On Wednesday October 1st, we start rehearsals for FREEDOM SONG.
The concert is on Friday December 12th 2025 at 7 30 pm in Turner Sims, Southampton - our home.
SING IT LOUD, SING IT CLEAR!
'The Jubilee Singers are to appear in London. I heard them sing once, & I would walk seven miles to hear them sing again... they reproduce the true melody of the plantations, & are the only persons I ever heard accomplish this on the public platform'
Mark Twain, 1873
In 1871 a group of singers from Nashville, Tennessee, took to the road to raise money for their university. But this was no ordinary student choir. The FiskJubilee Singers were freed slaves. Their mission was not only to build the first black University after emancipation but to fight for the right of all
African Americans to be educated.
Facing down racial abuse and physical hardship, they introduced the world to plantation spirituals: "songs of sorrow" such as Steal Away and Swing Low Sweet Chariot which were forged in the crucible of slavery and have gone on to become anthems of freedom and equality.
They toured the USA and Europe. They serenaded Queen Victoria and performed in concert halls and cathedrals across Britain.They sang in cities and towns all over the UK, including Southampton and went on to thrill audiences around the world. They remain beacons of the civil rights movement.
'They sing so beautifully, they must be from the Music City.'
Queen Victoria, 1875
Sponsored by the president of the Ragged School Union, Lord Shaftesbury, they sang at Ragged Schools in Hackney and in Dr Barnardo's school at Hope Place.
In Freedom Song a century and a half later, USV tell the Singers' inspiring story. Working from diaries, historical records and the choir's own songbook, composer Harvey Brough and playwright Justin Butcher have reconstructed their struggles. The choir will be joined by a professional band and soloists on a musical journey which celebrates the power of music to overcome oppression and bring people from all backgrounds together.
TurnerSimsSouthampton
More information and the ticket link here:
https://www.turnersims.co.uk/whats-on/freedom-song-usv/