Bayard Rustin 1912-1987
Excitement is building as the World House Choir and Cincinnati singing friends rehearse for the performance of the powerful 57-minute oratorio: Bayard Rustin: The Man Behind the Dream.
We have invited singers from several area choirs including the Dayton Gay Men’s Chorus, Cincinnati Men’s Chorus, MUSE, Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir, several area church choirs and the Martin Luther King Coalition Chorale to join us in performing this piece and we have gathered a mass chorus of over 150 singers.
This electrifying work by Cincinnati composer Steve Milloy is scored for mass chorus, two soloists and a small instrumental ensemble. It tells the dramatic story of Bayard Rustin, a close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rustin not only introduced King to Ghandian non-violent methods of protest, he was also largely responsible for organizing the massive and historic March on Washington in 1963.
But because he was an openly gay man in mid-twentieth century America, Rustin was forced to remain in the background of the movement.
Rustin with Dr. King at the March on Washington in 1963
Milloy’s work contains a rich variety of musical genres from African-American Spirituals to reggae to folk music to rap and dramatic spoken word. Rustin had a beautiful tenor voice and one movement opens with a recording of his singing the spiritual, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.”
The World House Choir and Cincinnati singing friends will perform Bayard Rustin: The Man Behind the Dream four times in our region:
- In Yellow Springs on Thursday September 6 and Saturday September 8 at Antioch College’s Foundry Theater. Performance times are 7pm.
- In Dayton on Friday September 7, 7pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church.
- In Cincinnati on Sunday September 9 at 4pm at the House Of Joy Christian Ministries
In addition to the four performances, there are numerous symposium events in both the Dayton and Cincinnati areas that will educate about Rustin’s life. A full schedule of concerts and symposium events can be viewed here
