Composer

Hope for a better, more united, more empathetic world inspired the programming of this concert, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. “I dare look up,” says Florence Price, the first African American composer, in her Song of Hope. Following in her footsteps, Margaret Bonds drew inspiration from the civil rights movement for her Montgomery Variations, dedicated to Martin Luther King.

Songs of Hope

Place des Arts

Following the conclusion of our 25/26 subscription season, join us for “A Community Gift and Dream — for the Love of Music” June 13-14, 2026.

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A Community Gift and Dream — for the Love of Music

Overture Center for the Arts

Performing opera from a young age is a unique adventure that Opéra Junior has been offering to young people in Montpellier and the surrounding region for over 30 years. From the age of 4, children have the opportunity to be trained in singing, dance, and theater, and to discover all the professions of opera, working alongside composers, conductors, musicians, directors, costume designers, set designers, and professional technicians. Let yourself be charmed by the talent and energy of our young performers!

Junior Opera

Saint Vincent Church

Witness history at the world premiere of Kennedy Center Honoree Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln,” a new work that brings one of America’s most iconic figures to life. Led by Grammy-winning conductor Karen Kamensek, the program continues with Barber’s poetic Violin Concerto and Gershwin’s enormously popular An American in Paris.

Philip Glass’ “Lincoln” Dalene plays Barber

Kennedy Center

As part of the CSO’s tribute to 250 years of American history, Jean-Yves Thibaudet takes on the extravagant, jazz-infused piano solo in Leonard Bernstein’s The Age of Anxiety, based on W. H. Auden’s poem about the quest for faith and meaning. Sumptuous orchestral highlights from Gershwin and Weill musicals frame a stirring selection of spirituals performed with the Apostolic Church of God Sanctuary Choir.

Gaffigan, Thibaudet & Bernstein

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Katelyn Moon, violin

Northwestern Bienen School of Music

In his 2023 CSO subscription debut, Conrad Tao gave a “dazzling, staggering” performance of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, wrote the Chicago Tribune, in which Tao “carried his melodies masterfully.” As part of the CSO’s monthlong focus on American music, the Illinois native returns with a selection of Gershwin song arrangements interspersed with works by Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninov, Schoenberg and Robert Schumann.

Conrad Tao

Build the excitement leading up to our nation’s 250th birthday! Festivities include iconic musical hits from American composers, Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, Bernstein’s Overture to Candide,Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, and musical favorites from stage and screen. Don’t miss this stellar season finale!

American Salute

Folsom Lake College

Featuring pianist Thomas Pandolfi and the debut of the Naptown Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus.

American Voices United Through Song

Maryland Hall

These Seasons are “half” because they interweave famous jazz standards with Vivaldi's Four Seasons. The narrative thread follows the cycle of the seasons, understood not only as a natural phenomenon, but as a metaphor for love and the human condition. A journey that reflects the parable of life: every end already contains a new beginning.

Italian Philharmonic Orchestra: THE HALF SEASONS

Gaetano Donizetti Theater

Sarah Heimberg, trumpet

Our season concludes with three iconic compositions and two orchestral world premieres. Bernstein’s toe-tapping Three Dance Episodes from On the Town, Copland’s distinctively American Appalachian Spring Suite, and Gershwin’s jazz-infused Rhapsody in Blue are paired with two works rooted in Western New York. Michael Daugherty’s Niagara Falls is a musical journey through one of the world’s great scenic wonders, while Buffalo-born Paul Moravec’s Serenade—inspired by the Great Western Staircase at the New York State Capitol, a marvel of intricate sculpture and history—offers a stirring narrative of ascent and aspiration.

American Soundscapes

Kleinhans Music Hall

Michelle Cann, a champion of American composers and “pianist of sterling artistry” (Gramophone), returns to perform a world premiere by Valerie Coleman—named one of the “Top 35 Women Composers” by The Washington Post. Conductor Kellen Gray frames the evening with works reflecting the breadth of our nation’s story: Dvořák’s American Suite, inspired by his time in the U.S., and the Catfish Row suite from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.

