Coming – late-April to mid-June 2026!

“A MORE PERFECT UNION: Musical Reflections on Five Amendments to the U.S. Constitution” will present concerts in months prior to America's 250th, interpreting constitutional amendments through the lens of contemporary music. New commissions and existing works by 30 diverse American composers – including 7 Pulitzer- and Grammy-winners, and 15 Philadelphians – will examine our nation’s blueprint for democracy, provoking both profoundly serious and light-hearted thoughts on freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition; the right to bear arms; the abolition of slavery; women’s suffrage; and the repeal of prohibition. 

The U.S. Constitution was authored by forward-thinking “Founding Fathers,” who were in hindsight, far from perfect men. It therefore comes as no surprise that some extremely important and blatantly obvious rights were omitted in their first edition! A MORE PERFECT UNION will explore legislation that was necessary to improve the foundational structure of our government, penned here in Philadelphia, with a series of free and pay-as-you-wish events at historic sites and indoor/outdoor venues, concluding with a musical bar-crawl. 

TBA: Dates and Multiple Locations from late April to mid-June 2026. Repertoire subject to change.

First Amendment:

Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition

Second Amendment:

Right to Bear Arms

Thirteenth Amendment:

Abolition of Slavery

Nineteenth Amendment:

Women’s Right to Vote

Twenty-First Amendment:

Repeal of Prohibition

(Amendment summaries from the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia)

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