A new choral work marking the nation’s 250th anniversary will debut Sunday at Orchestra Hall, launching a yearlong project that asks what civic responsibility looks like in the United States today.
The project, led by Celia Ellingson and Gary Aamodt, will unfold over the next year as a nationwide choral and instrumental collaboration.
Throughout 2026, 175 different choirs in 30 states will take part in performing "Sing Democracy 250," which will mark the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The first of the two new works, “Redeem the Dream,” is by Brandon A. Boyd. It offers a look back at American History. The song’s lyrics are from the poem "Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes.
They were drawn to the poem because it acknowledges who had access to the “American Dream.”
“He points out correctly that unless you were a male who owned land in the beginning of this country, you were not eligible to participate in the full promise of the declaration,” she said.
Written in 1935, the poem was a product of what the Harlem Renaissance writer saw as the profound disparity between the proclaimed dream and the realities of inequality that Black Americans, the working class and other marginalized groups faced.
“It ends on a very powerful note of hope that America can be and still will be what the founders dreamed it would be,” Ellingson said.
The song includes influences from jazz, folk, blues, and gospel.
The second piece is based on Richard Haass’s writing about civic responsibility in the book “The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens.” The song composed by Michael Bussewitz-Quarm is named “Us.”
“People ask him all the time, ‘what's the greatest threat to America?’” she said. “He always points out that it's us. You know, we are our greatest threat; it is from within.”
They said weaving past and present was essential to the piece. The goal is to encourage people to recognize opportunities for civic engagement today.
“Recognize that we're not perfect. We haven't reached that more perfect union yet that the Constitution speaks of, but that it's up to us,” she said. “We, the people, are the ones who can do that.”
Ellingson says recent events in Minneapolis have shown what civic responsibility can look like.
“The response of Minnesotans to those circumstances was, in itself, inspiring and a demonstration of how we can speak up, take care of our neighbors, exercise our rights of free speech and assembly, and to do so without violence.”
There will be four performances across the U.S. that feature the Twin Cities’ Together In Hope Choir alongside local groups. Sunday’s performance at Orchestra Hall will also feature St. Scholastica Chamber Choir, Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragon Choir, Choral Arts Ensemble Singers from Rochester, Honors Choirs of SE Minnesota and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