Cann plays Coleman

Yannick celebrates two toweringly gifted composers, seminal American voices of the 20th century. Gershwin’s Piano Concerto dances through cityscapes, brash and brilliant. Bernstein, whose works for the concert hall, opera stage, Broadway, and film formed the soundtrack of the century, is represented by two of his Broadway masterworks, Candide and West Side Story, and his impassioned “Jeremiah” Symphony, an epic chronicle of a prophet and a people. 

Gershwin and Bernstein

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

This electrifying Australian group, founded in 2007 by brothers Daniel Kowalik (violin) and Karol Kowalik (cello), and friends Thomas Chawner (viola) and David Dalseno (violin), is one of the most exciting string quartets of its generation. Known for their engaging performances, they inspire reviews like this one from the Canberra CityNews: “incredible passion, fire and intensity. The audience erupted in thunderous applause and cheers. It was an electric and enthralling evening of the finest music making.” They are joined by award-winning pianist Olga Kern in what promises to be an evening you won’t want to miss!

Orava Quartet & Olga Kern, piano

Clay & Jay Barr Education Center

Music Arts Center

Dayner Tafur-Díaz/Orchestra Giovanile Italiana

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Theatre

Celebrate America’s 250th birthday with a vibrant program of iconic works by 20th-century American composers. Gershwin’s unforgettable Rhapsody in Blue blends classical form with jazz flair and features noted San Diego pianist Dan Yu as soloist. Also included are Copland’s stirring Fanfare for the Common Man, the mystical beauty of Hovhaness’s Mysterious Mountain, selections from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Copland’s Rodeo (including the lively Hoe Down and tender Corral Nocturne), and Bernstein’s effervescent Overture to West Side Story. From sweeping vistas to urban rhythms, this finale concert captures the spirit, soul and story of America.

An American Celebration

Poway Center for the Performing Arts

The Mark Morris Dance Group’s “Dances to American Music” is a vibrant celebration of the rich tapestry of American music and dance. Featuring choreography by the legendary Mark Morris, this dynamic program includes Going Away Party (music by Bob Wills), Three Preludes (music by George Gershwin), Northwest (music by John Luther Adams), and You’ve Got to be Modernistic (music by James P. Johnson). Mark Morris has captivated global audiences with his profound humanity, humor, and the unique ability to fuse live music and dance into an experience that transcends the ordinary.

Mark Morris Dance Group: Dances to American Music

McCarter Theatre Center

The Symphonic Band’s second spring-quarter concert takes as its focal point George Gershwin’s Catfish Row: Symphonic Suite from Porgy and Bess, arranged for band by Donald Hunsberger. Enjoy hits from Gershwin’s 1935 opera including “Summertime,” “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’,” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”

Symphonic Band

Northwestern University

Spend an evening in the Jazz Age with a musical feast of George Gershwin. Music Director Xian Zhang conducts three works that define his legacy as one of our great composers, effortlessly combining cosmopolitan music with the new language of jazz. We open the concert with a pianistic tour de force: the Concerto in F, in the hands of the incomparable Hélène Grimaud. Then Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture captures all the energy and poignancy of his opera, including Summertime and I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’. Last but certainly not least, An American in Paris takes a musical stroll through the streets of Paris, with any homesickness banished by the city’s exuberance, the French atmosphere and the street noises.

Xian Conducts Gershwin

Benaroya Hall

Join Artistic and Music Director Designate Alexander Shelley and pianist Conrad Tao for a bold celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. Experience Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F alongside the West Coast premiere of Peter Boyer and Joe Sohm's American Mosaic, a powerful reflection of America’s diverse and dynamic spirit. This concert honors our nation’s past, present, and future—an unforgettable tribute to 250 years of cultural innovation.

