An evening that celebrates the sacrifices and generosity shown by Lancashire mill workers during the American civil war, and the heart-felt thanks that were expressed in a letter that President Lincoln (born 200 years ago this year) sent to the people of Manchester.

The evening will include Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait, written for speaker and orchestra. This work includes short settings of poems and texts, as well as Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. The evening will also include Samuel Barber's Angus Dei - his own angelic choral arrangement of the Adagio for Strings.