Pew Center for Arts and Heritage

Get our monthly newsletter in your inbox for the latest on cultural events, ideas, conversations, and grantmaking news in Philadelphia and beyond.

Philadelphia Freedom Festival

Mann Center for the Performing Arts
Dr. Marvin Sapp performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra at \Gospel Meets Symphony
Dr. Marvin Sapp performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra at \Gospel Meets Symphony
The Philadelphia Orchestra performs at \Gospel Meets Symphony
The Philadelphia Orchestra performs at \Gospel Meets Symphony
The Philadelphia Orchestra with 2003 Pew Fellow Uri Caine and soprano Barbara Walker at \Gospel Meets Symphony
The Philadelphia Orchestra with 2003 Pew Fellow Uri Caine and soprano Barbara Walker at \Gospel Meets Symphony
André Raphel conducts at \Gospel Meets Symphony
André Raphel conducts at \Gospel Meets Symphony

The Mann Center for the Performing Arts will present the Philadelphia Freedom Festival, inspired by 19th-century African-American civil rights pioneer Octavius Catto, in 2014 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act's passage. The project's centerpiece will be the world premiere of a new 20-minute work by noted composer and Pew Fellow Uri Caine, to be performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, featured soloists, and a mass gospel choir. Caine plans to blend classical, spiritual, and gospel music, introducing various local audiences to new musical realms. He will also include a libretto based on Catto's legacy. "This is not eclecticism for its own sake but a natural combination of music that seeks to reflect a greater musical whole," Caine says. In keeping with overarching themes of freedom and brotherhood, the concert will include a performance of Duke Ellington's "Harlem," an ode to the Harlem Renaissance, and a gospel setting of "Battle Hymn of the Republic." In fall 2013, the Mann presented related activities, including a mass sing at Philadelphia's Tindley Temple and performances at local schools.

Recipient
Mann Center for the Performing Arts

Mann Center for the Performing Arts

As one of the country's largest non-profit open-air music centers, the Mann Center for the Performing Arts has presented world-class performing artists of diverse musical genres in Fairmount Park since 1930. The Mann hosts more than 300,000 visitors each year and offers educational programs.

More info
News

In the News: The Mann Center's Philadelphia Freedom Festival Finale Concert

Jul 21, 2014

The Mann Center for the Performing Arts Announces the Philadelphia Freedom Festival

Jan 22, 2014
Explore Connections

Poet Ross Gay on Sport and the Act of Looking
Video Cross-Disciplinary Practices
Denice Frohman, 2022 Pew Fellow.
Denice Frohman
Pew Fellow Literature
Cesar Viveros and Ada Trillo

Fellow to Fellow: Artists Cesar Viveros and Ada Trillo on Art Created from Memory and Cultural Identity
Interview Social & Community-Based Practices
TOWN, 2022, Theatre Horizon, Norristown, PA. Photo by John C. Hawthorne.
Building a Sense of Belonging through Community-Centered Theater
Essay Social & Community-Based Practices
Paint Factory performed by Darin Atwater and his Soulful Symphony, 2019, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Baltimore, MD. Photo by Stephen Cherry.
Black Metropolis: Improvisations on Paint Factory
Project Grant Performance
Sabaah Folayan, 2022 Pew Fellow.
Sabaah Folayan
Pew Fellow Film & Media
The Crossing Choir in Montana. Photo by Kevin Vondrak. 
Farming
Project Grant Performance
William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision
Project Grant Exhibitions & Public Interpretation
Pig Iron Theatre Company, The Path of Pins or the Path of Needles, directed by Josephine Decker, 2022, Rigby Mansion, Philadelphia, PA. Photo by Johanna Austin. 
Director Josephine Decker on Translating the Experience of Pregnancy into Performance
Video Practice & Process