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July 3: Apollo Chamber Players Releases New Album, We the People, on Azica
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Apollo Chamber Players
Releases New Album,
We the People
New Works by John Corigliano,
Daniel Bernard Roumain, Homayoun Sakhi,
John Cornelius, Marcus Maroney, and Mark Buller
Explore Diverse Chapters from the American Story
in its 250th Anniversary Year
Out Digitally July 3, 2026 on Azica Records
“Apollo recasts music for a diverse and multi-ethnic generation” – Strings Magazine
"The Apollo Chamber Players ... believe that classical music must engage with today's issues, ideas and problems." – NPR
New York, NY (May 14, 2026) – Apollo Chamber Players will release a new album, We the People, on July 3, 2026 as a digital release on Azica Records, capturing musical narratives from the American experience on the eve of the nation’s 250th birthday. The album features the world premiere recordings of Daniel Bernard Roumain’s And Still We Cross, Homayoun Sakhi’s String Quartet No. 1: Tolo, John Cornelius’s PAX, and Marcus Maroney’s The Color Blue; along with newly recorded original arrangements of John Corigliano’s One Sweet Morning, Howard Hanson’s Song of Democracy (arr. Mark Buller), and a reimagining of one of Beethoven’s most celebrated works, performed here as Fantasy on Symphony No. 7: Allegretto Groovando for string quartet and electric violin (arr. Tracy Silverman). The album’s striking cover image features newly commissioned artwork by Houston-based artist Liana Amaya.
In this ninth studio album, Apollo presents a bold musical tapestry celebrating the ideals, complexities, and evolving story of American democracy at this milestone juncture. Featuring new commissions, world premieres, and transformative reimaginings, the recording amplifies voices from across cultures, eras, and communities whose lived experiences help define the collective meaning of “We the People” – envisioned by the nation’s founders but unfulfilled in their time and even in ours. From Beethoven’s Enlightenment-rooted humanism to contemporary reflections from Afghan, African-American, Haitian-American, Jewish-American, and student creators, each work explores how democracy is dreamed of, challenged, and renewed.
“This album reflects the dimensions of American democracy,” said Apollo founder and violinist Matthew J. Detrick. “Its ideals, its contradictions, its immigrant stories, its struggles for equality, its cultural plurality, its future, and its collective imagination."
We the People opens with Haitian-American composer Daniel Bernard Roumain’s And Still We Cross, a dramatic contemporary work exploring the legacies of 19th-century African-American luminaries Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington. Composed for string quartet, vocal quartet, and narrator, the composition brings this piece of American heritage to life through the eyes and voice of Kenneth Morris, Jr., a living descendant of both figures, infusing the album with an essential lived perspective on racial justice and American identity. Morris serves as narrator for this piece, with a vocal quartet comprising Penelope Campbell, soprano; Elizabeth Tait, alto; Wayne Ashley, tenor; and Keaton Brown, baritone.
Apollo collaborates with composer and violinist Tracy Silverman on the album’s second track, a reimagining of the famous Allegretto from Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony arranged for string quartet and electric violin. A towering figure of the Enlightenment, Beethoven believed deeply in the ideals of liberty, equality, and the dignity of the individual—values that pulse through his music and mirror the founding principles of America, now seen through the contemporary lens of this arrangement. Apollo is joined on this piece by Silverman on electric violin and Whitney Bullock on viola.
Five-time GRAMMY® Award winner John Corigliano’s work One Sweet Morning – featuring countertenor John Holiday, with Ella Sharpe on double bass – draws on poetry by Jewish-American lyricist Yip Harburg in a musical prayer for the end of war and an aspiration for peace. Composed in the wake of 9/11, this work for string quartet, double bass, and countertenor movingly expresses the longing for peace in a turbulent world.
