Let Freedom Ring – what a celebration!

Our series Let Freedom Ring: Celebrating the Sounds of America came to a close on Thursday with Julia Bullock’s moving performance of songs by Gershwin, Bonds and Bernstein, and Dvořák’s New World Symphony.

Our players – and friends including a saxophone section and a banjo player – had a fantastic time playing music they knew and loved, like Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, and music many of them had never come across before, like James P. Johnson’s timpani-powered symphonic poem Drums and Margaret Bonds’s exquisite songs.

It was a privilege to perform with legends from the jazz world, including pianists Marcus Roberts and Danilo Pérez, drummers Jason Marsalis and Terri Lyne Carrington, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and singer esperanza spalding. Nicola Benedetti joined us for a memorable performance of Wynton Marsalis’s Violin Concerto, and Renaud Capuçon gave a “brilliantly fast-fingered” (The Guardian) account of Barber’s Violin Concerto.

Our Insights Day was an opportunity to learn more about the Chicago Renaissance, Aaron Copland’s travels in Mexico, and the ongoing influence of spirituals. You can read more on the themes and music of the series in our magazine

John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, Terri Lyne Carrington, esperanza spalding, Clark Rundell and Ravi Coltrane arm in arm at the end of their performance, in front of Philharmonia musicians.

Thousands of children enjoyed a lively introduction to American music in our Orchestra Unwrapped schools’ concerts in London, Leicester and Bedford. What better way to experience the incredible sound of a live orchestra for the first time than John Williams’s theme from Star Wars?

Our free late-night Philharmonia Big Band performance was one of the highlights of the series.

Watch this short clip and decide who was having the most fun – our Principal Conductor Santtu on drum kit, or the audience members who just couldn’t keep from dancing!

We made a YouTube playlist that brings together all the films we made to accompany Let Freedom Ring, including interviews with our Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop, violinist Nicola Benedetti, singer Julia Bullock, and conductor Ryan Bancroft.

Explore the playlist

Let Freedom Ring was supported by US Embassy London and Philharmonia Foundation USA.