This concert opens Outcry: New World, a series exploring music shaped by the idea of America — its landscapes, its energy, and its cultural imagination.

The programme brings together three works written in the United States, spanning more than a century of American musical life. Celestis by Aaron Jay Kernis opens the evening with a glowing, expansive soundworld, its slow-moving textures and rich orchestration reflecting the breadth and confidence of contemporary American orchestral writing. 

That sense of space and clarity continues in Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, a work that has become inseparable from the sound of America itself. Its open harmonies, folk-inflected melodies, and rhythmic vitality evoke community, movement, and possibility. 

Outcry – New World

Smith Square Hall

Concluding the season, this evening highlights contemporary works forlarge and small ensembles by artistic director Aaron Jay Kernis and students.

EPSG:4326

NMNH - Aaron Jay Kernis

Yale University

The Dance Festival continues with a remarkable fusion of music and movement, led by Andreas Delfs. The evening begins with the lively overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor before piano virtuoso Jean-Yves Thibaudet takes on a thrilling world premiere by Aaron Jay Kernis (Voices of Today commission). Rochester City Ballet then brings Shakespeare’s greatest love story to life in Delfs’ own arrangement of Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet Suite. Passion, finesse, and drama take center stage!

RPO: Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Rochester City Ballet

Eastman Theatre

DANCE FESTIVAL: Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Rochester City Ballet

Journey through luminous soundscapes and rustic beauty in Appalachian Spring, a concert of celestial serenity, playful charm, and sweeping Americana. The evening opens with Aaron Jay Kernis’ Musica Celestis, a transcendent work of shimmering, angelic harmonies that seem to drift through the heavens. Duo Amadeae—sisters Esther Park and Sun-A Park—bring their dazzling synchronicity and expressive touch to Poulenc’s spirited Concerto for Two Pianos in D Minor, a piece bursting with wit, elegance, and unexpected turns. Copland’s beloved Appalachian Spring brings the night to a radiant close, evoking gentle nostalgia and painting a musical portrait of open skies and endless possibility. This program offers a joyful, heartfelt journey through sound and story—a celebration of hope, imagination, and the enduring spirit.

CSO: Appalachian Spring

RiverCenter for the Performing Arts

Mozart Requiem

Granada Theatre

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5—the first symphony ever conducted by Maestro Yasuda—is one of the most iconic works in classical music, its famous four-note opening beginning the journey from struggle to triumph. Also featured is cellist Nathaniel Pierce in Tchaikovsky’s elegant Variations on a Rococo Theme and Kernis’ lyrical Air for Cello and Orchestra.

CVSO: Beethoven's Fifth

Pablo Center at the Confluence

The MSO’s own principal cellist Susan Babini performs an unforgettable concerto by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis, whose expansive and haunting solo cello concerto Colored Field was inspired by a visit to a former WWII concentration camp. Later, Music Director Ken-David Masur conducts Brahms’ First Symphony, whose brilliance helped the composer step out of Beethoven’s shadow; critic Eduard Hanslick said of Brahms’s First that “...even the layman will immediately recognize it as one of the most distinctive and magnificent works of the symphonic literature.”

Masur Conducts Brahms

Warner Grand Theater

Experience the celestial wonders of music with the Omaha Symphony's presentation of "The Planets." This stellar event features Holst’s and Kernis’ masterpieces, alongside the premiere of Kevin Puts’ Concerto for Orchestra, a work first introduced by the St. Louis Symphony in 2023. Under the baton of Music Director Ankush Kumar Bahl, the performance promises an auditory journey through the cosmos.

Scheduled for two nights at the Holland Center, the concerts will take place on Friday, March 21, and Saturday, March 22, both at 7:30 PM. The program includes Aaron Jay Kernis' ethereal "Musica Celestis," Kevin Puts' expansive "Concerto for Orchestra," and Gustav Holst's majestic "The Planets," accompanied by visuals curated by the Omaha Symphony to enhance the experience.

This event is not just a concert but an immersive experience designed to transport the audience to the stars and beyond, celebrating the beauty and vastness of the universe through music. With the Omaha Symphony's commitment to excellence, attendees are guaranteed a performance that combines stellar musicianship with awe-inspiring visuals.

Subscriptions to the Masterworks series are available, offering benefits such as savings, free exchanges, and more. Individual tickets will be on sale in August, but early subscribers can secure their seats today and enjoy the many advantages of being a season subscriber.

Don't miss this opportunity to witness a unique blend of music and visuals, showcasing the talents of the Omaha Symphony and the visionary works of celebrated composers. Join us for "The Planets" and let your imagination soar to the heavens.

The Planets

Omaha Performing Arts

From chirruping birds and babbling brooks to a kaleidoscopic cosmic lightshow – the power of nature pulses through this electrifying concert directed by energetic British conductor Mark Wigglesworth

Beethoven's 'Pastoral' Symphony

The Queen's Hall

Buchanan Galleries

Widely acclaimed as a performer and teacher, the Bachauer Gold Medalist takes the Bachauer stage in a concert focused on music of the night, with music of Amy Beach and Franz Liszt, and Nikolai Medtner’s haunting “Night Wind” Sonata.

Stephen Beus in Concert

Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center

The master guitarist and the winners of the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition perform Baroque to Piazzolla to Broadway to The Beatles.

MILOŠ is one of the world’s most celebrated classical guitarists. His career began its meteoric rise in 2011, with the release of his international best-selling Deutsche Grammophon debut album Mediterraneo. Since then, he has earned legions of fans, awards, and acclaim around the world through his extensive touring, six chart topping recordings, and television appearances.