Shelley Conducts America at 250

Segerstrom Center for the Arts

When spring is at its loveliest, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra presents Gershwin’s sensational Piano Concerto with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. We also hear the world premiere of Broström’s new symphony. This magical evening is led by Santtu-Matias Rouvali!

Spring Delight with Gershwin

Göteborgs Symfoniker

A clarinet soars upwards – and immediately, you can picture the skyscrapers of jazz-age Manhattan. There’s nothing quite like Rhapsody in Blue, and few living pianists play Gershwin with more flair than our soloist today, Japanese jazz legend Makoto Ozone. And with RPO Conductor-in-Residence Kevin John Edusei is conducting, there are endless pictures to be painted and stories to be told.

High in the mountains of Transylvania, György Ligeti hears a shepherd blow his horn, and gypsy fiddles flash around the campfire.

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Makoto Ozone plays Gershwin

Cadogan Hall 

A clarinet soars upwards – and immediately, you can picture the skyscrapers of jazz-age Manhattan. There’s nothing quite like Rhapsody in Blue, and few living pianists play Gershwin with more flair than our soloist today, Japanese jazz legend Makoto Ozone. And with RPO Conductor-in-Residence Kevin John Edusei conducting, there are endless pictures to be painted and stories to be told. High in the mountains of Transylvania, György Ligeti hears a shepherd blow his horn, and gypsy fiddles flash around the campfire. And far from his Hungarian homeland, composed in the USA, Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra sets out to put a great orchestra through its paces and ends up by punching the air with glee. This is music that loves life – and believe us, you can feel it.

Makoto Ozone plays Gershwin

Enjoy an electrifying evening of emotion-packed music celebrating four great American composers of the 20th century in a program that blends jazz-infused brilliance, lyrical reflection, and theatrical passion.

Made in America: Side by Side

Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy - Upper School

Vero Beach High School

July 4, 2026, marks the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence's signing. To celebrate, the Indiana Wind Symphony will host an early party featuring the concert “American Tapestry,” showcasing some of our nation's finest band composers. This historic milestone offers a moment to pause, reflect on our nation's journey, honor the contributions of all Americans, and envision the future we aspire to create for future generations.

American Tapestry

Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts

Celebrated French pianist Hélène Grimaud returns to the VSO to treat us to George Gershwin’s Concerto in F Major, brimming with enthusiasm and rhythm. English conductor Alexander Shelley summons the orchestra’s many musical colours in Ravel’s sensual ballet, Daphnis et Chloé. Peruvian composer Jimmy López’s Aino, hailed by The Chicago Tribune as “one of the most effective CSO commissions in recent seasons” receives its hotly anticipated Vancouver premiere.

Grimaud Plays Gershwin

Orpheum

Ravel and Gershwin

Fitzgerald High School

Experience one of Gershwin’s most iconic works, Rhapsody in Blue—a 1924 tour de force that helped define the Jazz Age. Originally written for solo piano and jazz band, this exhilarating piece fuses classical structure with the infectious energy of jazz. With its bold rhythms, sweeping melodies, and dazzling improvisatory spirit, Rhapsody in Blue remains a testament to Gershwin’s genius in bridging musical traditions.

Sounds of America II: Rhapsody in Blue & West Side Story

Willson Auditorium

DeAndre Simmons and Laquita Mitchell take star turns as Porgy and Bess, with timeless classics like “Summertime” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” American mezzo-soprano Kate Jackman is our soloist for Copland’s poignant and delightful Old American Songs, alternating with a chorus of Greenville’s finest singers led by William Burgess.

Season Finale: Porgy and Bess

Peace Center

West Side Story is a singular, iconic musical theater work that combines the genius of Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins, and Arthur Laurents. Based on Shakespeare’s play Romeo & Juliet, the musical stylizations draw heavily from jazz, Afro-Caribbean, and Mexican sources.

