Yellow Barn Artistic Director Seth Knopp has developed a program to commemorate President Kennedy that brings together words and music, softening the line between what is said and heard, to bring new meaning to the shared experience of Kennedy's death 50 years ago this November. The program includes historic moments delivered by JFK, RFK, and Walter Cronkite, a poem by Borges read by Theodore Bikel, and a collection of personal histories from Dallas and from Yellow Barn's community in Putney, VT.

Following the Dallas performance at City Performance Hall on November 23rd, Yellow Barn will perform part of the program and present the complete oral histories along with the score to Steven Mackey's new string quartet One Red Rose (commissioned by Yellow Barn, the Nasher Sculpture Center, and Carnegie Hall) to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza for their archives.

In collaboration with the Sixth Floor Museum, Yellow Barn will present excerpts from the following speeches:

President John F. Kennedy’s commencement address at American University, June 10, 1963

President Kennedy’s report to the American people on civil rights, June 11, 1963

President Kennedy’s inaugural address, January 20, 1961

Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s statement on the death of Rev. Martin Luther King, April 4, 1968

President Kennedy’s remarks at Amherst College, October 26, 1963

Learn more about this residency program and performances this month in Putney and Dallas