Composer

Huang Plays Arensky

Naples Philharmonic

Music Director Laureate Louis Langrée returns for a program of soundscapes and storytelling. Jennifer Higdon’s ethereal blue cathedral shimmers with winds, brass and percussion, creating a sonic journey through a sacred space, from peaceful contemplation to ecstatic joy. CSO soloists shine in Mozart’s lively Sinfonia Concertante through an exchange of playful and virtuosic dialogue, then Stravinsky’s Petrushka draws you into the world of a carnival and the tragic love triangle between a clown, a ballerina and her handsome paramour.

EPSG:4326

Louis Conducts Petrushka

Cincinnati Music Hall

Join the Grand Rapids Symphony as conductor Marcelo Lehninger takes us on a journey starting out with Loco, a must hear from Jennifer Higdon. Continue through the motions as the orchestra plays composer Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras No.2 ("The Little Train of the Caipira") and concludes with composer Brahms and his Symphony No. 4.

Madness in Motion: From Loco to Brahms

DeVos Performance Hall

Beethoven “Eroica” Symphony

Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts

Friday Favorites: Beethoven “Eroica” Symphony

We begin this evening's concert with renowned American composer, Jennifer Higdon. Written in 1999, Blue Cathedral was commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the Curtis Institute.  Titles of musical compositions are often—most often it can seem—misleading, but this one is singularly apt.  Cast in a single short movement of lush, soothing cascades of orchestra sound, the over-used descriptor, “shimmering,” is more than apropos in this case.  Imaginative scoring for strings and delicate percussion—including exotic bells and water glasses—are the foundation for an evocation of the atmosphere of the title.  Short motives from various wind instruments provide aphoristic commentaries throughout, but generally without what would call “tunes.”  The whole weft of sound seems to gently and constantly float upward without having to start all over at the “bottom.”  It’s a remarkable and sensual musical experience, and justly deserves its popularity as perhaps the composer’s most performed composition.

Gandelsman Returns!

Newport Performing Arts Center

Pulitzer Prize and three-time GRAMMY awardee, Jennifer Higdon’s “Cathedrals” from All Things Majestic captures the grandeur of vast, awe-inspiring spaces. Inspired by Wyoming’s towering Teton Mountains, this piece contrasts shimmering light and deep shadows, drawing listeners into a sonic cathedral carved by nature itself.

Shostakovich's Final Symphony & Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No. 1 with Higdon & Massenet

The Parker

A bravura showcase for the Orchestra and soloist! Violinist Lisa Batiashvili thrills audiences with her “magnificent” (The Scotsman) gifts, the perfect skill set for the Sibelius Violin Concerto, seething with tensions and dark energy.

Sibelius, Higdon, and Tchaikovsky

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Higdon Gershwin Copland

Gasteig HP8

The sublime beauty of our natural world resonates with audiences in Southeast Idaho, and on this program, each musical selection will be accompanied by stunning visual projections that capture the landscapes being depicted in musical form. The iconic “Grand Canyon Suite” by Ferde Grofé from 1931 includes cinematic music in five distinct movements, capturing the monumental Grand Canyon in evocative sections like Sunrise and Cloudburst. Jennifer Higdon wrote “All Things Majestic” for the Grand Teton Music Festival in 2011, and her virtuosic music conjures places we know and love, like Snake River and Teton Range. Audiences will be amazed by the combination of sights and sounds on this majestic opening night!

Sounds of the American West

Idaho Falls High School

Kick off DPO’s dynamic 2025–26 season with Patchwork Nation, a powerful, uplifting concert that honors the vibrant diversity of American music—and celebrates our deep commitment to serving, honoring, and building community through music.

Patchwork Nation

Central Presbyterian Church Denver

Mapleton Arts Center

ECCO: East Coast Chamber Orchestra

Central Park

Spotlighting LGBTQ+ artists of today and those who have made lasting impacts across centuries of music, Classical Pride makes its US debut at the Hollywood Bowl this July. "Classical music is—and has been for a very long time—part of queer culture, and it’s about time we celebrated this,” writes Oliver Zeffman, curator and conductor of the program.

Classical Pride

Hollywood Bowl

Classical Pride, now in its third year, exists to spotlight queer composers of the past, present and future, giving a voice and a platform to this community that has been instrumental in the development of the genre.

