'' August 4 , 1964 '' is an oratorio for mezzo-soprano , soprano , tenor , baritone , choir , and orchestra written by the American composer Steven Stucky with a libretto by Gene Scheer . It was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in honor of the centennial of the birth of 36th U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson . The piece premiered September 18 , 2008 at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas , with conductor Jaap van Zweden leading mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor , soprano Laquita Mitchell , baritone Robert Orth , tenor Vale Rideout , the Dallas Symphony Chorus , and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra . The work specifically follows the events of August 4 , 1964 during Johnson 's presidency , including the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the discovered bodies of three murdered civil rights workers in Neshoba County , Mississippi
three murdered civil rights workers
Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner
August 4, 1964