Homayoun Sakhi’s String Quartet No. 1: Tolo, an Apollo commission premiered by the quartet in 2024, takes its name from the Afghan word for “sunrise.” Envisioning a more hopeful and peaceful tomorrow through the eyes of Afghan and Asian immigrants – honored through this track as part of America’s “We the People” – the work speaks of both the immigrant journey and the nation’s promise of renewal.
In John Cornelius’s work PAX, an Apollo commission premiered by the quartet in 2022, the composer reflects powerfully on the words of poet Langston Hughes. Composed for string quartet, spoken word, and tenor, the work resonates with the principle that democracy cannot be achieved in the United States until all people are free and equal, and that everyone—We the People—must participate in the struggle for change. Vocalist Kenneth Gayle and contemporary poet and Houston Poet Laureate Outspoken Bean feature in this performance, confronting democracy’s unfinished work, their contemporary voices grounding the theme in today’s ongoing civic struggles.
Marcus Maroney’s work, The Color Blue, commissioned by Apollo and premiered in 2025, represents a collaboration with students at Houston’s Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Prompted by the question “What does democracy mean to you?” students contributed yearning and passionate writings on their nation and the future it will choose, bringing to this album a powerful multigenerational dimension representing tomorrow’s “We the People.” The Kinder HSPVA Chorale, led by director Marcus Jauregui and assistant director Jenny Stone, performs on the recording along with violist Tonya Burton.
The album closes with Mark Buller’s 2025 arrangement of Howard Hanson’s Song of Democracy, adapting this musical setting of Walt Whitman’s poetry for string quartet and SATB choir, and again featuring the Kinder HSPVA Chorale. Bridging past and present, this composition honors Whitman’s seminal American body of work – replete with the democratic humanism intrinsic to the nation’s cultural identity – while reimagining it for a new generation during the nation’s 250th anniversary.
We the People Tracklist
1. Daniel Bernard Roumain – And Still We Cross for string quartet, vocal quartet (SATB) and narrator (2025) [16:25]
Apollo Chamber Players
Kenneth Morris, Jr., author & narrator
Penelope Campbell, soprano
Elizabeth Tait, alto
Wayne Ashley, tenor
Keaton Brown, baritone
2. L. van Beethoven (arr. Tracy Silverman) – Fantasy on Symphony No. 7: Allegretto Groovando for string quartet & electric violin (2021) [6:54]
Apollo Chamber Players
Tracy Silverman, electric violin
Whitney Bullock, guest viola
3. John Corigliano – One Sweet Morning for string quintet & voice (2024) [5:58]
Apollo Chamber Players
John Holiday, countertenor
Ella Sharpe, double bass
4. Homayoun Sakhi – String Quartet No. 1: Tolo (Sunrise) (2024) [8:52]
John Cornelius – PAX (Peace) for string quartet, spoken word and voice (2022)
5. I. Prologue / Isle of Self (Outspoken Bean) [3:08]
6. II. Give Us Our Peace (Langston Hughes) [4:07]
7. III. Interlude / Give Us Our Peace (Outspoken Bean) [1:34]
8. IV. The Dove (Langston Hughes) [1:19]
9. V. People (Outspoken Bean) [3:00]
10. VI. PAX / Painting (Outspoken Bean) [2:04]
Apollo Chamber Players
Outspoken Bean, Houston Poet Laureate (2021-2023)
Kenneth Gayle, tenor
Marcus Maroney – The Color Blue for string quartet & SATB choir (2025)
11. Part 1: For the Fourth [6:28]
12. Part 2: Thought–Prayer [3:03]
13. Part 3: The Color Blue [8:44]
Apollo Chamber Players
Kinder HSPVA Chorale
Marcus Jauregui, director
Tonya Burton, guest viola
14. Howard Hansen (arr. Mark Buller 2025) – Song of Democracy for string quartet & SATB choir [12:22]
Apollo Chamber Players
Kinder HSPVA Chorale
Marcus Jauregui, director
Tonya Burton, guest viola
TT: 84:07
Apollo Founder & Director: Matthew J. Detrick
Producer, Recording & Mastering Engineer: Alan Bise
Producer & Engineer (Beethoven Fantasy): Ryan Edwards
Cover Image and Artwork: Liana Amaya
Graphics: Teresa Southwell
And Still We Cross underwritten by DatumSure
One Sweet Morning underwritten by Michael Managan in celebration of the life of Carolyn Smith Managan
The Color Blue underwritten by Joe & Venona Detrick