America@250

Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts

Celebrate America’s 250th birthday with works exclusively by American composers—Bernstein’s West Side Story Dances, Price’s Symphony No. 1, Barber’s Adagio for Strings, and Gershwin’s An American in Paris.

250 Years of America

North Canyon High School

Symphonic Sazón

Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center

Porgy and Bess premiered on Broadway in 1935 and its music took root in our culture, with iconic songs like “Summertime” and “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’,” becoming popular classics. It’s themes of community resilience, acceptance, and redemption weave a poignant story, all told through a “melting pot” of musical styles from folk to blues, to spirituals, to jazz, to Broadway theater music, and classical to create what is considered by many to be the greatest American opera.

Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess In Concert

Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center

Experience Rhapsody in Blue like never before! In a groundbreaking performance, the Austin Symphony Orchestra will bring George Gershwin himself to the stage—through the power of Steinway & Sons' Spirio | r technology. This state-of-the-art piano system will perform Gershwin’s own recorded keystrokes in perfect synchronization with the orchestra, allowing audiences to hear Rhapsody in Blue as Gershwin originally played it.

Rhapsody in Blue

The Long Center for the Performing Arts

Feel the rush of nature and unrelenting power! Gabriella Smith’s Tumblebird Contrails paints a vivid soundscape of wind, waves, and wild motion. Grieg’s Piano Concerto then soars with breathtaking melodies and virtuosic fire. The evening climaxes with Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4, "The Inextinguishable", a fierce, defiant triumph of resilience and raw orchestral energy. Don’t miss this exhilarating ride!

Forces of Nature

Hult Center for the Performing Arts

We welcome back to the Festival Septura, the internationally renowned brass septet after their triumph in Newbury last year.

Septura

St Mary's Church

Side-by-Side

Northern Virginia Community College

Experience the blues, jazz, and Broadway-infused orchestral colors that could only come from America's musical kaleidoscope—George Gershwin.

Gershwin, by George!

Hunt Union

Chicago Sinfonietta commissioned a bold new symphonic tribute honoring the 100th birthday of jazz icon Miles Davis—born in Alton, Illinois and raised just outside Chicago. Composed by Chicago Sinfonietta’s very own Assistant Principal Violist Seth Pae, this powerful premiere reimagines the boundary-pushing spirit of a legend who forever changed the sound of American music.

American Rhapsody

North Central College

Celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with Dances to American Music: Soul of America, a captivating performance by one of the country’s leading dance companies. Choreographed by the legendary Mark Morris, this program blends jazz, classical and folk music by iconic American composers, including George Gershwin, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, James P. Johnson and John Luther Adams. Morris brings his unique creativity and musical precision to life, fusing dance and live music to honor the vibrant spirit and diversity of America’s artistic heritage.

Dances to American Music: Three Preludes, Northwest, Pizzica, You've Got to Be Modernistic

University of Washington

Only two of the evening's four composers are actually American, but French Maurice Ravel wrote his piano concerto in the wake of a very successful American tour, and Martinů lived in the United States for a number of years – also when he composed The Rock. The work is a symphonic poem that shows Martinů's fascinating ability to use the rich sound possibilities of the orchestra. Ravel combines several styles in his work – including jazz, but it all ties together, and the piano concerto appears as a divinely beautiful kaleidoscopic journey through timbres and sensual rhythms.

The American composers

Aalborg Central Waterfront

ESO’s dementia friendly concerts are integral to our ethos as musicians and performers. Our musicians have many years of experience in this field and are committed to bringing their talents to members of society who are living with dementia and other life debilitating conditions.

Research supports our experience that live music benefits people living with dementia by stimulating memories, reducing agitation and stress and improving communication between residents and staff.

Dementia Friendly Concert – ESO Wind Quartet

Malvern Theatres

John Harbison, one of Boston’s musical luminaries for the fifty-odd years that he has lived here, is the composer of a large, extraordinarily varied body of work. Many of music’s highest honors have come his way—the Pulitzer Prize for music and a commission from the Metropolitan Opera among them. The BPYO plays his incandescent Remembering Gatsby (Foxtrot for Orchestra) for the first time since the senior Boston Philharmonic Orchestra played it in 1995.

