Conversation: The People United Will Never Be Defeated!

Join Dr. Matthew Phelps as he discusses his performance of “The People United Will Never Be Defeated!,” filmed at West End United Methodist Church on June 7, 2020. “The People United Will Never Be Defeated!,” composed by Frederic Rzewski, is a set of thirty-six piano variations on the Chilean song “¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” by Sergio Ortega and Quilapayún. Learn the history of the composition and how its themes connect to the exhibition Mel Ziegler: Flag Exchange during this conversation with Dr. Phelps and Frist Art Museum educator Meagan Rust. The program will be presented on Zoom.

You can watch Dr. Phelps’s entire performance of “The People United Will Never Be Defeated!” here.

Dr. Phelps is the minister of music at West End United Methodist Church and the founder and artistic director of the professional chamber choir Vocal Arts Nashville. He leads the nationally renowned West End UMC Chancel Choir and is also a regular conductor with the Nashville Concerto Orchestra and the Mozart Birthday Festival Orchestra. An active organist and pianist, Dr. Phelps has performed on NPR’s Pipedreams and in the Nashville Symphony’s OnStage series as well as around the country, and he teaches courses in music theory and church music at Lipscomb University.

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