“The Land That Shapes Us” brings our American Adventures season to a sweeping close, reflecting on the landscapes that define our character and leave their imprint on our lives’ stories. A newly commissioned work by Tanner Porter, inspired by the Colorado River, traces the waterway’s power and poetry—its quiet source, surging currents, and life-giving presence across the West. Schuman’s New England Triptych reimagines early American hymn tunes with bracing energy and noble simplicity, while Respighi’s Pines of Rome paints towering trees and sunlit vistas in cinematic brilliance, culminating in a triumphant procession that feels elemental and unforgettable.

The Land That Shapes Us

Riverwalk Center

This concert is in partnership with the Warren County Commission for the  250th Anniversary of the American Revolution

American Portraits

Glens Falls High School

A note from the Maestro: In paying tribute to the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our programming was chosen to represent a wide berth of compositional contributions from various corners of the U.S. Pairing Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman with Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man gives us a unique opportunity of reflection across the decades. Valerie Colman’s Umoja (Anthem of Unity) is now a staple in concert halls across the nation, and the New England Triptych by William Schuman takes us on a musical journey to a New England of the not-so-distant past. Our season finale concert culminates in a suite of much-beloved music from George Gershwin’s opera, “Porgy and Bess.”

EPSG:4326

Our American Story

University of Maine

The Wind Symphony welcomes world-renowned composer, David Amram, for the premiere performance of the band version of his orchestra work This Land: Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie. DMA Wind Conducting student Shawn Davern will conduct the Wind Symphony on this transcription, completed by Davern in collaboration with the composer. The program also includes William Schuman’s New England Triptych and Sousa's The Liberty Bell March.

Wind Symphony

Weigel Auditorium

Join the San Jose Metropolitan Band for our spring concert, Viva l’Italia! We will be presenting an exciting preview of the program that we will be performing during our June concert tour of Italy. Led by our director Ken Nakamoto, we will be featuring an eclectic program of concert band music from the early 1900s through today. We will feature the world premiere of The Power of Two, by local up-and-coming composer Vivian Le. In a nod to our host country, we will be playing The Pines of the Appian Way, from Ottorino Respighi’s tone poem Pines of Rome, and the Italian National Anthem. From this side of the Atlantic, we will feature the concert band classic Chester (William Schuman), West Highlands Sojourn (Robert Sheldon), Chasing Sunlight (Cait Nishimura), and the iconic The Stars and Stripes Forever (John Philip Sousa). We will round out the program with other SJMB favorites.

San Jose Metropolitan Band presents Viva L'Italia

Hammer Theatre Center

Join YOSA Philharmonic for America at 250, a powerful program that marks 250 years of independence with music and poetry that reflect the nation’s spirit, struggle, and soul.

YOSA Presents: America at 250

Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding with the music that resonated through the American colonies during the fight for independence. Sounds of a New Nation brings to life the anthems, hymns, and symphonic works that shaped the soundscape of early America, juxtaposing patriotic fervor and European influences, and hear these anthems and hymns woven into the dizzying tapestry of Ives’s A Symphony.

Sounds of a New Nation

The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts

The Carnegie Mellon Wind Ensemble utilizes a flexible instrumentation of winds, brass, and percussion to perform repertoire from standard concert band works to contemporary compositions of various instrumental combinations.

Carnegie Mellon Wind Ensemble

Schenley Farms Historic District

Step into the rich soundscape of American music with a concert that celebrates sweeping melodies, heartfelt lyricism, and bold orchestral colors. William Schuman’s New England Triptych sets the stage with vibrant energy, drawing inspiration from the spirit of early American composer William Billings. Rising star Amaryn Olmeda then takes the spotlight in Barber’s Violin Concerto, a masterpiece of lush beauty and breathtaking virtuosity. The evening reaches a glorious conclusion with Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2, "Romantic", a soaring work filled with passion, grandeur, and one of the most unforgettable melodies in American symphonic music.

Romance & Revolution

Williamsburg Community Chapel

Representing a variety of majors across campus, the University Band is joined by the Maryland Community Band for a concert of traditional and contemporary wind band music in a performance perfect for all ages.

University & Community Band Concert

The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

Get ready for Opening Day when we present Schuman’s The Mighty Casey, based on the famous 19th century story, Casey at the Bat. In true LOOC fashion, we’re presenting this with a twist, for Women’s Month. This is a musical story the whole family will love!

The Mighty Casey

OC Music & Dance

When purchasing a ticket to a Clayes Performing Arts Center event, you agree to adhere to all COVID-19 safety entry requirements in effect at the time of the event.

University Wind Symphony

California State University, Fullerton

Furniture or architecture might come to mind when one hears the phrase "mid-century modern," but the creative style also impacted the music of the time. You’ll likely discover a mid-century work you’ve never heard before on this program for a cappella chorus.

Mid-Century Modern

St. Gregory's Episcopal Church

Church of the Little Flower

All Saints Episcopal Church

Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church

The CMU Chorus performs works inspired by William Shakespeare's plays, including pieces written by George Shearing, Matthew Harris, William Schuman, and more. The plays featured include Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, Henry VIII, and Macbeth.

CMU Chorus & Singers

Carnegie Mellon University

MAP Wind Ensemble, String Ensemble, Orchestra

The Juilliard School

UA Wind Symphony

The University of Arizona

Copland’s Concerto swings in the hands of New York Philharmonic’s brilliant Principal Clarinet, Anthony McGill, while the DSO and DSO Chorus, led by Fabio Luisi, enthrall with a quintessential Romantic subject: the battle for the soul of Faust. You’ll recognize the protagonists by their music — heroic, lyrical, infernal — and be moved by the tenor solo and all-male “mystical chorus” exalting woman-eternal.


Copland and Liszt

Meyerson Symphony Center

For its 64th concert season, your Bloomington Symphony Orchestra continues the nation’s semi-quincentennial celebration by featuring the music of three composers who are synonymous with American music. After opening with William Schuman’s take on the old Colonial-era hymn “Chester,” we’ll visit with William Grant Still as he accompanies us on a symphonic visit via the musical stylings of his time and life experiences as expressed in his Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American.” After intermission, Maestro Laureano will lead the audience through a close look at An American in Paris, showing you what makes it such a memorable and special work.

American Journey

St. Michael’s Lutheran Church

Dance across America with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra; drive in an old Model T Ford down historical, winding Colorado roads with James David; read a New York newsreel with William Schuman; and experience the jazzy All-American symphonies of Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber! Join us for a night of musical storytelling and interpreting America’s musical identity.

William Schuman

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 11, 2026

American Journey · Bloomington Symphony Orchestra

Oct 17, 2026

ON the move: american snapshots · Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra

Past events

Jul 31, 2026

The Land That Shapes Us · National Repertory Orchestra

May 3, 2026

American Portraits · Glens Falls Symphony

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