Commemorative concerts for America’s 250th anniversary will be dotting the musical landscape in 2026. An inventive program that may prove to be one of the most challenging for audiences has been launched by Davóne Tines and Ruckus, “a shapeshifting, collaborative, baroque ensemble with a visceral and playful approach to early music.” Sanders Theater hosted them on January 31, 2026, as part of their ten-cities tour.

Created by bass-baritone Davóne Tines, bassist Douglas Adam August Balliett, and Clay Zeller-Townson, founder of Ruckus, the program called “What is your hand in this?” recasts “Colonial and Revolutionary-era hymns, ballads, and Baroque compositions, on a musical journey that weaves through the pre-Civil War period, the Civil Rights era, and into the present day.” (Everyone 250

According to Ruckus, “The repertoire spans early American hymnody, Handel’s Messiah, Benjamin Carr’s Federal Overture, abolition-era songs, mid-20th-century protest songs, and features commissions from Carnegie Hall and Hudson Hall.”  Awareness of the program’s title question weaves through its musical selections. Ruckus notes: “This concert ponders the fragile American experiment, asking how we stand up against wrongdoing while still coming together as a country.” The co-creators prompt introspection with more questions: “How can we passionately address wrongs while coexisting as a people? Can we find compassion for others? Can we find compassion for ourselves?”

Rita Charleston of the Philadelphia Tribune wrote: “This concert ponders the fragile American experiment, asking how we stand up against wrongdoing while still coming together as a country.”  To learn more about the component pieces of this insightful program and how they fit into a compact, 80-minute concert, see the Washington Classical Review (January 29, 2026).

–Mary Beth Clack, Mary Blocher, Cindy Coldren, Pat Krol & Liz Levin