“For the Sunday afternoon audience, the widely admired composer and educator Jessie Montgomery previewed her 2021 “Freedom Songs,” a collection of lesser-known traditional Black spirituals adapted for voice, percussion and string orchestra. Sung with deep conviction and impeccable technique by classical soprano Julia Bullock, the work was ambitious in its expressive scope and authenticity. Montgomery and Bullock collaborated on the work as a narrative based on their shared personal African-American heritage and the tradition of the Negro spiritual.”