Featuring performances and workshops by leading professional musicians and lectures and presentations by renowned scholars, Diverse Sounds for a Young Nation celebrates and explores American music from 1860 to 1920, including spirituals, brass bands, popular songs, ragtime, banjo and string bands, “jass” and more, spanning vernacular and classical traditions.

An engaging two-and-a-half-day exploration of these foundational influences on our nation’s musical and cultural development, Diverse Sounds for a Young Nation will include academic presentations and performances by Dom Flemons, Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, The 8th Green Machine Regiment Band, The Roof Garden Jass Band and ����TV Symphonic Band. See a full list of presenters and performers here.

Registration is open for Diverse Sounds for a Young Nation. Scholars and musicians may register for the full symposium for $125. Current students of any institution may register for a discounted fee of $75. Registration will remain open until October 1, 2025, or until full. .