Photo provided by Geneva Music Festival.

Marking America’s 250th Anniversary

America’s 250^th anniversary created an opportunity not only to celebrate our nation’s history, but also to reflect on the many people, cultures, and ideas that have shaped it.  

Two Community Foundation grants illustrate some of the ways local organizations used music and historical programming to embrace this opportunity. 

America the Beautiful: Finger Lakes Edition

The Geneva Music Festival commemorated the nation’s 250^th anniversary with four weeks of live performances. The series, entitled “America the Beautiful: Finger Lakes Edition,” explored how our nation sees itself and how communities continue to define that identity through chamber, jazz, and bluegrass music. 

Themes explored by the Geneva Music Festival: 

• How music travels across generations and geographies 

• Music that reflects moments of upheaval and helps break barriers 

• Composers who came to America, bringing music born of revolution, exile, and resilience to the American sound 

• The universal quest for fulfillment, reflecting the American pursuit of happiness 

In 2026, the festival reached an audience of more than 3,200 people, including 1,700 children, families, and community members at school outreach and free concerts.

America at 250: The Journey to Freedom

The Rochester Oratorio Society celebrated America’s milestone birthday by inviting the community to explore America’s evolving story through music, history, and voices that continue to expand our understanding of freedom. 

The festival included a panel discussion on the lives and legacies of abolitionists Austin Steward and William Clough Bloss, whose work shaped both Rochester’s history and the national movement toward equality. A vocal recital highlighting the artistry and cultural force of the Harlem Renaissance followed. 

The centerpiece of the three-day festival was a concert featuring the Festival Community Chorus. Traditional American choral hymns were heard alongside a piece titled “We Are On Native Land,” by Brent Michael Davids (Mohican/Munsee-Lenape), and “Freedom,” winner of the Writers & Books Teen Poetry Contest, written by RCSD School of the Arts student Bronwyn Capps.

Writing Our Shared History

Rochester Area Community Foundation is proud to support organizations that help ensure more people can see themselves reflected in the stories we share across our communities. 

You can join us in supporting efforts that tell a fuller, more inclusive story of our region through the Historical Preservation Fund.