The poetry of Langston Hughes, infused with the writer’s dreams of racial equality, will be transformed into a musical celebration and premiered at the First Presbyterian Church in Germantown. The event marks Juneteenth, the holiday that commemorates the end of legal slavery in the U.S.
The June 21 concert, performed by the Delaware Valley Opera Company (DVOC), will weave poetry and song through 25 pieces in total. Misha Dutka, the troupe’s composer-in-residence, who wrote the three song cycle inspired by the Harlem Renaissance writer and activist, said Hughes’ words have a musicality all their own.
“It's the most lyrical poetry,” Dutka said. “Sometimes, being a composer, you're given text to set, and you may have to work very hard to find the music that fits the text. With a poet like Langston Hughes, find the music that's already in his poetry. Once you do that, the job is done.”
The concert will also feature music by William Grant Still, who is known as the dean of African American classical composers.
Dutka described the process of incorporating Hughes’ poems into music as similar to connecting dots. The poet’s “The Weary Blues” about the underlying meaning of a musician’s melancholy refrain, and “Harlem,” whose imagery about dreams deferred inspired the title of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” laid the foundation for the upcoming concert’s blues-inspired, emotional songs. Chaka Allen, a baritone, will perform the three-song cycle, which Dutka plans to expand to six songs for a Black History Month premiere in February 2026.
The composer hopes the event will encourage people to read more poetry by Hughes and recommends “Blues in Stereo” as an important collection of Hughes’ work. The collection highlights the writer as a true poet of the Jazz Age.
"I really believe that when he was writing his poetry, he was hearing the jazz music that was being played in the day,” Dutka said. “I tried to hear what he heard and what he tried to reflect through his poetry as best as I could.”
Laurice Kennel, the opera company’s co-president and outreach coordinator, secured the venue, and organized the repertoire and performers. She chose Juneteenth as the perfect performance date not only for African American artists to honor the legacy of artists such as Still and Hughes, but also to promote their own work. Kennel also hopes to showcase collaborative efforts across diasporas, including work by Jewish American composer Ricky Ian Gordon who references Hughes’ poetry, and contemporary compositions by Rosephanye Powell written in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Music, even in its simplest forms is magical,” Kennel said. As the “new generations [add] to that repertoire, it gives it new life …, interpretation [and] brings new audiences and voices,” continuing the legacy and power of Hughes’ work.
Pianist Margarita Shatilova, who will be accompanist for the Juneteenth concert, has long admired Still’s work and is intensely preparing for the challenge of a program that includes 25 pieces. But the rewards have come in the form of the opera company’s warmth and support, she said. “It's exciting because for me it's an honor to participate in such an event,” Shatilova said. “It's not just a concept, but it's a celebration of this meaningful Juneteenth holiday.”
Shatilova described Still’s composition as a mix of classical music and spirituals, with blues and jazz influence. Still’s daughter, Judith Anne Still, will share memories of her father and his composition process in a video presentation.
“We have someone who can bring that relationship to life because she knows her father; she knows his artistic behaviours; she knows his music the best,” Kennel said. “It's a window and a tie to us as we attempt to bring his music to life as well.”
Kennel hopes audiences will feel a sense of “African American joy” and that the presentation will encourage more people to attend DVOC’s performances, including its next program at First Presbyterian Church, “Dido and Aeneas,” a Baroque opera by Henry Purcell featuring a small orchestra of early instruments, on August 22 and 24.
The Juneteenth Concert at First Presbyterian Church in Germantown is scheduled for 3 to 4:30 p.m., June 21. The church is at 35 W. Chelten Ave. Admission is free, although a $20 donation would be appreciated and helps to support DVOC’s 2025-2026 season.
