“To me, the romantic spirit in music is important because it is timeless.”

These words by David Diamond capture the essence not only of the composer himself, but of an entire generation of American composers whose heartfelt music was born during the Great Depression and World War II. Diamond’s 1937 ballet TOM was written for e.e. cummings’s scenario based on the famous anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This Sacred Ground, a setting of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, also relates to America’s still-resonating encounter with the institution of slavery. Symphony No. 8 was dedicated to Diamond’s friend and mentor, Aaron Copland, on the occasion of his 60th birthday.