A symphonic concert featuring the Songs of Harriet Tubman and Louise Farrenc's Third Symphony, presented in Women's History Month. Faculty conductor Cynthia Katsarelis (in the Program in Sacred Music at Notre Dame) leads a collaboration with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, and our invited guest, South African soprano Goitsemang Lehobye, in presenting the Songs of Harriet Tubman by American composer, Nkeiru Okoye, and the Third Symphony by the 19th-Century French composer, Louise Farrenc.Harriet Tubman is the quintessential liberation figure in American history. Her courage and activism has inspired many, including the civic leaders in South Bend who brought a beautiful statue of Harriet Tubman to Howard Park. Louise Farrenc was a virtuoso pianist and composer and the first women to serve full-time on the faculty of the Paris Conservatoire. Famously, she fought for, and attained, equal pay with her male colleagues.The pre-concert conversation  at 6:30 p.m. will focus on the meaning of Tubman for South Bend, a "station" on the Underground Railroad. Participants will include Alfred Guillaume, retired from IUSB, a civic leader who helped bring the inspiring Harriet Tubman statue to Howard Park.Nkeiru Okoye is one of the most exciting composers in America. Her works include operas, oratorios, music for orchestras, choruses, and chamber music ensembles, as well as song cycles. Her recent oratorio, When the Caged Bird Sings, premiered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2024 to great acclaim.Soprano Goitsemang Lehobye, a native of Ga-Rankuwa, South Africa, is an emerging star who in the last year has performed with the Finnish National Opera, the Minnesota Orchestra, and made her Carnegie Hall debut. Tickets are available at: performingarts.nd.edu Co-sponsorsed by the Program in Sacred Music at Notre Dame, Gender Studies, and the Department of Music.This concert is made possible in part by support from the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Letters.

A symphonic concert featuring the Songs of Harriet Tubman and Louise Farrenc's Third Symphony, presented in Women's History Month. Faculty conductor Cynthia Katsarelis (in the Program in Sacred Music at Notre Dame) leads a collaboration with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, and our invited guest, South African soprano Goitsemang Lehobye, in presenting the Songs of Harriet Tubman by American composer, Nkeiru Okoye, and the Third Symphony by the 19th-Century French composer, Louise Farrenc.Harriet Tubman is the quintessential liberation figure in American history. Her courage and activism has inspired many, including the civic leaders in South Bend who brought a beautiful statue of Harriet Tubman to Howard Park. Louise Farrenc was a virtuoso pianist and composer and the first women to serve full-time on the faculty of the Paris Conservatoire. Famously, she fought for, and attained, equal pay with her male colleagues.The pre-concert conversation at 6:30 p.m. will focus on the meaning of Tubman for South Bend, a "station" on the Underground Railroad. Participants will include Alfred Guillaume, retired from IUSB, a civic leader who helped bring the inspiring Harriet Tubman statue to Howard Park.Nkeiru Okoye is one of the most exciting composers in America. Her works include operas, oratorios, music for orchestras, choruses, and chamber music ensembles, as well as song cycles. Her recent oratorio, When the Caged Bird Sings, premiered in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2024 to great acclaim.Soprano Goitsemang Lehobye, a native of Ga-Rankuwa, South Africa, is an emerging star who in the last year has performed with the Finnish National Opera, the Minnesota Orchestra, and made her Carnegie Hall debut. Tickets are available at: performingarts.nd.edu Co-sponsorsed by the Program in Sacred Music at Notre Dame, Gender Studies, and the Department of MusicThis concert is made possible in part by support from the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame.