There’s a lot of water between the UK & the USA. 'Sure hate to have to wade it,' my great grandmother from Alabama once said. There is more than an ocean and a common language that separate us, especially today. But as the USA marks 250 years it feels right to say something about this country that always has something to say. So here I wade in.
America: millions of origin stories
As a long relocated dual-national I’ve spent most of my working life either proud of or apologising for the land of my birth, trying to synthesise a personal and musical life between my past and my adopted country. There are literally millions of American origin stories, each one contributing to the land that became the USA. Mine dates to when my 12-year-old immigrant ancestor found passage on a ship in Portsmouth Harbour bound for the new world and landed in Jamestown in 1610. Or was it when my 2x great grandmother, a Seneca-Iroquois woman, married a Quebecois man only for both to be banished from their families and forced to start a new life in the Dakotas?
No matter which thread is pulled, there will no doubt be stories of dreams and nightmares all contributing to the iconic culture that has influenced the world for the past 250 years. I now find myself in a privileged position as director of the BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus to look behind the stereotypes of America and explore its multifaceted history through some perhaps surprising voices, and also some familiar ones.
The birth of America is also a European story
The story of the birth of the USA is also a European story, and a British one at that. A story of explorers and colonisers, people fleeing persecution and seeking opportunity in a brave new world. A rich tapestry of immigrants and human invention creating some of the world’s most iconic art that permeates every corner of the globe. But this American Empire has its own dark origins. It’s also a story of indigenous cultures crushed and rolled over by the forces of empire and manifest destiny. A story of people enslaved and made to suffer in a manner that is quite literally the definition of inhumanity.
Yet from these stories we hear some of America’s strongest voices. The descendants of enslaved Black Americans dominate popular culture around the world and can claim the origins of America’s original music, jazz, as well as a myriad other rich forms. Immigrants from around the world came to America to escape persecution and pursue their own American dream, bringing with them traditions that would supercharge a new creative juggernaut.
And the many indigenous cultures that suffered at the hands of a string of different oppressors have, in fact, not disappeared and are ready to sing their own stories. With the current government in Washington seeing itself as challenging the narrative of history and even – some would say – the nature of truth, these voices deserve to be heard more than ever, and what better way to mark the milestone of 250 years than to hold up a mirror, reflect on how America came to this point and wonder where it will go next.
Making America: the BBC Symphony Orchestra explores American musical voices
And so it is that Making America, the BBC SO’s mini-season marking this moment, takes a deep dive into these unique American voices, unfolding across four concerts at the Barbican from 24 April to 22 May. There is much to experience with familiar masterpieces from immigrants like Korngold’s Violin Concerto and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, from John Adams’s orchestral universe, Harmonielehre, to Bernard Herrmann’s Vertigo Suite.
A new work by jazz great Billy Childs featuring saxophonist Stephen Banks explores the African American diaspora plus myths and icons meet in Du Yun’s Hundred Heads and British composer Ryan Latimer’s Bestia for trumpeter Selina Ott. But the highlight for me is the world premiere of Requiem for America: Singing for the Invisible People by Native American composer Brent Michael Davids. This important new work will feature Davids himself on Native American flute, an ensemble of eight Native American performers alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus conducted by Teddy Abrams.
The world is having a complex relationship with the USA right now and some might question why we would choose this topic as a creative focus for a musical series. But I would affirm that this is what artists do in times of turmoil, they create the space where questions are asked, about who we are and how we act towards one another. I would encourage you to take the opportunity to share these experiences, join us at Barbican Concert Hall for something unique and powerful.
Details of Making America, including how to book tickets, can be found at BBC Symphony Orchestra - Events - BBC.
