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A concert commemorating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. is Sunday at 3 p.m. inside the Lakeview Middle School auditorium.
The event, now in its 18th year, will be presented by the Committee to Commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Inc. in cooperation with Warsaw Community Schools. The celebration is free to the public, with donations being accepted at the door.
"The overall message of the program is to bring people together from all nations like Dr. King would have wanted," Lynn Pulliam, president of the commemorative committee, said. "The message won't be as strong as past years because it all focuses around musical performances."
The concert will feature the Fort Wayne Youth Symphony Orchestra, Come As You Are Choir, Warsaw Community High School Choir and other local choirs from the community. Dr. Frank Beard, who in the 2001 commemoration presented a narration of Dr. King's "I Had A Dream" speech, will lead the audience through each musical performance.
Pulliam said he hopes to have 700 people attend the event, which is being held at the auditorium for the first time to accommodate the number of singers and musicians that will be on stage.
For the main recitation, an estimated 100 people will perform in unison.
"I'm expecting a large turnout," Pulliam said. "It might be an optimistic view, but with the number of people performing during the evening, I think we can draw a large gathering."
Jonathan Bruce Brown also will be the keynote speaker. Brown, of Spring Harbor, Mich., is an active composer, educator and the current host of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra's Backstage Glimpses series.
Brown will pay tribute to King's life through passages of the man's historical speeches as well as through the event's musical presentations.
