RPO Joins MLK Community-Wide Interfaith Worship Service

Rochester, NY – On Monday morning, January 19 from 8:45 – 10:45 am at the Eastman Theatre (60 Gibbs Street), the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra under Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik join the Community-wide Interfaith Worship Service in celebration of Martin Luther King Day.  This event is presented by The Martin Luther King, Jr. Greater Rochester Commission, and is free and open to the public.  The Commission was founded in 1985 by Willis Sprattling and Isaiah Jackson, who at the time was the RPO’s Associate Conductor.

Master of Ceremonies will be Mayor Robert J. Duffy, with Reverend Rickey Bernard Harvey, Sr. Pastor at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Rochester as the keynote speaker.  Additional speeches will be featured as will performances by the Interfaith Mass Choir.  The service is entitled: “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?”

During the processional, the RPO will perform “Call to Worship” from Tyzik’s own Pleasant Valley Suite.  Other musical interludes featuring the RPO will include Tyzik’s New Orleans Spiritual Trilogy featuring RPO trumpeter Herb Smith; Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man; and a combined performance with the Interfaith Choir of Tyzik’s Gospel Hallelujah Chorus.

For further information, please contact Dr. Richard Williams, chairperson of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Greater Rochester Commission at (585) 334-7697 or doc@blackfamilysite.com.