Classical Pride: Voices of Joy & Sorrow

Barbican Centre

Our season finale is an event you definitely don’t want to miss, as we proudly present two contemporary American classics: Jennifer Higdon’s Blue Cathedral and Nathaniel Stookey’s The Composer Is Dead. Blue Cathedral is one of Jennifer Higdon’s early and most celebrated works for orchestra, and was composed in 1989. The piece has since become a favorite in the American contemporary classical repertoire, appreciated for its evocative, meditative character and lyrical exploration of sound and emotion. Over the years, its expressive narrative has resonated with audiences and performers, contributing significantly to Higdon's reputation as a leading modern composer.

Season Finale - Senior Orchestra

San Mateo High School

Jennifer Higdon’s Fanfare Rítmico is a 21st century work that celebrates the “speed of modern life,” opening with an energetic flourish. Orchestra Iowa’s own Miko Kominami performs Liszt’s iconic Piano Concerto No. 2 with its melodic theme, expressive variations, and challenging solo passages. Shostakovich’s masterful Symphony No. 5 closes with a bold, enduring statement of resisting oppression.

A Booming Finale

Paramount Theatre Iowa

5th Plaza

Join us for a mesmerizing evening as the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia presents "Mozart’s Favorite Piano Concertos" under the baton of Music Director David Hayes. This special concert series, part of our Season 24/25, will take place at the Perelman Theater within The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, located at 300 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102.

Experience the magic on Friday, May 16, 2025, at 7:30 pm or opt for the matinee performance on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at 2:30 pm. The evening promises to be unforgettable with a program that includes Jennifer Higdon’s contemplative "Soliloquy," followed by two of Mozart’s own favorite piano concertos: the vibrant Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat major, K. 271 "Jeunehomme," and the deeply emotional Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466.

We are thrilled to feature the renowned Russian pianist Mikhail Voskresensky, who, in a bold move of solidarity with Ukraine, left Russia in 2022. His performance is anticipated to be a powerful testament to the enduring spirit of music and freedom.

The concert will last approximately 80 minutes, including an intermission, providing the perfect evening out in the heart of Philadelphia. Don’t miss this opportunity to witness the virtuosity of Mozart’s compositions brought to life by an extraordinary ensemble of musicians.

Tickets are available now. Secure your seat and be part of a night celebrating the genius of Mozart and the talent of today’s leading musicians.

Mozart’s Favorite Piano Concertos

Join Guest Conductor and pianist Rei Hotoda for our May performance.

Beethoven’s Seventh

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts

In all of our 25 years of bringing new music and new visual art to our audiences, connection has always been a priority. Looking to the LGBTQ+ community as a beacon of hope and inspiration, tonight’s program invites us to reflect upon our humanity, rekindle our commitment to our values, and reconnect with our deepest, truest selves.

New Gallery Concert Series | Reconnect

Longy School of Music of Bard College

Isai Hernandez performs a recital of works by Takemitsu, Higdon, Ellington and more.

Student Degree Recital: Isai Hernandez M.M. trumpet recital

University of Maryland

When Mona finds a mysterious suitcase filled with stolen masterpieces, she must grapple with a choice to save these priceless paintings or save her son—the thief. Burning the paintings would destroy the evidence of her son’s crime, but one of the paintings—Lucien Freud’s “Woman With Eyes Closed”—looks just like her own mother, a painter who died when Mona was still young. The uncanny resemblance unlocks long-buried memories that fuel the fires of three different possible endings.

Woman With Eyes Closed

Pittsburgh Opera

Kenari Quartet's sold-out concerts in Tulsa in 2009 were a revelation! Their exhilerating performances shattered assumptions about saxophones and their place in chamber music. Join us to celebrate their return! 

During our Friday concerts, patrons enjoy an up-close musical experience in the vibrant atmosphere of uniquely Tulsa venues. Wine and hors d’oeuvres are available.

Kenari Quartet

LowDown

Tulsa Performing Arts Center

The Santa Fe Symphony Concertmaster, David Felberg, performs Jennifer Higdon’s 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning Concerto for Violin in its Santa Fe debut. This brilliant program opens with Starburst for String Orchestra by Jessie Montgomery and concludes with a performance of Beethoven’s anthem to freedom and liberty—Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, “Eroica”—and its retracted dedication to Napoleon, once the French had occupied the composer’s native Vienna.

