Join Cantate Concert Choir, baritone Anthony D. Anderson, and a chamber orchestra for a classic choral holiday celebration featuring beloved choruses from Handel’s Messiah, together with Vaughan Williams’ gorgeous Fantasia on Christmas Carols and more joyous holiday music by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Dan Forrest, and Shawn Kirchner. Cantate’s 2025-2026 cohort of Lift Every Voice fellows elevates the evening with a selection of dazzling seasonal oratorio solos polished during their residency with Cantate.

Ode to Freedom, Ode to Joy is a powerful concert that intertwines the timeless message of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the spirit of Black empowerment and joy. Performed by New Orchestra of Washington, Washington Douglass Chorale and soloists from Denyce Graves Foundation, this program breathes new life into Beethoven’s iconic work, resonating deeply with the themes of freedom and unity.

Anthony will perform as the Bass Soloist.

Three scenes tell the story of African American photographer Thomas Askew (1847-1914), an Atlanta resident whose images captured the dignity of African Americans during a time when only stereotypical imagery of Blacks circulated.

The development of Faces in the Flames received funding from OPERA America’s IDEA Opera Grants program, supported by the Charles and Cerise Jacobs Charitable Foundation.

Anthony will sing the role of Freedman/W.E.B. Dubois/Townsman.

Join us in celebrating Black History Month by honoring the contributions of black composers in classical music through musical and spoken word performances. Performers include The Denyce Graves Foundation and CAAPA – Coalition of African-American Performing Arts, under the direction of Michele Fowlin. Free, online registration required. Livestream available.