After the Watertown School Board voted last minute to bar the high school wind symphony from performing his composition at their spring recital Monday, composer Omar Thomas agreed to travel from Texas to conduct students and community members in an outside performance of “A Mother of A Revolution!” at a local church this evening.

Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church (209 N. North Street in Watertown) will host the performance tonight, Wednesday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public but space is limited and media is not being allowed, with the focus on providing a space for the community to enjoy and show their support for the musicians and composer. A live-stream of the event will also be provided here.

The Watertown High School orchestra and wind symphony performed their regular concert Monday evening, without the inclusion of the banned piece, to a large and receptive audience of friends and family. A rally of between 50-70 people lined up on the long driveway to the high school to show their support for the students, waving signs and various LGBTQ+ Pride flags to the supportive honks of passing cars.

News of the school board’s last-minute decision to vote (7-1) to disallow the performance has ricocheted across the country, receiving coverage in a wide array of media outlets and personal platforms. The incident is yet another episode in the current rise of anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-democratic backlash in the U.S.