This season finale celebrates the full arc of a composer’s creative life—reminding us that while we often celebrate youthful brilliance and first masterpieces, we less often pause to honor the depth, clarity, and wisdom found in a composer’s final works. Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture opens the evening with vitality and wonder, a testament to imagination at its most exuberant. Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs, performed by soprano Shanelle Woods, glow with warmth and acceptance, offering a radiant reflection on life’s beauty rather than its end. The program concludes with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, the Pathétique, whose unforgettable final movement transforms farewell into profound expression. Conducted by Matthew Wardell, these closing concerts invite us to listen not backward with sorrow, but forward with gratitude—for lives, voices, and music fully realized.

Shanelle Valerie Woods

Events

Upcoming events

17 - 18 Apr, 2027

Famous Last Words · Reilly Arts Center

Future and recently performed repertoire

Singer in Four Last Songs by Strauss

Reilly Arts Center

About

Shanelle Valerie Woods hasn't added a bio