Track 1 recorded in December 2025 at Edythe Bates Old Recital Hall and Grand Organ, Rice University (Houston, TX)
Track 2 recorded in September 2021 at MATCH in Midtown (Houston, TX)
Tracks 3 & 11-14 recorded in October 2024 & July 2025 at Zilkha Hall, The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts (Houston, TX)
Tracks 4-10 recorded in February 2024 & February 2025 at The Clarion at Brazosport College (Lake Jackson, TX)
Audio voice-overs recorded at Wire Road Studios (Houston, TX)
About Apollo Chamber Players
Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players “performs with rhythmic flair and virtuosity” (The Strad) and “recasts music for a diverse and multi-ethnic generation” (Strings Magazine) through globally inspired programming and multicultural new music commissions. The ensemble is the 2025 honoree of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Ensemble of the Year award, which cited its recent themed concerts, highlighting American democratic ideals and the dangers of censorship, as exemplars of “exceptional artistry, musicality and groundbreaking impact on the chamber music landscape.” Also a past recipient of Chamber Music America’s Residency Partnership award, the ensemble has performed for sold-out audiences at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center, and is featured frequently on American Public Media’s nationally syndicated program Performance Today.
Celebrated for blending vibrant multicultural commissions with social commentary, Apollo was described by NPR’s Neda Ulaby as a “young, dynamic ensemble...creating programs in response to current events.” The ensemble has drawn recent acclaim for its collaborations with the legendary actor, author, and activist George Takei, who delivered a live narration in the opening concert of its 2024-2025 We the People series. Takei and the Apollo Chamber Players were recognized for the program with City of Houston Proclamations by Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Councilmember Willie Davis. U.S. Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, who represents Texas’s 7th District, including the city of Houston, wrote a letter commending the ensemble’s “artistic effort to bring enlightened inspiration of the Founding Fathers meaningfully into the 21st century, to expand on those ideals, and to help build a more perfect union through connection and community.” For the 2025-2026 season, Apollo continues on its themes of American heritage and justice with its American Story series timed for the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
Takei can also be heard on Apollo’s newest album, BAN: Stories of Censorship on Azica Records (August 2025). Previous Azica releases include Trace of Time (2024), praised as the work of “gifted musical storytellers” by Musical America, and With Malice Toward None (2021), which reached No. 1 on Amazon’s Hot New Release chart. The ensemble’s catalog of records has been featured on hundreds of radio and media stations worldwide. The organization’s debut feature film, MoonShot: The Remarkable Journey of Apollo Chamber Players, won international accolades, including Best Documentary and Best Documentary Soundtrack at the Seattle, Vancouver, Houston, and Screen ATX International film festivals. It is now available on Amazon Prime and Tubi.
A passionate advocate of globally-inspired contemporary music and art, Apollo counts an expanding catalogue of more than 60 commissioned works and eight critically acclaimed commercial albums. The ensemble’s diverse roster of leading and emerging composers includes Jennifer Higdon, John Corigliano, Libby Larsen, Pamela Z, Jerod Tate, Allison Loggins-Hull, Brian Raphael Nabors, and Vanessa Võ.
Apollo’s community partners include schools and universities, at-risk youth centers, refugee and veterans’ service organizations, and public libraries. The ensemble’s vanguard Library Voyage project, an initiative to perform in all Harris County/Houston Public Libraries, is the first of its kind in the nation. Apollo was founded in 2008 by violinist and music entrepreneur Matthew J. Detrick and violinist Timothy Peters.
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