[REVIEW] Requiem for America was ranked the 3rd top story for the week; "at its best the work lands its blows with remorseless integrity. REQUIEM proves as notable for its recounting of appalling acts as it is for its music. The discordant opening is harsh—deliberately in your face—with texts conveying the hypocrisy. Davids draws attention to the fact that Mohicans, swindled out of their land, nevertheless fought for American independence. In his program note, Davids explains how he hopes that by 'truth-singing, we can collectively acknowledge the nation’s blood-soaked nativity to achieve a better future.' On what that future might look like, REQUIEM remains silent. But by the end of the evening, it was impossible not to be overwhelmed by the sadness and horror of it all" (Musical America Worldwide). ► FULL REVIEW ► https://www.musicalamerica.com/mnews/newsstory.cfm?storyid=68342&categoryid=4&archived=0&

[REVIEW] "Requiem for America... This title encapsulates the core intention of the requiem: to give voice to the Indigenous peoples whose histories and experiences have frequently been silenced or marginalised. Critics noted the work's emotional depth and its ability to convey a sense of loss, resilience, and spiritual connection to the land. The BBC Symphony Orchestra's rendition was praised for its sensitivity and power in bringing Davids' vision to life." ► LINK ► https://ukpulse.co.uk/news/brent-michael-davids-requiem-for-america-premieres-at-barbican

[REVIEW] "Amid the 250th anniversary of US independence, Brent Michael Davids’ Requiem for America brings an abrupt and necessary shift of perspective... What those voices have to say makes hard listening. We hear from the boy hiding under a hut where a massacre took place, watching blood trickle through the boards; the medic recounting how a regiment fired on an unarmed group of Lakota families; another movement tells powerfully of a long death march, the Narrator singing out the miles, the choir listing the tally of dead. Finally, after so many atrocities recounted, comes a chorus affirming the Indigenous people’s endurance: we are still here. Here it’s the Native American choir’s music that triumphs, the rest of the voices taking it up joyfully, before the music dissolves into birdsong... It’s a gentle, hopeful end to a heavy, urgent, necessary work." FULL REVIEW:  https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/may/18/requiem-for-america-review-brent-michael-davids-barbican-bbcso

​► MAY 17 ► Teddy Abrams conducts REQUIEM FOR AMERICA at London's Barbican Hall, featuring Native singers, Native wood flute, 5 operatic soloists, and BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. ► Pre-concert talk by Lenape Center ► The Anti-Requiem tackles America's genocidal founding, challenging the sanitized historical rhetoric, giving voice to America’s invisible people. ►  https://www.london-now.co.uk/local-events/?_evDiscoveryPath=/event/107219128n-teddy-abrams-bbc-symphony-orchestra

► ANNOUNCED ► Robert Murray will perform REQUIEM FOR AMERICA as solo tenor, 17 May 2026, Barbican Hall (London) and on BBC Radio 3 (airing & streaming). Murray has performed principal roles for the Royal Opera House, Hamburg State Opera, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, the Venice Biennale, and the Edinburgh and Salzburg festivals, with such conductors as Edward Gardner, and Sir Simon Rattle. ► LINK ► https://www.intermusica.com/artist/Robert-Murray

► ARTICLE ► "Brent Michael Davids is an amazing indigenous composer. He had this passion project which he had been working on for almost over 20 years. Of course, that resonated with me, so I helped him organize it. It’s about the genocidal founding of America, aiming to help us all confront our past, not through opinion but through the actual words of the perpetrators and of survivors" (Cerise Jacobs). ► LINK ► https://www.opera-now.com/content/features/small-company-focus-white-snake-projects

► ARTICLE ► "I now find myself in a privileged position to look behind the stereotypes of America and explore its multifaceted history through surprising voices. Making America takes a deep dive into these unique American voices, unfolding across four concerts with familiar masterpieces from immigrants like Korngold’s Violin Concerto and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, from John Adams’s orchestral universe, Harmonielehre, to Bernard Herrmann’s Vertigo Suite. A new work by jazz great Billy Childs featuring saxophonist Stephen Banks explores the African American diaspora plus myths and icons meet in Du Yun’s Hundred Heads and British composer Ryan Latimer’s Bestia for trumpeter Selina Ott. But the highlight for me is the world premiere of Requiem for America by Native American composer Brent Michael Davids. This important new work will feature Davids himself on Native American flute, an ensemble of eight Native American performers alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus conducted by Teddy Abrams." ► LINK ► https://www.classical-music.com/articles/making-america-bbc-symphony

► ANNOUNCED ► Conductor TEDDY ABRAMS explores the American melting pot. With the BBC Symphony he conducts the world premiere of Mohican/Munsee-Lenape composer Brent Michael Davids’s monumental 19-movement Requiem for America, which combines Indigenous letters with founding-era genocidal texts to reflect on the dark foundations of the United States. The performance features Davids himself on Native American flute, as well as the BBC Symphony Chorus (May 17).
► LINK  ► https://21cmediagroup.com/teddy-abramss-winter-spring-2026-explores-the-american-melting-pot/

► WORLD PREMIERE ► Mohican/Munsee-Lenape composer Brent Michael Davids’s Requiem pairs Indigenous letters with founding-era genocidal texts to lay bare the dark foundations of the USA. A contralto narrator guides us from the "Requiem Aeternam–Doctrine of Discovery" to the final "Threnoedia–We Are Still Here." Commissioned by White Snake Projects and The Lenape Center. Features BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Native American Singers & 5 Opera Soloists. ► Airs on BBC Radio 3. TICKETS https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e8r6gw