Eroica

Lensic Performing Arts Center

An epic fanfare popularized by the film 2001: A Space Odyssey opens this program inspired by flight, celestial bodies, and the boundlessness of the human spirit. The Weidner Philharmonic takes to the skies to conclude our season with a special appearance by the Youth Symphony at St. Norbert College

Weidner Philharmonic The Sky Is Not The Limit

The Weidner

Experience a grand finale to our season, featuring an evening of music celebrating love in all its forms. We’ll journey from the passionate verses of Amy Lowell, set to music by the acclaimed Amy Higdon, to the playful, sultry notes of Paul Schoenfield’s Café Music, culminating in the pure emotional expression of Brahms’ first violin sonata. Join our artistic director and pianist, David Palmer, alongside the talents of violinist Annie Chalex Boyle, cellist Annamarie Ready, and singer Sarah Beckham Turner for this unforgettable night of music.

A Love Letter of Music

Amarillo Botanical Gardens

Esbjerg Ensemble plays together with tomorrow's piano star: The young pianist Valdemar Wenzel Most. On the program are lesser-known works from romanticism, neoclassicism and modernism.

The Star Of Tomorrow

Southern Danish Conservatory of Music

In April, Alyssa Wang, Assistant Conductor of the Boston Ballet, leads Pro Arte in a dramatic journey from darkness to light. The concert opens with Joseph Haydn’s mercurial Symphony No. 95 in C Minor, whose frequent shifts between moods serious and cheerful are designed to keep listeners on their toes. Jennifer Higdon’s intense Viola Concerto is a kaleidoscopic exploration of all the voices in which that instrument can sing. It will feature Pro Arte’s very own principal violist, Anne Black. For the ballet Pulcinella, based on commedia dell’arte, Igor Stravinsky created sunny interpretations of 18th-century Italian music that brim with the composer’s signature wit and charm.

The Passionate Viola

Second Church In Newton United Church of Christ

Charlotte Symphony: Meyer Plays Double Bass

Levine Center for the Arts

Sometimes, progress happens in leaps and bounds. There is no better example of that than Symphonie Fantastique, a massive jump in what a "Symphony" can do. Bigger, longer, louder, crazier. Berlioz truly broke the mold with his opium-inspired hedonism. Jenifer Higdon's star rose higher and shone brighter after blue cathedral premiered, becoming one of the most programmed works of living composers today.

From Heaven To Hades

Visalia Fox Theatre

Join the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for a captivating performance as Robert Spano conducts a program filled with musical masterpieces. This event, part of the Delta Classical Series, will take place at the Atlanta Symphony Hall from March 20 to March 22, 2025. Tickets are on sale now, offering a unique opportunity to experience the brilliance of Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring Suite," Jennifer Higdon's GRAMMY-winning Harp Concerto, and Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 5.

Under the baton of Music Director Laureate Robert Spano, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will bring to life Copland's evocative score, celebrating the American wilderness with its rugged mountains and boundless prairies. The concert will also feature ASO Principal Harpist Elisabeth Remy Johnson, showcasing her talent in Higdon's Harp Concerto. The evening will conclude with Vaughan Williams' Fifth Symphony, a serene and melodious piece written on the eve of war.

Don't miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in the beauty and power of classical music. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's website.

Robert Spano Conducts

The Woodruff Arts Center

### Event Description: Tchaikovsky's Fifth - Richmond Symphony

**Event:** Tchaikovsky's Fifth - Richmond Symphony  
**Date:** Saturday, March 8, 2025  
**Time:** 8:00 PM  
**Venue:** Carpenter Theatre  

Join the Richmond Symphony for an enchanting evening of classical music featuring Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5. Under the baton of the esteemed conductor Valentina Peleggi, this performance promises to be a memorable experience for all attendees.

**Program Highlights:**
- **Conni Ellisor:** *A Woman Without Apology*
- **Jennifer Higdon:** *Violin Concerto* featuring violinist Inmo Yang
- **Massenet:** *Meditation from Thaïs*
- **Tchaikovsky:** *Symphony No. 5*

**Special Features:**
- **Free Pre-Concert Talk:** Enhance your concert experience with a complimentary pre-concert talk.

