Details

Freedom Song - When Gospel Came to the Empire by Harvey Brough (music) and Justin Butcher (words). Sing it loud, sing it clear! Vox Holloway and the Hackney Empire Community Choir return to the Empire with their soulful hit show. In 1871 a group of singers from Nashville, Tennessee, took to the road to raise money for their university. But this was no ordinary student choir. The Fisk Jubilee Singers were freed slaves. Their mission was not only to build the first black University in the Southern States after emancipation but also to fight for the right of all African Americans to be educated. Facing down racial abuse and physical hardship, they introduced the world to plantation spirituals, ‘songs of sorrow' never before heard in public. They toured the USA and Europe, where, incredibly, they serenaded Queen Victoria and performed in concert halls and cathedrals across Britain. They sang in Hackney and went on to thrill audiences around the world. They remain beacons of the civil rights movement 150 years on. In Freedom Song, two local community choirs are joined by a professional band and soloists on a musical journey which celebrates the power of music to overcome oppression and bring people from all backgrounds together.

Cast/Performers

Justin Butcher (Mr George White), Greg Wise (Abraham Lincoln / Gladstone / Others), Emily Dankworth (Soprano / Soloists), Christina Gill (Mezzo / Soloists), Wills Morgan (Tenor / Soloists), Michael Henry (Bass / Soloists), Finn Peters (Sax / Flutes), Mike Outram (Guitar), Liam Dunachie (Piano / Hammond), Alec Dankworth (Bass), Nic France (Drums), Hackney Empire Choir, Vox Holloway Choir

Creatives/Company

Music: Harvey Brough
Lyrics: Justin Butcher
Presented by(s): Vox Holloway, Hackney Empire
Director(s): Harvey Brough, Joseph Roberts, Harvey Brough
Company: Stoke Newington School Singers