In Harmony

One of the most meaningful aspects of Singing City’s upcoming Dream Keeper   concerts on March 14 and 15 is the opportunity to collaborate with organizations that share our belief that every voice matters. Among those partners is Dreamline,  a remarkable global initiative that invites young people to imagine a better world and share their dreams with others.

Dreamline began in a classroom.

Its founder, Jeffrey Harlan, spent more than thirty years as an educator. Early in his teaching career, he wanted to help his students think beyond themselves and connect meaningfully with people whose lives and experiences were different from their own. What began as a classroom project quickly revealed something powerful. When students are invited to reflect on their hopes for the future and express them creatively, their voices carry wisdom, compassion, and imagination.

That classroom idea grew into what is now the Dreamline Global Program.

Today, Dreamline has engaged more than 160,000 students in 55 countries. The program connects students across geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic boundaries through a simple but powerful process. Students reflect on their values and dreams for change, then create a Dream Banner. Each banner is a piece of cloth where students express their hopes through words and artwork.

These individual banners are then attached together on a line called a Dreamline.

The Dreamline itself becomes both a physical and symbolic representation of connection. Each banner is the same size. Each voice is given the same space. When the banners are linked together, they form a collective expression of hope. The message is simple but profound. We pursue our dreams together.

Dreamline’s inspiration traces back to the poetry of Langston Hughes, whose work often centered on the power of dreams and the resilience of the human spirit. In particular, Hughes’ poem The Dream Keeper provided the spark that launched the program. Its famous line, “Bring me all of your dreams, you dreamers,” became the invitation that opened the door for students to share their visions for a better world.

This connection makes Dreamline a natural partner for the Dream Keeper concert, which celebrates the life and legacy of Langston Hughes through music, poetry, and spoken word.

For the March 14 performance, Dreamline is working with five Philadelphia schools to bring the voices of students directly into the concert experience. More than 200 students in grades 2 through 12 are participating in the project. The schools represent a wide cross section of the city, including public, charter, and independent schools. Many of the participating teachers are members of the Singing City Chorus.

Each student will create a Dream Banner reflecting their hopes for the future.

Following the concert, these banners will be displayed at the reception so that audience members can walk among them and experience the collective dreams of Philadelphia’s young people. Seeing hundreds of individual visions placed side by side becomes a powerful reminder of the hope, imagination, and compassion that young people bring to our communities.

The students will also participate directly in the performance.

During a musical setting of Hughes’ poem "The Dream Keeper," representative students from each participating school will step forward to read their Dream Banners aloud. As the choir sings in the background, the students’ voices will share their dreams with the audience, creating a moment where poetry, music, and lived experience come together in real time. It promises to be one of the most moving moments of the evening.

At its heart, Dreamline reflects the same values that have guided Singing City for more than seventy-five years. Both organizations believe in the power of community, the importance of belonging, and the idea that every individual voice carries value.

By bringing Dreamline into the Dream Keeper concert, those values become visible and audible in a powerful way. The dreams of young people will stand alongside the poetry of Langston Hughes and the music of the choir, creating an intergenerational experience rooted in hope.

Dream Keeper will be presented by Singing City on March 14 and 15 in collaboration with Lyric Fest   and several community partners.

Tickets and more information are available at https://www.singingcity.org/dreamkeeper.