Open Heart

This year’s MLK Tribute Concert beats with the spirit of compassion, courage, and community. We honor the revolutionary achievements of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a Chicago trailblazer who in 1893 performed the first successful open-heart surgery—just months before Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World” premiered. A pioneer and founder of the first Black-owned hospital in America, Dr. Dan’s legacy reminds us that opening hearts is both a me...