Juneteenth Marathon 2026

From The latest stories from www.wqxr.org

June 19, 2026

About this episode

WQXR celebrates Juneteenth with a 24-hour marathon featuring music by composers and performers of African descent.

Listen all day on Friday, June 19, 2026 Friday, June 19 is Juneteenth, the holiday that celebrates Black Americans' emancipation from slavery. WQXR marks the holiday with our seventh annual 24-hour marathon celebrating composers and performers of African descent. Throughout the day, you’ll hear a mix of classical favorites, contemporary works, traditional spirituals, film scores, and jazz-inspired music. Highlights include: Music composed by Florence Price, William Grant Still, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Scott Joplin, Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Vincente Lusitano, Duke Ellington, Edmond and Eugene Dede, Robert Nathaniel Dett, Adolphus Hailstork, Alexis French, Margaret Bonds, Terence Blanchard, James P. Johnson, Fela Sowande, Harry Burleigh, Jessie Montgomery. Music performed by Chineke! Orchestra, New Black Music Repertory Ensemble, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Imani Winds; pianists Stewart Goodyear, Andre Watts, Jon Batiste, and Lara Downes; violinist Randall Goosby; vocalists Kathleen Battle, Leontyne Price, Marian Anderson, Julia Bullock, Willard White, Lawrence Brownlee; the Kanneh-Mason family, brothers Wynton and Branford Marsalis, brothers Anthony and…

Topics covered

Juneteenth
Black composers
Classical music
Jazz
Spirituals
Film scores
Music marathon

Keywords

Juneteenth
music marathon
Black composers
classical music
jazz
spirituals
film scores

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Chineke! Orchestra, New Black Music Repertory Ensemble, Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Imani Winds

Books & works: Carlos Simon, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Joseph Boulogne Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Juneteenth Marathon 2026

About this episode

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

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