One Voice: The Songs We Share “The Sacred”

The American Pops Orchestra (APO) announced the release of a new series, entitled One Voice: The Songs We Share, as part of #PBSForTheArts. Its two inaugural episodes, “Broadway” and “Sacred,” will be broadcast back to back on Friday, May 28, 2021 at 9 p.m. on Arizona PBS, PBS.org and the PBS Video App.

In this new series, Maestro Luke Frazier and the American Pops Orchestra celebrate uniquely American music that has transcended its original genre to find a place in our collective culture.

“Sacred” includes music once only performed in church and later adapted by greats like Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash to be shared beyond the walls of the sanctuary.

This episode was filmed at the historic Trinity Lutheran Church in Hagerstown, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., under strict COVID-19 mitigation procedures. Hosted by and starring Grammy Award-winning vocalist Michelle Williams (Destiny’s Child), “Sacred” features Justin Guarini (American Idol); Metropolitan Opera soprano Maureen McKay; Adam Hyndman (The Inheritance, Hadestown, Once on This Island, Aladdin); and 16-year-old prodigy organist Daniel Colaner. All performers are joined by The American Pops Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Luke Frazier.