Monday, 1/26/2026 7:00pm | Ford Hall Special Event: MLK Concert Free, open to the public

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The annual School of Music, Theatre, and Dance MLK Celebration will be held on Monday, January 26 at 7:00 p.m. in Ford Hall.

This concert will feature the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers, the Ithaca College Choir, South Hill Singers, Jazz Ensemble, Trombone Troupe, Jazz Vocal Ensemble, and the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra.

For more than twenty years, the Ithaca College School of Music, Theatre, and Dance has honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through this annual musical tribute celebrating his life, leadership, and enduring influence.

The theme of the 2026 concert, Fanfare for the Common Man, explores the profound impact of Dr. King’s life and work on the ongoing struggle for social justice, human rights, and collective humanity.

The centerpiece of the program will be Free at Last: A Cantata by Lena McLin, composed in response to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. McLin has shared that on the night of Dr. King’s death, she felt the spirit of Dr. King come to her, compelling her to write. Though she initially resisted, the persistent call would not leave her, and when she finally relented, she recalled that the music poured out of her.

McLin’s powerful composition examines the struggle of African Americans in the United States from the era of slavery through the assassination of Dr. King. Throughout the cantata, the recurring refrain — “God sent a leader to right the nation’s wrong” — serves as both a musical anchor and a prophetic statement, affirming Dr. King’s enduring legacy and the continued call to justice.