Mayor Michael Hancock will act as the guest narrator for a performance by the Lamont Wind Ensemble of a piece honoring Martin Luther King’s life and legacy on Jan. 30.

Hancock will narrate the piece “New Morning for the World: Daybreak of Freedom,” a compilation of speeches by King accompanied by music.

“We wanted an African American to narrate the speech because it is the actual spoken word of Martin Luther King speeches,” said Chris Wiger, director of public relations for the Lamont School of Music, who reached out to Hancock to invite him to perform. Though it took almost a month to coordinate the details, Wiger said Hancock immediately said he would be honored to participate.

This will be the second time this year Hancock has visited the campus, the first during the presidential debate in October.

The piece the mayor will perform assembles various famous speeches by King, and composes music to match the mood and tone of each speech as it is performed.

“The piece is kind of contemporary and very emotional,” said Wiger.

Wiger said the Lamont School of Music is honored to have Hancock take part in the performance. Conductor Joe Martin arranged for the performance in honor of Black History Month in February.

“This is part of the university being involved in the community and reaching out to the African American community,” said Wiger.

The piece has been performed in many venues since it was written in 1982, and has been performed by famous political figures, writer and celebrities including Yolanda King, James Earl Jones, Maya Angelou, Danny Glover and Vernon Jordan.

The performance will take place in the June Swaner Gates Concert Hall, which seats about 900. There are no tickets for seating, and admission will be free to all viewers of the performance. Those interested can visit Lamont’s website at www.du.edu/lamont or call the admissions office at 303-871-6412.