New music festival coming to Lexington houses of worship this week

Editor’s Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and kentucky.com each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city’s history — some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange.

This week, voices lift to the heavens in Lexington.

A first-of-its-kind music festival will fill the halls of churches, chapels, sanctuaries, synagogues, mosques and concert halls this week as part of 250Lex, the city’s celebration of its 250th anniversary. The “In One A-Chord: Sacred Music Festival” kicked off on Monday and includes more than two dozen experiences at venues across the city.

Presented by CHI Saint Joseph Health, the week-long celebration of music is open to everyone, said Dr. Everett McCorvey, the event’s executive producer.

“Music has the power to unite, to inspire, and to move us,” McCorvey said. “This sacred music festival, the first of its kind in Lexington, creates the opportunity to celebrate local musicians, singers, arrangers and performers who make up our city’s rich and vibrant sacred musical landscape.”

Sacred music — which focuses on religious music like hymns and spirituals — elevates the human spirit, McCorvey said, and has not only the power to heal the individual, but to bring together the community.

The festival will feature performances like an organ music concert at Central Christian Church at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25; a performance by the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. at the Singletary Center for the Arts on Friday, Sept. 26; and a celebration of 250 Years of Faith, Hope & Strength Through Song at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Shiloh Baptist Church.

“With hundreds of houses of worship throughout Lexington today, music is a central point of most worship services,” said 250Lex Co-Chair Dr. Eunice Beatty. “250Lex presenting ‘In One A-Chord: A Sacred Music Festival’ is a fitting tribute and special salute to Lexington’s faith and religious communities.”

The festival will culminate in three performances on Sunday, Sept. 28:

• “Hymn of Thanksgiving & Sacred Sonatas” featuring Daniel Mason & Friends string quartet at First Presbyterian Church Chapel at 1 p.m.
• “Faure Requiem presented by UK Chorale at the Cathedral of Christ the King at 2:30 p.m.
• The Duke Ellington Sacred Music Concert, featuring the American Spiritual Ensemble, Kentucky Jazz Repertory Orchestra, and others at Transylvania University’s Mitchell Fine Arts Center at 6 p.m.

The event is a perfect way to celebrate Lexington’s history, said Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton.

“Our Sacred Music Festival is sure to lift you up,” Gorton said. “This celebration is a wonderful opportunity to come together, celebrate great talent and showcase the music and spirit that makes our city so special.”

While many of the events are free and open to the public, some, like the Duke Ellington Sacred Music Concert, are ticketed events. Check the event schedule at www.250lex.com/event-calendar/ for more information.

Have a question or story idea related to Lexington’s 250-year history? Let us know at 250LexKy@gmail.com.