MPR teams up with Dallas choir for singing event in response to shootings

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Classical Minnesota Public Radio will host an sing-along event in Minneapolis Thursday at the same time as a similar event in Dallas, with the aim of connecting the communities after their recent tragedies.

Police shot and killed Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn., July 6 after he was stopped by for a broken taillight. The next day, a gunman killed five Dallas police officers during a protest against police killings of African-Americans.

The event, “A Bridge of Song,” responds to the violence. In Minneapolis, Classical MPR will host an hourlong program of “music, interspersed with brief inspirational and meditative readings” at the city’s Westminster Presbyterian Church. At the same time, Credo, a Dallas-based community choir, will host a similar event at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in partnership with the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs.

“Our goal is to try for at least a few minutes to center our community, with music at the heart of it,” said Brian Newhouse, managing director of Classical MPR, about the event. “We believe that there’s real power in the act of singing together.”

“We have invited members of every church, synagogue, and community choir in the Metroplex to join us not only in singing out against violence, but also to sing out for peace, love, and unity. The Dallas Police Choir has also been extended an invitation to perform,” said Jonathan Palant, founder and director of Credo, on its website.

A live feed of the two events will be available on Classical MPR’s Facebook page starting at 7:30 p.m. Central time.

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