Harbison / Gershwin / Copland

Boston Symphony Hall

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

American Portraits

Glens Falls High School

Guest conductor Donald Lee III leads a tribute to an iconic musical genre.

Gershwin All That Jazz

University of Nevada

Two Frenchmen meet in Miami for a concert that includes Gershwin’s An American in Paris. Among the world’s finest pianists, Jean-Yves Thibaudet joins NWS for The Age of Anxiety, a Bernstein parable about chasing happiness.  

Denève, Thibaudet, Bernstein & Gershwin

New World Center

To close out the year, this program is a showcase of the exceptional students of the School of Music. George Gershwin's wonderfully colorful inspired work, American in Paris, will kick things off. Winners of the Dean's Concerto Competition will solo with the orchestra-highlighting both graduate and undergraduate talent. The evening closes with an orchestral showpiece for every instrument, Ravel's Bolero.

LSU Symphony Orchestra: Gershwin & Ravel

Louisiana State University

Wind Division Recital

560 Music Center

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.”

Our American Story

University of Maine

Diana Tishchenko likely still has fond memories of her last performance with the Duisburg Philharmonic : In June 2024, the Ukrainian-born violinist, who was born in Crimea, played a violin concerto by the Ukrainian composer Yevhen Stankovych – and received enthusiastic applause from the audience for this politically powerful statement. Now she returns as a chamber musician and, together with her piano partner José Gallardo, who returns after his Duisburg debut in the 2024/2025 season, will present European composers who have played with the soundscape of America. The Frenchman Ravel incorporated elements of jazz, which was still new and exciting at the time, into his violin sonata. Jazz harmonies and sophisticated rhythms can also be heard in the concert fantasy that Igor Frolov compiled on themes from George Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess," including the catchy tune "Summertime." César Franck, for his part, composed his violin sonata—still a classic in the repertoire today—as a wedding gift for the Belgian violin virtuoso and fellow composer Eugène Ysaÿe. Ysaÿe, too, dedicated his sonata to a famous colleague: the Romanian composer George Enescu, with whom he once performed together.

Sound worlds between Europe and America

CityPalais

Founded in 2007, this Brazilian initiative's Orchestra of Excellence has made a name for itself internationally as part of a major government programme to expose young people in South America to music and culture. The Youth Orchestra has already given more than 300 concerts around the world, and in April it will add another prestigious venue to its list of venues: the Alte Oper. The opening concert of the Youth Orchestra Festival is dedicated to the young musicians of Neojiba - around 100 talented musicians aged between 13 and 27. With the drive of George Gershwin's 'Cuban Overture' and their own energy, they set the mood for the evening and for a festival in which the next generation is leading and playing. The same was true of the Nationaal Jeugd Jazz Orkest concert that followed. The Dutch collective sees itself as a big band for - so much Dutch is obvious - 'aanstormende supertalenten' up to the age of 26. Led by guitarist and composer Reinier Baas, the NJJO plays a repertoire of arrangements of pieces that have inspired the band members, and the young talents are always invited to write for the band. The result is a very coherent programme, despite the many influences, with music ranging from avant-garde to danceable grooves.

Neojiba Orchestra

Alte Oper

Aiden Hong, Clarinet

The Juilliard School

Lose yourself in the effortless cool of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, where bluesy harmonies, and bursts of orchestral color blur the lines between classical elegance and jazz-inspired groove. Then, brace for the full-throttle thrill of Stravinsky’s Firebird, a whirlwind of shimmering magic and raw power that blazes from mysterious whispers to an explosive, triumphant finale.

