Watertown church hosts community band's performance of piece cut from school concert over ties to LGBTQ+ history
Updated: May 21, 2026
WATERTOWN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- After much controversy, local musicians in Watertown performed "A Mother of a Revolution" at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church.
This comes after the Watertown School Board removed the piece from the high school band's concert Monday night. Dozens of community members gathered at the church to enjoy the music.
The piece's composer, Omar Thomas, flew in to lead the performance. He said the goal of his art is to inspire others and bring love into the communities.
"What we are all doing right now, we are choosing to learn about one another, we are learning to learn what makes us a part of the same story," Thomas said. "This is what is going to propel us out of this moment."
The piece was written to honor transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson and the 1969 Stonewall Inn uprising in New York.
Posted: May 19, 2026
WATERTOWN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Watertown High School's spring band concert is over, but the controversy over a piece that was not played still echoes across the city.
Local musicians have formed a community band, and on Wednesday, May 20, they will perform the instrumental piece "A Mother of a Revolution" at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Watertown, with composer Omar Thomas conducting.
Tuesday, representatives from that church talked about why they agreed to host the concert.
"We would have preferred to not be in this position. We would have preferred that the piece be performed with the rest of the concert that the student musicians had prepared for so long," said Sunday school musician David Morstad. "But we don't get to control that."
"We are celebrating God's grace among us and in our community," Pastor Carina Schlitz said. "We're accepting folks. And this is something we see as serving the world in Jesus' name."
Watertown's school board removed "A Mother of a Revolution" from Monday night's band concert, calling it a violation of the district's "controversial issues" policy.
The piece was written to honor transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson and the 1969 Stonewall Inn uprising in New York.