Ask any music lover to name an important American orchestral work, and there’s a good chance the answer will be George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Originally written for Paul Whiteman’s jazz orchestra with solo piano in 1924, the piece entered the concert music repertoire in a plush arrangement by Ferde Grofé—but it’s the lean, stripped-down original that best illustrates Gershwin’s groundbreaking synthesis of classical music’s disciplined elegance and the swinging spontaneity of jazz. Countless composers since Gershwin’s day have incorporated elements of jazz in their works: Aaron Copland’s bluesy trumpet in Quiet City, William Bolcom’s buoyant bounce, the brass swagger and driving pulse of John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine. And the improvising violinist and composer Mads Tolling, formerly of Turtle Island String Quartet, show with his bluesy concerto Yggdrasil that classical music and jazz continue to make a potent pairing.

EPSG:4326

Rhapsody in Blue: Music From The City

Southern Vermont Arts Center

American classical music composers didn’t always view the nation’s various, vibrant folk music traditions as a valid source of inspiration—but once someone realized there’s not so much that separates a violin from a fiddle, this nation’s concert music tradition was permanently enriched. Aaron Copland used an earnest Shaker song, “Simple Gifts,” as the basis of his elegant score for the Martha Graham ballet Appalachian Spring—one of several Copland works that helped to firmly establish an American classical music style. Nearly 50 years earlier, Charles Ives – a composer who eagerly embraced the unpolished spirit of traditional folk idioms – adopted three hymns for his String Quartet No. 1 (“From the Salvation Army”), presented here alongside authentic folk tunes played by Grand Picnic. And Edgar Meyer, a virtuoso bassist and composer equally fluent in chamber music, bluegrass, jazz, and more, proves with his String Quintet that mixing classical discipline with folk-music exuberance is a well in no danger of running dry.

Guilherme Batalha

Events

Past events

Aug 6, 2026

Rhapsody in Blue: Music From The City · Manchester Music Festival

Jul 9, 2026

Appalachian Spring: Music From The Mountains · Manchester Music Festival

Future and recently performed repertoire

Clarinet in String Quartet No. 1 by Ives

Manchester Music Festival

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