TAMPA, Fla. — Every January, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Junior Day, and a group of Tampa Bay musicians has found a unique way to use their talents to honor the civil rights leader.
Reflections Chamber Ensemble has been performing across Tampa Bay for more than 20 years. But 2025 is particularly special for this non-profit because it’s the first year where they will be performing a concert in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Eight musicians will take the stage on Monday night. Stacey McColley and Ghadeer Abaido plan to offer audiences something different in classical music.
“We’re really excited to present this program. It’s a bunch of really cool music by mostly black composers and some composers who wrote dedications to Martin Luther King,” said pianist Ghadeer Abaido.
McColley founded the ensemble for these very occasions to play music written by composers who are still alive and, in many cases, among the minority.
“Valerie Coleman, for instance, who wrote the last piece in our concert, is a black American composer who is one of the top composers in the country at this time,” said McColley. “We have other African American composers who are no longer alive but part of the legacy because a lot of those people suffered discrimination during their lives, and now we are in a position as a society where we are acknowledging them in a way they should have been acknowledged before.”
Abaido said it’s nice to be able to use her talents in a way that recognizes and celebrates Dr. King's principles.
“I’m playing two solo pieces by African American women Julia Perry and Margaret Bonds,” said Abaido. “The significance of celebrating black composers and black music in honor of his life is something that I think that he would have liked to hear.”
The Reflections Chamber Ensemble concert entitled “O King” will be performed Monday, January 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. Tickets start at $15.
“It’s a great way to introduce yourself to some new music and to some new sounds that you don’t hear very often. Nobody else in the Tampa Bay area is playing this music,” said McColley.
"He was just a very outstanding person."
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