Sing Democracy 250 National Broadcast
Sing Democracy 250 National Broadcast
September 25 | 9 pm ET
Join all America to celebrate our democracy on PBS, September 25 at 9 pm ET! Add your voice to renew democracy by inviting others to join you at your own Watch Party for Democracy on September 25th! Gather your friends, family, neighbors, and community and become part of this national initiative.
Sing Democracy 250 celebrates America’s 250th birthday with a powerful musical experience that honors our past and inspires our future. Through exciting new choral music, this performance reflects the nation’s founding ideals and the enduring promise of democracy, reminding us that We, the People, are at the heart of it all.
“Sing Democracy 250 was born to bring people together to honor the 250th anniversary of our country. We are living in a time when division too often defines our public life. Music has a unique power to gather us in the same space, to help us listen to one another, and to remind us of our shared humanity. When we sing together, we practice the very act of community.”
-G. Phillip Shoultz, III, Artistic Director
The Program
Filmed on April 12, 2026 at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, the concert opens with the world premiere of “Fanfare: Democracy 250” by Steven Amundson. Featured works are “Redeem the Dream”, by Brandon A. Boyd and “US”, by Michael Bussewitz-Quarm. The concert also includes “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, both arranged by conductor G. Phillip Shoultz, III. Performers include Minnesota-based ensembles Together In Hope Choir (Minneapolis/St. Paul), St. Scholastica Chamber Choir (Duluth), Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragon Choir, Choral Arts Ensemble (Rochester), Honors Choirs of SE Minnesota, and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
The Minneapolis concert was the second in a series of four Sing Democracy 250 Signature Concerts nationwide. Past concerts include the world premiere in Philadelphia at Marian Anderson Hall (October 2025); Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall in New York City (May 2026), and at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. (June 2026).
Sing Democracy 250 is a part of PBS America @ 250, a multiyear celebration of U.S. history, culture, and children’s programming, which began in spring 2025 and continues through America’s Semiquincentennial in 2026 and beyond.
“Sing Democracy 250 is an invitation to gather through music, to reflect on the fundamental values expressed in the Declaration of Independance - that all are equal before the law, that all share the same rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” said SD250 co-founders Gary Aamodt and Celia Ellingson. “The music also reminds us what We, the People, can and must do to fulfill our duties as citizens. It is now our turn - and our opportunity - to do all we can to ensure that our democracy is not just remembered, but renewed, for the next 250 years.”
Sing Democracy 250 will stream simultaneously with broadcast and be available on all station-based PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS app, which is available on iOS, Apple TV, Android mobile and tablets, Android/Google TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and tablets, Comcast, Samsung Smart TV, VIZIO, and LG Smart TVs.
Sing Democracy 250 is a co-production of Thirty-Fifth Productions and Foreground Productions. Directed by Kristin Fosdick and Cody McLeod Rogers. Executive produced by Cody McLeod Rogers and Jacob Leftwich. Consulting Producer is Justin Ellis. Zara Frankel is Executive in Charge for PBS.