On Monday January 20th, 2025, Building Bridges with Music will host a myriad of creative arts events at Commongrounds and the City Opera House to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Day of Service Schedule:
10-10:45am Music for Kids in The Alluvion: Miriam Pico leads a music class perfect for kindergarten and younger and their grownups with stories about MLK
12-2pm in Commongrounds: FREE Community Lunch provided by NoBo Riverside
2-2:45pm in the Commongrounds Hive: Laura Adams leads an MLK inspired art project for elementary and middle school aged children
3-4pm in The Alluvion: West Middle School and The Leelanau School perform Poetry about Human Rights
6pm Doors open at the City Opera House
6:30pm The Brazeal Dennard Chorale with NMC Choirs at the City Opera House
All Day art and music installations at Commongrounds featuring performers, Jimmy Olson and SkyeLea, and multiinstrumentalists Joe Wilson and Kevin Larose
The evening performance at the City Opera House is a FREE ticketed event. Tickets available at https://cityoperahouse.org/node/637
Art, music, and poetry will fill the walls and halls of Commongrounds and The Alluvion on MLK day, with a FREE community lunch served from 12-2pm. The day's events will culminate at the City Opera House at 6:30pm with Detroit’s Brazeal Dennard Chorale and Traverse City’s NMC Choirs in an evening of choral music and intercommunity collaboration.
Detroit’s Brazeal Dennard Chorale celebrated their 50th year in 2023 as one of the first African American acapella ensembles. The Brazeal Dennard Chorale has committed these years to maintaining the African American tradition of unaccompanied singing by “remembering, discovering, and preserving the music of African American composers”. Directed by versatile artist, Alice McAllister Tillman, The Brazeal Dennard Chorale holds values resonant with Dr. King; “building community engagement, collaborating and performing nationwide, and promoting inclusivity and excellence.”
All events are sponsored by Building Bridges with Music with support from
Commongrounds, Northwestern Michigan College, Kwikprint, and the City Opera House.