Flames of Renewal

Cape Henlopen High School

The Grand Opera House

One of the most sought-after pianists of her generation, Michelle Cann joins your Colorado Symphony to deliver a double-header piano showcase of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue – a uniquely American standard occupying the intersection between classical music, jazz, and Broadway – and Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement. Price’s Late Romantic background and her deep understanding of African-American spiritual combine for stop-in-your-tracks-beautiful moments, which Cann brings to life in a work that was almost lost to time before being reconstructed from manuscripts just fifteen years ago.

Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue with Michelle Cann

Denver Performing Arts Complex

A century after its debut, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue still crackles with energy—its opening clarinet glissando an unmistakable call to the thrill of jazz-age America. Teddy Abrams leads the Louisville Orchestra in this timeless fusion of classical and jazz idioms.

The program also features the world premiere of a new work by Anthony Green, marking the culmination of his yearlong residency with the Louisville Orchestra Creators Corps. Rooted in community and collaboration, Green’s work reflects the voices and stories of Louisville, bringing a fresh and personal dimension to the evening.

The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts

Voice Division Recital

Clemens Schuldt invites us to come in jeans to this concert without musical boundaries, where classical music opens up to other styles and is aimed at everyone! As a preamble, Brahms transcends the academic argument of his Overture Op. 80 , intended for the anniversary of the University of Heidelberg, to draw us into a romantic universe where rejoicing and lyricism coexist. The German virtuoso cellist, Julian Steckel, radically changes tone with the electrifying Concerto by Friedrich Gulda, a "rock concerto" composed in the "Seventies" at the request of Rostropovich.

An American in Paris

Grand Théâtre de Québec

Join us for the CU Boulder Symphony Orchestra's final spring concert, guest conducted by Scott O’Neil. The program includes Gershwin’s rhythmic "Cuban Overture," Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 5 performed by concerto competition winner Ohad Nativ, and Schumann’s symphonic fantasy, Symphony No. 4 in D minor.

Symphony Orchestra: Gershwin, Prokofiev + Schumann

University of Colorado Boulder

First performed from memory by Aurora in 2023, The Rite of Spring is one of the most influential pieces of the 20th century. Taking away the music stands allows us to communicate more intensely with each other and the audience, an orchestra breathing as one with no barriers.

The Rite of Spring – International Tour

Berliner Philharmonie

When jazz met impressionism, it sparked a bold new sound that reshaped orchestral music across continents.

Orchestra Toronto presents: Pardon Our French: Music from Ravel & Gershwin

Meridian Arts Centre

Jeffrey Biegel returns to the ESO with a new piano concerto by Peter Boyer, Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue. Commissioned by the Rhapsody National Initiative, a consortium of orchestras, including the ESO, this will be the Illinois premiere. It is inspired by the anniversary of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Mr. Biegel and the ESO will perform both pieces. Rounding out this concert is Gershwin’s short piece called “Promenade, (Walking the Dog)” written for the movie Shall We Dance, Leonard Bernstein’s “Suite” from the film score for On the Waterfront, and Samuel-Coleridge Taylor’s Petite Suite de Concert. The program will be hosted by WFMT’s LaRob K. Rafael.

Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue

‘Tremendous’ declared one critic when Nadine Benjamin made her Glyndebourne debut, and this dazzling British soprano has a voice that has to be heard to be believed. Today she joins the London Philharmonic Orchestra to bring all her radiance, her insight and her effortless dramatic flair to Eastbourne. How to follow that? Rising star (and LPO Fellow Conductor) Nefeli Chadouli explores the epic vistas and northern forests of Sibelius’s First Symphony: a young genius in a new nation, pouring all his imagination into music as wild as a winter storm and as wonderful as the Northern Lights.

Sibelius’s First

Congress Theatre

CMS is proud to present the Shanghai Quartet, an esteemed ensemble which has set the standard for string quartet performance in Asia for over forty years, in their only New York City appearance this season. Easily bridging borders, the Shanghai offers a program of cross-cultural pollination, from Haydn’s “Rider” (composed after an inspiring trip to London), to Dvořák’s “American” (written in a Czech community in Iowa), and into the 20th century with Chinese-American composer Tan Dun’s Feng-Ya-Song, a piece that launched his international career.

