We are pleased to announce the Asian American Orchestra and Voices Of A Dream in collaboration with Dr. Angela Davis will premiere DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE Requiem for a King as the headlining musical event of the 2018 SF International Arts Festival (SFIAF) on May 26th at 8pm at Ft. Mason’s Cowell Theater. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE Requiem for a King is an inclusionary instrumental and vocal multi-movement jazz work scored for contemporary Western and traditional Asian instruments, featuring spoken word by Dr. Angela Davis, with solo and choral passages inspired by Spirituals, Freedom Songs, and contemporary vocal techniques. Visit http://www.sfiaf.org/ for more information.

This year’s festival's theme "Down by the Riverside" seeks to inspire a new generation of Americans to become engaged and active citizens. DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE Requiem for a King was inspired by Dr. King's most controversial speech, “Beyond Vietnam—A Time to Break Silence” at the Riverside Church in New York City on April 4 1967—one year to the day before he was assassinated. In this speech, King declared a strong antiwar stance questioning our nation’s military role in Vietnam. This opposition to the war was deemed extremely unpatriotic; he was vilified in the media, and mainstream America and even fellow civil rights leaders turned against him. 

Here is a link to MLK’s Riverside Church address, Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkatimetobreaksilence.htm