Next Monday, Jan. 19, a number of young Dorchester vocalists will help mark the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday as a much more than simply a day off from school and work. The Boston Children’s Chorus’s annual MLK concert at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, the very place where Coretta Scott met her future husband, is the city’s highest profile musical tribute event.
The 2014 film “Selma,” fittingly surging at the box office just in time for the national holiday and starring South African actor David Oyelowo in a compelling performance as Dr King, is jogging memories of the civil rights champion’s life and legacy. The film just won a Golden Globe Best Song Award for “Glory” by John Legend and Common, also reminding viewers about the impact of folk music in consciousness-raising.
The BCC’s 12th annual MLK concert, with the theme “Cross That River,” further underscores the folk roots of the civil rights movement as well as the importance of music in peaceful protests. Artistic Director Anthony Trecek-King highlighted the water motif when choosing for the program such familiar songs as “Wading Deep Waters,” “I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today,” “Deep River,” and “Let the River Run.”
Over the years the BCC’s MLK tribute concert has welcomed many nationally known guest artists, and this year the group collaborates with Grammy-winner Dom Flemons and his ensemble.
Flemons’s Facebook page describes him as an “ ‘American Songster,’ pulling from traditions of old-time folk music to create new sounds. Having performed professionally since 2005, he has played live for over one million people just within the past three years.” As part of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, he shared in the group’s 2010 Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album
Accomplished on many instruments, Flemons plays banjo, guitar, harmonica, fife, bones, bass drum, snare drum, and quills, in addition to singing. He’ll display his wide-ranging skills, especially on a few solo turns during the concert when playing works by composers like Bob Dylan and Paul Simon.
On stage with Flemons will be ten Dorchester residents hailing from BCC’s sub choirs: Concert Choir, Premier Choir, Young Men’s Ensemble, and Central Intermediate Advanced. Many of the following are themselves veterans of BCC’s MLK tributes: Shantel Teixeira, Shayane Dalencourt-Simon, Teresa Flaherty, Akazha Roberts, Hanifah Bostic, Abigail Robinson, Demetra Vernet, Khamari Barnes, Nick Flores, and Richard Dang.
The BCC is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic arts education organization that purposefully unites area children ages 7-18 across differences of race, religion, and economic status. Its singers transcend social barriers in a celebration of shared humanity and love of music. Through intensive choral training and high-profile public performance experiences, they learn discipline, develop leadership skills, and bring to audience’s ears and hearts that “symphony of brotherhood.”
In a departure from the practice of past years, there will be no afternoon performance. The only show will be at Jordan Hall at 7 p.m. For ticket information on “Cross That River,” visit bostonchildrenschorus.org.
