Performances + Events
On Sunday, April 5, New England Conservatory’s Black Student Union will present A Tribute to Coretta Scott King, an evening of music honoring the life and legacy of the late NEC alumna. King ’54, ’71 hon. DM was a central figure in the Civil Rights Movement and was married to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom she first met on the Jordan Hall steps. Curated by the students in the BSU to reflect on lineage, memory, and cultural inheritance, the April 5 program features works by influential Black composers across generations.
“Legacy is both a charge and a gift,” said soprano, composer, and BSU President Shileta Peregrino Cezario ’26 MM, who’s pursuing a degree in musicology at NEC. “It is the resilience, wisdom, and artistry that have been passed down to each of us, and it entails the responsibility we carry to shape what comes next. This concert acknowledges and honors where we have been while reflecting on the meaning of legacy and considering what that looks like as we actively create.”
Highlights of the tribute concert include the world premiere of Cezario’s “In Remembrance” and an appearance by pianist and NEC Associate Dean of Student and Academic Affairs Dr. Rod Vester. Other featured works — Margaret Bonds’s “Little David,” Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s “Blue/s Forms,” Richard Smallwood’s “Total Praise,” and Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” — center African American vernacular traditions including spirituals, jazz, blues, and gospel. Together, these works trace a powerful musical lineage that resonates with King’s lifelong commitment to justice, artistry, and community.
NEC’s Black Student Union presents A Tribute to Coretta Scott King on Sunday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m., in Jordan Hall.