**Additional Information:**
- **Conductor:** Valentina Peleggi
- **Violin Soloist:** Inmo Yang

Don't miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in the rich and emotive compositions of Tchaikovsky and other celebrated composers. Add this event to your calendar and subscribe to our newsletter for updates and more information.

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We look forward to seeing you at the Carpenter Theatre for an unforgettable night of music!

Tchaikovsky's Fifth

Dominion Energy Center

Conductor Samuel Lee and the CSO provide the soundtrack as we celebrate the birthdays of 300 years of music and sing “Happy Birthday” to a brand-new piece!

Birthday Party!

River Rhapsodies: Southern Harmony

ASO Stella Boyle Smith Music Center

MSM Faculty Recital: Alan R. Kay, clarinet with Tara Helen O’Connor, flute and Margaret Kampmeier, piano

Manhattan School of Music

A great symphony is defined by its structure. Tchaikovsky’s genius was for never-ending melody. When the two collided … even he had his doubts. But his Fifth Symphony remains unsurpassed. A truly glorious work stands alone in our season’s final Untuxed.

Tchaikovsky Untuxed

Benaroya Hall

On the heels of his triumphant Seattle debut in 2023, Abel Selaocoe comes back to our stage with more of his joyous music. An unforgettable fusion of cello, body percussion, traditional singing and heartfelt music, Selaocoe’s performances bring pure, spine-tingling joy. The experience is not to be missed. Tchaikovsky was full of doubts about what he had poured out in his Fifth Symphony, but he came to love it just as millions of music lovers have since he wrote it. Its high emotions strike a universal chord, and Tchaikovsky’s melody and passion in the hands of conductor Giancarlo Guerrero will bring the program to its striking conclusion.

Selaocoe & Tchaikovsky

### MasterWorks IV: All Things Majestic - Canton Symphony Orchestra

**Date and Time:**  
Saturday, January 25th, 2025, at 7:30 PM

**Location:**  
Umstattd Hall, Zimmermann Symphony Center  
2331 17th St. NW, Canton, OH 44708

**Tickets:**  
- Prices: $12 / $27 / $37 / $52  
- All tickets, excluding children and students, are subject to a $3 processing fee.  
- Student Tickets (18 with ID): FREE  
- Children (17 and under): FREE  
- Veterans, First Responders, Healthcare Workers, & Educators: 20% off  
- SNAP & Medicaid Recipients: 20% off  
- Children’s and Student tickets available over the phone or at the box office on the day of the show with ID.  
- Box Office: 330-452-2094  
- Email: boxoffice@cantonsymphony.org  
- Tickets on sale from August 15th

**Event Description:**  
Join us for an evening of majestic music conducted by guest conductor David Hayes. The concert will feature Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 1, a masterpiece that took nearly fifteen years to compose and has not been performed at Umstattd Hall for almost as long. The program opens with Antonín Dvořák’s exhilarating Carnival Overture, a piece that captures the essence of human joy. The evening will also include Jennifer Higdon’s All Things Majestic, a contemporary tribute to the grandeur of America’s National Parks.

**Program:**
1. **Carnival Overture** - Antonín Dvořák
2. **All Things Majestic** - Jennifer Higdon
3. **Symphony No. 1** - Johannes Brahms

**Pre-Concert Lecture:**  
There will be a pre-concert lecture at 6:30 PM in Foundation Hall.

**Artist Spotlight: David Hayes**  
David Hayes is a conductor with a broad range of repertory, spanning symphonic, oratorio/choral, and operatic genres. He is the Music Director of NYCHORAL (New York Choral Society) and holds several prestigious positions, including Director of Orchestral and Conducting Studies at the Mannes School of Music, Music Director of the Mannes Orchestra, and Staff Conductor of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra. Hayes is a frequent guest conductor and has recently conducted masterclasses at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and guest conducted in Italy and Spain.

**Support:**  
This concert is supported by various patrons and sponsors dedicated to the arts and the Canton Symphony Orchestra.

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit the Canton Symphony Orchestra's website or contact the box office.

