The Program in Sacred Music at Notre Dame (SMND) in collaboration with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra is proud to present Liberation: Songs of Harriet Tubman, a symphonic concert featuring South African soprano soloist, Goitsemang Lehobye and conducted by Cynthia Katsarelis. The concert is in Leighton Concert Hall in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on March 29, 2025 at 7:30 PM, with a Pre-Concert Talk at 6:30 that includes civic leader Alfred Guillaume, to discuss Harriet Tubman, her importance to South Bend, a stop on the Underground Railroad, and the installation of her statue in Howard Park and Ms. Mahammad will set the scene with her Harriet Tubman soliloquy.
The Songs of Harriet Tubman, by composer Nkeiru Okoye, includes four of the pivotal arias from Okoye’s opera, Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom and traces the development of Tubman from an innocent child to a Moses-like liberator, leading enslaved people to freedom. “Nkeiru is a fabulously gifted storyteller-composer who strikes the right chords at the right time to reveal complex emotional truths,” says Cynthia Katsarelis, Assistant Professor of conducting in the Program in Sacred Music at Notre Dame, “Tubman’s story, with Okoye’s music, is inspirational.”
Soloist Goitsemang Lehobye, a native of Ga-Rankuwa, South Africa, is an emerging star who in the last year has performed with the Finnish National Opera, the Minnesota Orchestra, and made her Carnegie Hall debut in August 2024. “We are fortunate to have Ms. Lehobye as our soloist, just as her career is skyrocketing,” says Katsarelis.
Also on the program is Louise Farrenc’s Third Symphony. Farrenc was a virtuoso pianist and composer who taught for many years at the famous Paris Conservatoire. “Farrenc’s chamber music and symphonies were extremely well-respected in her time, and it is past time for audiences to have the opportunity to enjoy her masterpieces,” says Katsarelis.
The program is a collaboration with Notre Dame and the community, notably between the Program in Sacred Music and South Bend Symphony, but also including community leaders and support from multiple units on the Notre Dame campus, including Gender Studies, the Initiative on Race and Resilience, the Department of Music and is partially supported by a grant from the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts.
Ticket prices range from $5 to $25 and can be purchased in person at the Box Office or online at: https://performingarts.nd.edu/event/17807/liberation-songs-of-harriet-tubman/
Who, What, When, Where, and How
Who: The Program in Sacred Music at Notre Dame and the South Bend Symphony Orchestra
What: Liberation: Songs of Harriet Tubman, a symphonic concert.
When: Saturday, March 29, 2025, Concert at 7:30 PM; Pre-Concert Talk at 6:30 PM
Where: Leighton Concert Hall at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, 100 Performing Arts Center, Notre Dame, IN 46556
How: Ticket prices range from $5 to $25 in-person or online:
Program:
Songs of Harriet Tubman by Nkeiru Okoye
Symphony No. 3 in G Minor by Louise Farrenc
About the Performers
Cynthia Katsarelis, Assistant Professor of the Practice in Conducting in the Sacred Music
Program ND has conducted excellent professional, college, and youth orchestras. “A model of precision and spirit,” her career has been devoted to presenting new, diverse, and traditional music. Katsarelis has conducted over 50 orchestras, including the Buffalo Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, and served as music director of Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra for 17 years. She apprenticed with the Cincinnati Symphony, May Festival, and Pops as a Conducting Assistant.
Goitsemang Lehobye, a native of Ga-Rankuwa, South Africa, was first captivated by the enchanting world of opera through a televised performance by the South African Black Tie Opera Ensemble. Fueled by her passion, she embarked on a journey that led her from the Black Tie Ensemble’s “Incubator” Scheme to the grand stage, mastering the art of opera singing. Her perseverance and talent propelled her from a chorus member to a solo performer, gracing numerous opera productions. In January 2024, Goitsemang performed in the Strauss concert at the Finnish National Opera. In April of the same year, she covered the role of Tosca with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. That summer, she graduated with her Doctor of Voice Performance degree and performed in Rappahannock County and Aida with Opera Maine in Portland. In August 2024, she made her Carnegie Hall debut, marking another milestone in her flourishing career.
Nkeiru Okoye, winner of The American Prize in vocal chamber music for, We Met at the Symphony, composer Nkeiru Okoye creates contemporary classical music for a new generation. Her work in addressing issues of race and social justice has been called “gripping” and “evocative,” (The New York Times), and “unflinching” (Boston Globe). Okoye’s ability to interweave musical styles has been described as “joyfully [dancing] from gospel music and spirituals to operatic solos, from cinematic orchestral interludes to minimalist riffs, and from electrifying ostinatos to lilting spoken word.” (I Care if You Listen). Okoye is a Guggenheim Fellow and a librettist. Her works has been commissioned, performed and presented by Detroit Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, the Juilliard School, Louisville Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Opera North UK, Houston Grand Opera, the American Opera Project, Moscow Symphony, Tanglewood Music Festival, Virginia Symphony, Tulsa Opera, Royal Opera House, UK, and many others.
The Sacred Music Program at Notre Dame
Sacred Music at Notre Dame (SMND) is a community of faculty, students, and staff who are committed to the training of the future music leaders of our churches, concert halls, and schools and universities. We are an interdisciplinary and ecumenical research and teaching program with a Roman Catholic core. SMND’s graduate program includes the Master of Sacred Music degree with specializations in Organ, Voice, and Choral Conducting, and the Calvin M. Bower Doctor of Musical Arts Program, offering the DMA degree in Organ or Choral Conducting performance.