsey, widely known as the “Father of Gospel Music.”
At each performance, the host church choir—joined by guest vocalists—will lift McLin’s tribute with full choral force.
Words from Dr. Anne Lundy
“In today’s political climate marked by deep division, we are reminded of Dr. King’s warning about forces ‘dripping with interposition and nullification.’ His words are unfortunately as relevant to us today,” said Dr. Anne Lundy, Music Director of CMCH and founder of the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra. “Our partnerships with Christ Church Cathedral and St. Philip Presbyterian Church reflect his Beloved Community in action—people choosing unity and compassion as a collective act of hope. We have to have hope, or we’re lost.” Dr. Lundy continued, “Dr. King’s accomplishments are so significant, from the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington to the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the Nobel Peace Prize. But it is his 1968 sermon, The Drum Major Instinct, that has really resonated with me. It has touched my soul—a powerful message delivered near the end of his life.” She added, quoting Dr. King: “If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I just want to leave a committed life behind.”
Oratory and Community Finale
At both performances, a member of Texas Southern University’s internationally renowned debate team will deliver excerpts from Dr. King’s most powerful speeches, creating a dialogue between music and oratory that honors his enduring influence on the nation’s conscience. Each evening will conclude with an open invitation for audiences to stand together and sing “We Shall Overcome,” the Civil Rights anthem that continues to embody Dr. King’s clarion call for justice, equality, and freedom for all humanity.
Learn more about Dr. King’s legacy:
The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change — https://thekingcenter.org
