The Margaret Walker Center is extremely proud to be part of this reimagining of our founder’s classic novel. Please check this page periodically for updates, exciting news, event information, and more.
If you have specific questions about the opera project, reach out to us at mwa@jsums.edu.
About
Jackson State University and Yale University have entered into a collaborative agreement to develop the folk opera Jubilee as part of the Yale Alliance for Scholarship, Collaboration, Engagement, Networking and Development (ASCEND) Initiative. The story of Margaret Walker’s real-life grandmother and great-grandmother as they lived from slavery to freedom, Jubilee launched the genre of neo-slave narratives when it was published in 1966. With the support of the ASCEND Initiative ($125,000), two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts ($45,000), and a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ($100,000), faculty and students in music at Yale and Jackson State will rehearse and perform a concert production in New Haven and Jackson during the summer of 2026, marking the 60th anniversary of Jubilee. Dr. Albert Lee, Associate Professor in the Yale School of Music, and Dr. Phyllis Lewis-Hale, Associate Professor of Music at Jackson State, will be the lead faculty. The Folk Opera is the work of composer and pianist Randy Klein and librettist and playwright Joan Ross Sorkin, both of whom will coordinate the production through the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State. Internationally acclaimed conductor and composer Julius P. Williams will lead the symphonic interpretation of the music.
Work on the opera also coincides with the inaugural HBCU Opera and Musical Theater Summer Festival, a week-long festival at Jackson State featuring student participants from a variety of colleges and universities. The students will receive workshops and coaching from professionals in the opera industry, and they will work closely with Klein and Sorkin in advance of the debut of Jubilee: A Folk Opera.
The ultimate goal for Jubilee: A Folk Opera is to expand it into a full-scale, finished production to be performed nationwide.
Events
Concert Production at Yale University, May 28, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
The concert production on May 28 will be part of the Arts Track at the Yale Innovation Summit, taking place at the university from May 27-28, 2o26. Hosted by Yale Ventures, the summit offers over 60 sessions across disciplines including the arts, biotech, civic, climate, health, and tech. To learn more about the Yale Innovation Summit, visit their webpage.
Additional information about the Arts Track and the performance of Jubilee: A Folk Opera can be found on the Arts Track webpage.
OPERA/SOUTH Inaugural HBCU Opera & Musical Theater Summer Festival, June 7-14, 2026
Revitalizing JSU’s once highly active OPERA/SOUTH Company, the festival seeks to foster access, visibility, and resources for students at Jackson State and other HBCUs in the realm of performing arts.
Contributions to the festival’s fundraising goal of $30,000 support including scholarships, masterclasses, workshop readings of new works, and live performance experiences. Fundraising also helps build the long-term infrastructure needed to ensure the program continues to exist and grow.
To donate to the festival, visit the GiveSmart donation portal.
Concert Production at Jackson State University, June 14, 2026, 4:00 p.m.
Join us in the JSU Music Department’s F.D. Hall Music Center for a free concert production of the Jubilee opera. More information coming soon.
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