American Railroad

After the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, a coast-to-coast trip that used to take months was shortened to just under a week. Profit-seeking corporations and the American government financed it, but the people who actually built it—African Americans as well Irish, Chinese, Japanese, and other immigrant laborers—are the focus of Silkroad’s newest initiative, American Railroad. Conceived by Silkroad artistic director Rhiannon Giddens—a Nonesuch recording artist, MacArthur fellow, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer—this ambitious project highlights untold stories and amplifies unheard voices, addressing past injustices and providing a more truthful account of diasporic contributions to American empire-building. The musical program includes commissioned pieces by jazz artist Cécile McLorin Salvant and renowned Silkroad pipa player Wu Man, as well as re-envisioned arrangements of folk songs by Giddens and Silkroad colleagues Haruka Fujii and Maeve Gilchrist.