Viano Quartet with MILOŠ, guitar

The Royal Conservatory of Music

Here and Now Series: Ned Rorem, Aaron Jay Kernis, David Del Tredici / Marc Peloquin

Bargemusic

Hailed as an “outstanding artist” (Der Standard, Austria) Pittsburgh Symphony Principal Flute, Lorna McGhee is equally at home in a solo, chamber or orchestral setting. She has performed concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in the UK; Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Philharmonia, and Victoria Symphony in Canada; Nashville Chamber Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, San Luis Obispo Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in the USA; Kyushu Symphony in Japan, and Evergreen Symphony in Taipei. Career highlights include a performance of Penderecki's flute concerto under the baton of the composer, Bach’s B Minor suite with both Yannick Nézet-Seguin and Nicholas McGegan, the Ibert concerto with Juanjo Mena, Nielsen with Yan Pascal Tortelier and most recently the Mozart G major with Manfred Honeck. Upcoming highlights include performances of the Saariaho Flute Concerto entitled “Aile du Songe” with both the Pittsburgh Symphony and Minnesota Orchestra.

Faculty Recital: Lorna McGhee

Carnegie Mellon University

Immerse yourself in a celestial journey with the Greenwich Symphony on April 13 & 14, 2024, at the Performing Arts Center at Greenwich High School, located at 10 Hillside Road, Greenwich, CT. Under the baton of esteemed conductor Stuart Malina, and featuring the innovative visuals of Adrian Wyard, this concert promises an unforgettable exploration of the cosmos through music.

The evening's program includes Aaron Jay Kernis' "Musica Celestis," a piece inspired by the medieval concept of angelic choirs, alongside Debussy's serene "Clair de Lune." Experience the thrill of John Williams' "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and be transported by the majestic sweep of Holst's "The Planets," accompanied by Wyard's spectacular original animations and NASA media, cued live to the music for a seamless integration of sound and sight.

Performances are scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm, offering two opportunities to partake in this stellar musical event. Tickets are available now for those wishing to embark on this auditory and visual voyage through the heavens. Don't miss this blend of classical music mastery and cutting-edge visual artistry, set to illuminate the mysteries of the universe and the beauty of celestial music.

GSO April Concert 2024

Greenwich High School

“Our Glorious Life concert is deeply personal. And I’m really excited for it.  Birth and death are the most profound and mystical occurrences of the human life cycle. There is nothing more celebrated or mourned than the ‘into’ and ‘out of’ our human life. And there is nothing more questioned than the ins and outs. Where did we come from? Where do we go? Is there life before life? Is there life after death? Who knows the answers?  We turn to religion, spiritual practices, psychics, priests, gurus, doctors.  Books have been written about different accounts of people with Near Death Experiences.

Glorious Life

Civic Center Music Hall

Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto is a landmark of his dark and restless middle period, here featuring Seong-Jin Cho, whose 2018 Chicago debut offered “about as thrilling a display of sheer powerhouse keyboard bravura as one is ever likely to encounter” (Chicago Classical Review). Gemma New conducts the program, which closes with Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony, evoking highland mists, warring clans and long-lost folk dances.

Seong-Jin Cho Plays Beethoven

Symphony Center

Context is crucial in New Century’s first collaboration with the students of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, featuring music that harnesses the sights and sounds of nature. American violinist Alexi Kenney leads the combined forces of New Century and SFCM in this unique multimedia program that immerses the audience on a journey from the Puerto Rican beaches of Angélica Negrón’s Marejada to the stark beauty of Joshua Tree National Park in Gabriella Smith’s Desert Ecology. A lush garden of sound blooms during the second half as our combined string ensemble performs Georges Enescu’s romantic masterwork, the Octet for Strings.

Sonic Ecosystems

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Here is your invitation to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life. Let the professional musicians of the Fort Collins Symphony whisk you away to an evening of nostalgia, reflection, and peace. From its bold opening to its quiet close, you don’t want to miss the magic of a live symphony orchestra.

“Escape to Reflection”

The Lincoln Center

Boston Conservatory String Orchestra performs music from three centuries under the direction of Bruce Hangen. Music of joy, music of reflection, and Mozart's desire to prove himself all combine for a wonderfully eclectic mix of symphonic string music.

String Orchestra

Boston Conservatory Theater

Our concert season opener is a musicological journey through the history of American music featuring composers from the late 1900s to present day. Come to hear your favorite works by American composers and support our 2022 Charles F. Davis concerto competition winner, Karlie Thomas, performing Scaramouch for alto saxophone and orchestra.

Aspects of America

Great Lakes Center for the Arts

Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik returns to CMS after an absence of 28 seasons, in the company of recent works paying tribute to this famous piece. Mozart’s skill in serenade composing is revealed in his Serenata notturna, preceded by another masterpiece less frequently performed on major concert stages: Pachelbel’s ingenious Canon, together with its sparkling Gigue. Boccherini provides acrobatics for guitar and strings, and Aaron Jay Kernis ends the program with his own unashamedly crowd-pleasing guitar quintet.

Aaron Jay Kernis

Events

Upcoming events

May 4, 2027

Greatest Hits · Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Past events

May 17, 2026

Outcry – New World · Sinfonia Smith Square

Apr 16, 2026

NMNH - Aaron Jay Kernis · Yale School of Music

About

Aaron Jay Kernis hasn't added a bio