(Photo credit: Kia Caldwell Photography)

Soprano Karen Slack will present “To Sit and Dream,” a concert comprised of the poems of Langston Hughes on March 17 in Philadelphia.

In partnership with the Wharton-Wesley Faith Ensemble and Philadelphia soprano Slack will give a program of music by Black composers centered on four choral settings of Hughes’ poetry. Composers included on the program are Roland Carter, Christopher H. Harris, Undine Smith Moore, Rosephanye Powell, Florence Price, Michael Reid, André J. Thomas, and Nolan J. Williams, Jr. Elizabeth Braden and Theodore Thomas, Jr. conduct.

Veronica Chapman-Smith, Vice President of Community Initiatives at Opera Philadelphia says of the concert, “These four poems by Langston Hughes speak about dreams – how we can and must dream of a better world, and how we must also protect dreams from our harsh world. The other songs on the program lift what we might dream about: faith; hope; redemption; justice; finding beauty all around; and love.”

“To Sit and Dream” begins at 3 pm at Tindley Temple United Methodist Church. Tickets are available at a “pay what you decide” price.