MasterWorks IV: All Things Majestic

Zimmermann Symphony Center

Spano Conducts Beethoven's Eroica

Veterans Memorial Auditorium

Pulitzer Prize and three-time GRAMMY winning living American composer Jennifer Higdon’s music is described as,“…traditionally rooted, yet imbued with integrity and freshness.”  Her evocative orchestral work blue cathedral was composed soon after the passing of her brother, AndrewBlue.  Higdon notes, “As I was writing this piece, I found myself imagining a journey through a glass cathedral in the sky….This piece represents the expression of the individual and the group...our inner travels and the places our souls carry us, the lessons we learn, and the growth we experience.”  French pianist extraordinaire Jean-Yves Thibaudet will perform Ravel’s Piano Concerto in GMajor.  Chicago Classical noted, “Few keyboard artists embody Ravel’s blend of supple elegance and unbridled bravura so naturally and effortlessly.” Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony has an overwhelmingly uplifting, enthusiastic spirit that is steeped in wartime patriotism. Prokofiev indicated this work is, “…very important not only for the musical material that went into it, but also because I was returning to the symphonic form after a break of 16 years.  The Fifth Symphony is the culmination of an entire period in my work. I conceived of it as a symphony on the greatness of the human soul.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts

Daniel Saidenberg Faculty Recital Series | American Brass Quintet

The Juilliard School

Music Director finalist candidate Robert Kahn joins the Marin Symphony for a musical journey, starting with British composer Coleridge-Taylor’s vivacious Ballade. Our brilliant Principal Viola Jenny Douglass stars in Jennifer Higdon’s gorgeous and virtuosic concerto, and we end with Brahms’s great final symphony, a whole journey unto itself.

Masterworks 1: Kahn Conducts Brahms

College of Marin

Pianist Simon Trpčeski makes his OSM debut in Beethoven’s majestic Concerto no. 5, conducted by Vasily Petrenko.

Beethoven’s “Imperial” Concerto no. 5

Place des Arts

Experience a transcendent musical journey with renowned Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä, GRAMMY Award-winning ensemble Time for Three, and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.

Prokofiev & Time for Three

Experience the resonant voices of six contemporary composers, magnified by the GRAMMY®-winning Pacific Chorale and organist Jung-A Lee. Our concert offers not just melodies, but profound narratives that reflect today's hopes, dreams, and challenges to light a path to a brighter tomorrow.

Songs of the Soul

Segerstrom Center for the Arts

Billy the Kid

Adrian College

Enjoy a musical journey as former ISO Music Director Mario Venzago returns to conduct the music of Robert Schumann. The stellar musicians of the ISO invite you to explore the Rhinelands in Schumann’s 3rd Symphony.  Violinist Karen Gomyo, whom the Chicago Tribune describes as “a first-rate artist of real musical command, vitality, brilliance and intensity,” performs Schumann’s ghostly Violin Concerto. Immerse yourself in the ethereal tones of Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral.

Venzago Returns!

Hilbert Circle Theatre

Romeo & Juliet Ablaze

George Washington Masonic National Memorial

Northern Virginia Community College

A spectacle of ancient pagan rituals, Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring put modernism on the map with its brutality, barbaric rhythms, and dissonance. Experience the flamboyant and suspenseful ballet score that drove an audience to riot at its debut in 1913. Benjamin Beilman brings his "handsome technique, burnished sound, and quiet confidence" (The New York Times) to Jennifer Higdon's lyrical and dazzlingly virtuosic violin concerto.

The Rite of Spring

Hult Center for the Performing Arts

SFCM’s Faculty Artist Series is presented as an annual concert series featuring SFCM faculty in performance. This series showcases our world-class faculty to our community and audience members in personally curated repertoire.

Margaret Halbig, Collaborative Piano

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Fresh off their 2024 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition win, Trio Azura performs an intimate concert of piano trio works by Rachmaninoff, Schubert, and Jennifer Higdon.  

The ensemble swept this year’s competition, winning the Grand Prize Medal, the Gold Medal in the Senior String Division, the Lift Every Voice Prize for the best performance of a work by a historically underrepresented composer within the chamber music world, and the Horszowski Trio Prize for Piano Trio, Senior Division. 

