BALTIMORE — This weekend, Baltimore’s historic Jonestown neighborhood will host the first-ever Voices in Solidarity: Baltimore’s Black and Jewish Operatic History festival, a unique celebration that merges music, history, and community engagement.
Organized by Opera Baltimore, the festival aims to honor the deep-rooted connections between Black and Jewish communities while fostering constructive dialogue regarding their shared past, present, and future.
Nicole Steinberg, the Cultural Programs Coordinator for Opera Baltimore, emphasized that music serves as a potent medium for uniting people, especially in environments where discussions can often be challenging.
Opera Baltimore hosts inaugural Voices in Solidarity festival on August 30
Opera Baltimore aims to unite communities through a new festival on Sunday
“Music acts as a gateway that transforms spaces where people might not typically feel welcomed into inviting environments,” Steinberg remarked.
This festival is part of Opera Baltimore’s ongoing initiative to employ vocal arts as a means of community engagement, made possible through grant support from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority. Steinberg stated that the hope is for participants to develop a sense of civic pride by exploring their shared histories.
“We are not donning rose-colored glasses when reflecting on this history,” Steinberg noted. “We’re acknowledging both the positive and negative aspects, and it’s essential to address these in order for our community to progress and heal.”
Taylor Epps
The festival will feature a full day of events, beginning with pop-up musical performances in the courtyard of the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House. Attendees will have the chance to participate in walking tours that connect several landmarks throughout Jonestown.
“This allows for a physical connection between spaces that are merely three or four blocks apart,” Steinberg explained. “Jonestown has historically served as a home to both Black and Jewish communities.”
The Jewish Museum of Maryland and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum are collaborating in this event, showcasing artifacts at the Lewis Museum that help to narrate the intertwined histories of these communities.
Terry Taylor-Nock from the Reginald F. Lewis Museum expressed that the partnership is a natural collaboration.
“We have previously held programs at both sites, where we broke bread and celebrated together,” said Taylor-Nock. “When the opportunity arose for this program with Opera Baltimore and the Jewish Museum of Maryland, it felt like an obvious choice.”
Taylor Epps
Taylor-Nock noted historical instances of cultural collaboration between the two communities.
“Take Billie Holiday, for instance, with her iconic song ‘Strange Fruit,’ which was composed by a Jewish songwriter,” Taylor-Nock said. “There has always been a natural rhythm and connection between the two groups.”
This ongoing connection will be showcased throughout the festival, culminating in an evening concert at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum featuring local talents such as baritone Daniel Rich and soprano Sarah Duchovnay, both with ties to Baltimore and Pikesville.
Opera Baltimore
Throughout the day, the musical selections will highlight over a century of artistic influences shared across both communities.
Steinberg remarked, “Music acts as a remarkable equalizer. The cultural expressions between both Black and Jewish communities resonate with one another, echoing and influencing each other for the past 150 years. We have more in common than that which divides us.”
The Voices in Solidarity festival is scheduled for Sunday, August 30, from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Jonestown.
Organizers are optimistic that the festival will mark the start of an ongoing initiative to strengthen ties among communities throughout Baltimore.
“We are excited to be a part of this event and aspire to be stewards of positive change through the medium of music,” Steinberg concluded.
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