January 14, 2025: New Dawn

The Fabulous 413

We’re looking into legacies of sound, old and not quite as old.

For instance, we’re traveling about 13,000 years in the past with tales by Indigenous people who have been storytelling on this land for millennia. On Jan. 19, the Wendell Meetinghouse will host a presentation of "New Lights in the Dawnland," an audiodocumentary which brings Indigenous voices together to weave the history, story, and song of Northfield and beyond. We speak with producer and archivist Michael Kline and one of the featured voices, David Brule of the Nolumbeka Project, about this important auditory journey.

And this Saturday, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra will kick off its annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration concert. We speak with Conductor Jeri-Lynne Johnson and violin soloist Melissa White about the importance of integrated programs, their experiences in musical education, and the ways each of their ensembles are changing the world of symphonic and chamber music. We also talk to the SSO’s own Heather Caisse-Roberts to fill us in on the connections this program continues to bring to the greater Springfield community.