Colburn Presents: Trio Azura in Recital

Colburn School

Indulge in an extraordinary morning with the renowned Lincoln Trio as they mark the culmination of their illustrious twentieth anniversary. Revered for their pioneering spirit and innovative contemporary repertoire, the Trio promises an unforgettable performance with the iconic Brahms C Major Piano Trio that catapulted them to acclaim alongside a curated selection of works by trailblazing female composers, including the visionary Stacy Garrop, whose groundbreaking composition left a lasting impression as the inaugural Composer-in-Residence for Newport Classical in 2021. Experience a captivating fusion of tradition and innovation as the Lincoln Trio celebrates two decades of musical excellence.

Lincoln Trio

The Elms Newport

Dubbed “the high priests of brass” by Newsweek, the American Brass Quintet returns to the stunning acoustics of Harris Concert Hall.

A Recital by the American Brass Quintet

Aspen Meadows Resort

Join the BBC Symphony Orchestra, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston and conductor Ben Palmer for a slow travel journey around the world by foot, boat and train, Friday Night is Music Night style. Presented by Petroc Trelawny.

Friday Night is Music Night with the BBC Symphony Orchestra

BBC Maida Vale Studios

### Event Description: ROCO In Concert: Magnetic

**Date and Time:** Friday, June 7, 2024, at 11:00 AM

**Location:** Denney Theatre, Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, 790 Austin St, Houston, TX 77002, USA

**Sponsored by:** 
- Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation
- Carol Franc Buck Foundation
- Texas Commission on the Arts
- BMI

**Event Overview:**
Join us for an extraordinary musical experience at "ROCO In Concert: Magnetic," a showcase of collaboration and innovation led by ROCO Artistic Partner and conductor Mei-Ann Chen. This concert is part of the 2024 League of American Orchestras Conference in Houston and features a compelling program that highlights ROCO’s commitment to expanding the classical canon and supporting women composers.

**Program:**
- **Reena Esmail:** Teen Murti (Past ROCO World Premiere Commission)
- **Gabriela Lena Frank:** Elegia Andina
- **Jennifer Higdon:** Dance Card: V. Machina Rockus (Past ROCO World Premiere Commission)
- **Leanna Primiani:** Neither man nor money validate my worth (Past ROCO World Premiere Commission)
- **Heather Schmidt:** Solitaire (Past ROCO World Premiere Commission)
- **Errollyn Wallen:** Photography: I. Vivace
- **Plus:** The premiere of a work chosen from ROCO’s EarShot Readings, a program of the American Composers Orchestra, in partnership with the League of American Orchestras, American Composers Forum, and New Music USA.

**Special Highlights:**
- The concert will feature several of ROCO’s previously commissioned world premieres and passion project works.
- A new work by one of the finalists of ROCO and American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot Call for Scores by early career female composers will be premiered.
- The EarShot finalists’ works will be workshopped and recorded on June 5-6, 2024, in Houston, with selected participants collaborating with mentors who are established orchestra composers and industry leaders.

**Concert Length:** 1 hour

**Additional Information:**
For more details and to view the event location on Google Maps, please visit the ROCO website. Don't miss this unique opportunity to witness the innovative spirit of ROCO and the exceptional talents of contemporary composers.

ROCO In Concert: Magnetic

Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts

Globally renowned cellist Alisa Weilerstein joins BBC NOW in this season closing concert for one of the most highly regarded of all cello concerti. Melodic genius, irrepressible energy and a love of his native folk music radiate as Dvořák looks back at life well lived, full of joy but also of deep loss in his virtuosic cello concerto. Similarly, intuitive musical invention, rich orchestration, and an exploration of the cathedral “as a symbolic doorway into and out of this world” form a platform for floating and contemplative other-worldly atmospheres to unfurl in Higdon’s expertly crafted sonic journey through a sacred space and upward into the heavens - Blue Cathedral.

Season Closing Concert

Wales Millennium Centre

Brangwyn Hall

In partnership with the International Trombone Festival and Texas Christian University, The FWSO’s season finale goes out with a blast, spotlighting the brass instruments of the orchestra. Music Director Robert Spano will lead the ensemble in a brand-new double concerto for trombone and piano by Texas Christian University alumnus Kevin Day as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s river sings a song to trees. For the big finish: Mahler’s Symphony No. 5.

