Requiem for America

BBC Symphony to premiere controversial Requiem for America

Norman Lebrecht on SlippedDisk – February 12, 2026

The world premiere of Requiem for America will be given by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on May 17 in London, followed by a US premiere in Boston, it was announced today.

The work, by Brent Michael Davids, draws on the composer’s Native American heritage and, according to the press release, deals with ‘the genocidal founding of America, challenging music norms and sanitizing historical rhetoric to give voice to America’s invisible people: American Indians.’

The release continues: ‘Davids juxtaposes actual historical letters from Native Americans with founding-era genocidal texts from America’s founding to lay bare, state by state, the dark foundations of the United States of America. The inaugural Requiem features 17 states.’

It is being performed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the USA.

Davids says: ‘Requiem for America tells the Indigenous perspective of the original founding events of our shared American history. It sings about the invisibility of Native people. I hope Requiem reminds audiences that Native people have vitality and that our voices can be clearly heard. Requiem is more than a piece of music – it’s a reckoning, a remembrance, and a call to truth through the arts.’

The Boston premiere is in November.

It won’t go down well with the MAGA movement.

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