The Shanghai Quartet

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

An American In Paris

Granada Theatre

Two American musical icons meet on the sixth Masterworks program of the season. Copland’s Shaker-influenced Appalachian Spring and Gershwin’s jazz-infused An American in Paris bookend the concert. Heitzeg’s Symphony In Sculpture celebrates the Pappajohn Sculpture Park through its musical evocation of Des Moines’ favorite sculptures. Margaret Bonds’ Music from the Montgomery Variations reflects the struggles and triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement.

Hope – Copland & Gershwin

Des Moines Civic Center

An all-American season end! Go On the Town with Leonard Bernstein! Plus the world premiere of Orchestra Lumos’ celebratory truly commission, Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue!

America 250

The Palace Theatre

Blessed with “poetic and sensitive pianism” (Washington Post) and a “wondrous sense of color” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Grammy Award-nominated pianist Joyce Yang captivates audiences with her virtuosity, lyricism, and interpretive insight.

Joyce Yang, piano

New England Conservatory of Music

A native of Los Angeles, Norman Krieger is one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation and is highly regarded as an artist of depth, sensitivity and virtuosic flair.  As the Los Angeles Times put it “Krieger owns a world of technique-take that for granted.  He always knows exactly where he is going and what he is doing.  He never for an instant miscalculates.  He communicates urgently but with strict control.  He is alert to every manner of nuance and at every dynamic level his tone flatters the ear.”

TAMU-CC Performing Arts Center

An all-American spectacular caps off the season as we celebrate our country’s 250th birthday. The best of our nation’s music is represented in this program, from jazz to ragtime to Broadway, crowned by Ferde Grofé’s grand symphonic masterwork, the Grand Canyon Suite, celebrating the amazing natural wonder in our own backyard.

POPS Concert:  America 250 Celebration

Sedona Performing Arts Center

DPAA’s Artistic Directors collaborate on a blockbuster celebration of American music and dance. From Copland’s lively “Hoe-Down” and folk-inspired Old American Songs to Bernstein’s jazz-infused dances from Fancy Free and West Side Story, this program pulses with the rhythms, voices, and moves of American music. Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” dazzles with its seamless jazz-classical fusion, while the timeless elegance of Strayhorn and Ellington shines!

DPAA Directors Present: American Soundscapes

The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and Dance Kaleidoscope return to the Schrott Center for the Arts for a thrilling collaboration that brings together bold music and electrifying dance. Feel the pulse of John Adams’ Shaker Loops as choreographer Joshua Blake Carter translates the work’s driving rhythms and shimmering textures into a kinetic, mesmerizing display of movement. Then, step into the bustling streets of 1920s France with Gershwin’s An American in Paris, brought to life through the vibrant choreography of David Hochoy. The program also features the second movement of Glass Pieces by Philip Glass, a hypnotic and meditative work that evokes ritual and reverence, with choreography by Sean Aaron Carmon. This high-energy program blends contemporary and classic American voices in music and dance for a dynamic, can’t-miss experience.

Composer

George Gershwin

Events

Upcoming events

19 - 21 Jun, 2026

Rhapsody in Blue and Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony · Kansas City Symphony

Jun 21, 2026

Three Generations Of Passion · Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz

Jun 21, 2026

America in Rhythm & Rhapsody · Bay Philharmonic

Jun 26, 2026

The Rite of Spring · Bühnen Bern

Jun 28, 2026

The Knights & Conrad Tao · Caramoor

Past events

Jun 14, 2026

Songs of Hope · Orchestre Métropolitain

Jun 14, 2026

A Community Gift and Dream — for the Love of Music · Madison Symphony Orchestra

About

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