Events

2026 Arts Connexions Festival
America at 250: The Journey to Freedom

The Arts Connexions Festival invites the community to a three‑day exploration of America’s evolving story, expressed through music, history, and the voices that continue to shape our understanding of freedom.

The festival opens with Two Pivotal Figures in Freedom, a panel discussion led by Brighton Town Historian Mary Jo Lanphear. The panel will highlight the lives and legacies of abolitionists Austin Steward and William Clough Bloss, whose work shaped both Rochester’s history and the national movement toward equality.

The festival continues with Harlem Renaissance Revisited, a vocal recital featuring X’Zaya Ivy with Kevin Nitsch, illuminating the artistry and cultural force of the Harlem Renaissance.

The centerpiece event, America at 250: The Journey to Freedom, will feature the Festival Community Chorus in concert, celebrating American choral traditions. The program features Billings’ Be Glad Then, America, Thompson’s The Testament of Freedom, Paulus’ Hymn for America, and Wilhousky’s iconic Battle Hymn of the Republic. Resonanz will perform Brent Michael Davids’ (Mohican/Munsee-Lenape) We Are On Native Land and a new work by Daryl Smith, setting RCSD School of the Arts student Bronwyn Capps's “Freedom,” the winning poem from the Writers & Books Teen Poetry Contest.

All events are free of charge and open to the public. Join us as we raise our voices toward a shared future of freedom.

Panel Discussion: Two Pivotal Figures in Freedom
Date & Time: June 24, 2026, at 6:15 PM
Location: Brighton Public Library, 2300 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY 14618

Recital: Harlem Renaissance Revisited
Date & Time: June 25, 2026, at 7:00 PM
Location: Rochester Academy of Medicine, 1441 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14610

Concert: America at 250: The Journey to Freedom
Date & Time: June 28, 2026, at 4:00 PM
Location: Christ Clarion Church, 415 Thornell Rd, Pittsford, NY 14534