Click the PLAY button for video of Roy Harris “Bicentennial Symphony”.

Junteenth 2009 Recap and News Coverage

Roy Harris 14th Symphony, also known as the “Bicentennial Symphony” premiered in Washington D.C., February 10-12, 1976 with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It is the strongest musical statement on U.S. History, slavery, and race relations ever made by an American composer.The west coast premiere and first performance of the “Bicentennial Symphony” since the 1976 premiere was held June 13, 2009 as centerpiece of ‘Junteenth: Celebrating the Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln‘, Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 1950 Lemon Ave. starting at 12:00 noon.
Juneteenth has always been a special celebration in Long Beach, staged yearly at King Park.

Although it is a celebration of the emancipation of slaves, like most things Long Beach, it has evolved into a celebration of multiculturalism. And in recent years that has been reflected in the music and entertainment.

So, fittingly, the West Coast premiere of Harris’ symphony was followed by hip-hop music and break dancing by performers from the Homeland Cultural Center, Laotian music from the Hmong Association Arts program and rhythm and blues and Latin jazz.

LINK: Statement in Support of Juneteenth into the Congressional Record

LINK: The Long Beach Ledger newspaper article on Juneteenth – June 11, 2009 (PDF file)

Endorsed by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission

Click here to visit the Archive.org snapshot of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission website.

Juneteenth: Celebrating the Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln Photo gallery