United in Song PBS Concert

Filmed at Mount Vernon and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, “United in Song: Celebrating the Resilience of America” features performances by:

• Jamie Barton
• Joshua Bell
• Renée Fleming
• Denyce Graves
• Josh Groban
• Soloman Howard
• Morgan James
• Juanes
• Patti LaBelle
• Yo-Yo Ma
• Audra McDonald
• Brian Stokes Mitchell
• Anna Deavere Smith
• Jean-Yves Thibaudet
• National Symphony Orchestra conducted by JoAnn Falletta
• The American Pops Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Luke Frazier

David M. Rubenstein, philanthropist and host of “The David Rubenstein Show” on Bloomberg, conducted interviews of the artists at Mount Vernon. 

Rubenstein shared:

Music is a universal language and has the unique power of uniting us.

I suspect the majority of us will be celebrating this New Year’s with an inability to gather in-person.

Ringing in 2021 with music performed by world-class artists, provides an opportunity to celebrate what makes us American.

When George Washington was leaving office to return to Mount Vernon, he asked that we look to each other and find what we share in common as opposed to what makes us different. That advice appears to be just as relevant today as it was more than 200 years ago.

I am sorry that George Washington was not here to greet these extraordinary artists, but I have no doubt that he was listening from above.