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As part of Cornell University’s year-long exploration of “Freedom of Expression,” Dr. Gabriela Gómez Estévez, Director of Orchestras at Cornell University, programmed an evening of American music on December 2, 2023, which included Go Down Moses (2021) by Carlos Simon; Lincoln Portrait (1942) by Aaron Copeland; and Symphony No. 3 in C Minor (1939) by Florence Price, to “highlight different perspectives on freedom and the American identity.” Prior to the concert, Professor Ponce participated in a panel with Dr. Gómez Estévez, who also conducted the orchestra, and Bert Odom-Reed, the narrator for the Lincoln Portrait, to contextualize the excerpts from President Abraham Lincoln’s speeches which Copeland chose for his orchestral work.