Season Finale: Jennifer Higdon, Kevin Day, and Mahler 5

Bass Performance Hall

Big and teaming with life, our season finale reaches for peaks. The fandango, a popular Spanish dance style, finds new life in Márquez’s lively violin concerto, which, from its inception, has been tied to one of the world’s most esteemed violinists, Anne Akiko Meyers. Aaron Copland’s final and monumental Symphony No. 3, which he began writing in a Mexican village in the 1930s, incorporates his famous Fanfare for the Common Man—and Jennifer Higdon’s Fanfare Ritmico reflects on the speed at which our lives move.

Anne Akiko Meyers Plays “Fandango”

Salt Palace Convention Center

Sea and stars swirl and coalesce, while works old and new converse with one another.


Ryan Bancroft & Joshua Bell

Davies Symphony Hall

The elegance, the genius of Mozart.  His exquisite “Eine kleine Nachtmusik and Symphony No. 27. Experience the artistry of Victoria Chung, as she performs Jennifer Higdon’s evocative Oboe Concerto. Also Stravinsky’s delightful homage to Bach, “Dumbarton Oaks.”

A Little Night Music

Randolph-Macon College

Perkinson Center for the Arts & Education

St. Christopher's School

The third concert of the Curtis Presents series builds upon the school’s longstanding tradition of innovation, inspiration, and artistic excellence as it celebrates eight of its distinguished composition alumni. As Curtis looks to its centenary in 2024, this retrospective program highlights iconic Curtis composers Jennifer Higdon (’88), Leonard Bernstein (Conducting ’41), David Serkin Ludwig (’01), Samuel Barber (’34), Ned Rorem (’44), Julius Eastman (’63), and recently appointed composition faculty member, Jonathan Bailey Holland (’96), in an evening of boundary-pushing chamber works and early-career classics that shaped the landscape of contemporary classical music.

Curtis Composers

Curtis Institute of Music Lenfest Hall

Join us for an enchanting evening of violin mastery as Eliana Silverman takes the stage on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at 6:00pm CDT. This captivating recital will be held in the intimate setting of the McClintock Choral and Recital Room, located within the prestigious Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts at 70 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL 60208.

Eliana, a talented Bachelor of Music student under the guidance of Desirée Ruhstrat, will be accompanied by Nathan Canfield on piano. The program promises a journey through the evocative landscapes of violin music, featuring Stacy Garrop's "Repair the World" for solo violin, Jennifer Higdon's "Smoky Mountain Air" for solo violin, and Amy Beach's Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Minor, Op. 34.

This event is a celebration of musical artistry, offering a free live stream for those who cannot attend in person. No tickets are required for this event, making it a wonderful opportunity for music lovers of all ages to experience the beauty of classical music performed by emerging talents.

Don't miss this opportunity to support live music and witness the future of classical performance.

Eliana Silverman, violin

Ryan Center for the Musical Arts

The Voices of American Female Composers: The Study of Selected Ensemble Works for Voice and Piano Trio by Lori Laitman and Jennifer Higdon (viva voce)

Yukyung Hwang, Piano – Doctoral Lecture Recital

Graduate Recital – Morgan Chan

University of Hawaii at Manoa

This concert includes two of the most iconic pieces of American music: Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite, and George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Pianist Jeffrey Biegel, a longtime champion of Gershwin’s Rhapsody, commissioned acclaimed American composer Peter Boyer to compose a new work in celebration of that work’s centennial in February 2024. Boyer’s brand new Rhapsody in Red, White & Blue is being performed by orchestras around the United States, and the composer will conduct his own work for this SSO concert. Completing the program are Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, and the bravura Fanfare Ritmico by Jennifer Higdon.

An American Celebration

Symphony Hall, Springfield

As we celebrate 275 years of this terrific city entrenched with a vibrant, rich history, we are delighted to perform an All-American program to include favorites new and old. Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral has become a staple in the modern-day orchestral repertoire known for its spiritual expression and symbolism for life’s journey. Barber’s Symphony in One Movement is an expressive and lyrical, yet synthetic treatment of the traditional four-movement scheme compressed into one movement. By contrast, John Alden Carpenter’s Krazy Kat was one of the earliest works to incorporate jazz and Latin/Spanish-flavored “popular” music into the symphonic genre that brings verve and panache to the popular Concertino for piano and orchestra. Also influenced by jazz idioms, our finale includes a timeless, iconic, American masterpiece – Rhapsody in Blue featuring local sensation, Thomas Pandolfi. Gershwin’s epic concerto presents forthright thematic material from an oscillating bluesy tune, a brazen march-like melody, and finally, a grandly romantic, jubilant theme enjoyed by all.

Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue @ 100 ​and Alexandria VA's 275 Birthday!

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial

Our subscribers voted this summer, and the results are in! I wanted a popular symphonic work to be featured in the second half of these concerts, and Dvořák’s New World Symphony emerged as the winner. The first half of the concert opens with a fun work titled Loco by Jennifer Higdon, followed by the return of another favorite artist of mine, Steven Isserlis who has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as one of the world’s foremost cellists. He will perform Kabalevsky’s second cello concerto, a premiere for the MSO.

Favorites of Mine & Your Choice!

Overture Center for the Arts

Carl St.Clair, artistic leader and principal conductor of the USC Thornton orchestras, leads the USC Thornton Symphony in Jennifer Higdon's Blue Cathedral and Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40.

USC Thornton Symphony

University of Southern California

Women of Notes

560 Music Center

LLEF, a flute and cello duo by the Welsh-born composer Hilary Tann, is a drone-anchored meditation with breathy pentatonic lines that mingle in the shadows of Welsh hymns. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor weaves endlessly inventive, folk-inflected melodies that Shimmer in a nest of Brahmsian form and Dvořák-esque harmony for his robust quintet for clarinet and strings. Light keyboard filigree provides the titular sparkle for Jennifer Higdon’s glimmering, neo-tonal confection Summer Shimmers for winds and piano. A new work for oboe, viola, and piano by the winner of the Pappalardo Composition Award rounds out the program.

Radius Ensemble | Shimmer

The culmination of decades-long artistry and mentorship, The Maestro and His Maestro showcases the synergy between Maestros Lawrence Golan and Robert Spano as they spearhead an inspiring performance that charts the generations. Conductors from the DPO’s 4th Annual International Conducting Workshop will trade off movements within a program which spans musical eras and genres, competing for a chance to return and conduct the orchestra at a future DPO concert in 2024-25.

The Maestro and His Maestro

Immerse yourself in a transformative musical journey with the Monterey Symphony's captivating concert, "Palo Corona," set to enchant audiences on February 17, 2024, at 7:30 PM, and February 18, 2024, at 3:00 PM. This remarkable event will unfold at the prestigious Sunset Center, located at San Carlos Ave & 9th Ave, Carmel, offering a splendid backdrop for an evening of classical music that explores themes of transformation, transcendence, salvation, and the triumph over personal setbacks.

Under the baton of Music Director and Conductor Jayce Ogren, the concert will feature a world premiere by Monterey Symphony Composer in Residence John Wineglass, showcasing the extraordinary talents of trailblazing pianist Lara Downes. The program promises an emotional and spiritual voyage through masterpieces by Weber, Higdon, and Beethoven, each piece delving into the mystical connections between the natural and supernatural worlds.

The evening will commence with Weber's "Overture to Der Freischütz," a piece that celebrates the redeeming power of love, followed by the world premiere of John Wineglass's "The Great Migration: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra," a poignant reflection on life's journeys. After an intermission, the audience will be treated to Jennifer Higdon's "blue cathedral," an evocative exploration of life and the afterlife, culminating in Beethoven's "Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92," hailed as the apotheosis of dance by Richard Wagner.

This concert is not only a showcase of musical brilliance but also a testament to the enduring power of music to inspire and transform. With very limited seats remaining for the Sunday performance, this event promises to be a highlight of the Monterey Symphony's 2023-2024 season, offering an unforgettable experience for all who attend.

Composer

Jennifer Higdon

Events

Upcoming events

8 - 9 Jan, 2026

New World Symphony · Naples Philharmonic

16 - 17 Jan, 2026

Gershwin’s An American in Paris & Copland’s Rodeo · Virginia Symphony Orchestra

Jan 17, 2026

André Raphel Conducts Shostakovich 10 + Midori · Albany Symphony

17 - 18 Feb, 2026

The Philadelphia Orchestra Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music & artistic director · Naples Philharmonic

Feb 21, 2026

Syler Symphony No.1 "Blue" · Piedmont Wind Symphony

Past events

Nov 23, 2025

Huang Plays Arensky · Naples Philharmonic

21 - 22 Nov, 2025

Louis Conducts Petrushka · Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

About

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