Salon: I, Too, Sing America

Inspired by the legendary salons of Harlem Renaissance patron A’Lelia Walker, New World Symphony transforms the New World Center into an intimate gathering space for an evening of music, poetry and cultural reflection. Baritone Davóne Tines leads this salon-style program exploring the creative partnership between poet Langston Hughes and composer Margaret Bonds, whose collaborations gave musical voice to Hughes’s vision of America.

Drawing on art song, spirituals and spoken word, the program traces how Bonds translated Hughes’s poetry into music that resonated with the social and artistic currents of the 20th century. Set within the Truist Pavilion, the performance evokes the spirit of Walker’s famed salons, where artists, writers and musicians gathered to exchange ideas and shape a cultural movement.

Presented as part of New World Symphony’s Salon series, I, Too, Sing America highlights the enduring dialogue between poetry and music, and the legacy of Black artistic expression rooted in the Harlem Renaissance.