Composer

In recognition of America’s 250th anniversary with a powerful program spanning multiple generations of American composers. Works by Copland and former Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery present soaring reflections on the ideals of freedom and equality, Ives salutes his native New England, and Martinů pays tribute to Plymouth Rock, which symbolized the opportunities that America had given him.

EPSG:4326

Lincoln Portrait & Ellington Harlem

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Feel the first warm, aromatic breezes of spring with Copland’s beloved Appalachian Spring, an orchestral arrangement of his iconic ballet partnership with choreographer Martha Graham. This timeless work tells the story of a young frontier couple on their wedding day, capturing the hopes, dreams, and pioneering spirit of a nation envisioning a brighter future.

Sounds of America III: Appalachian Spring

Willson Auditorium

BNY Classics showcases unforgettable performances by your Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, featuring timeless masterpieces, thrilling premieres, and renowned guest artists.

Lincoln Portrait

Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts

From the elegance of Strauss’s Emperor Waltz to favorites inspired by folk traditions, this concert will be a whirlwind of rhythm and celebration of culture and dance. Bring the whole family and experience how dance has inspired composers across cultures and centuries — no passport required!

Dances the World Over

Centerville High School

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

Observe a working rehearsal as the musicians and conductor put the finishing touches on the weekend’s concert program on Friday, February 6 at 10AM. Doors open at 9AM. Tickets are $17.14; coffee and donuts are included!

Friday Coffee Dress – Price & Tchaikovsky

Ohio Theatre

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

Jazz, blues and orchestral sounds converge in a rousing celebration of the American story. The CSO joins forces with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for Liberty (Symphony No. 5), jazz legend Wynton Marsalis’ latest symphonic work. The program opens with a new work by American icon John Adams and Copland’s Appalachian Spring, which celebrates the American pioneer spirit and famously quotes the Shaker hymn Simple Gifts.

Alsop Conducts Adams, Copland & Marsalis

Commissioned by Trinity for the 250th birthday of the United States, Great Awakenings: John Henry Hobart and America is a powerful new concert opera by acclaimed composer (and former Trinity organist) David Hurd. With a libretto by Christopher Dylan Herbert, a former member of the Trinity Choir, the work brings to life a pivotal era in American religious and civic history by celebrating the visionary leadership of Bishop Hobart (1775–1830), Trinity’s seventh rector (1816-1830). Demonstrating vibrant choral writing and expressive solos, Great Awakenings will be performed with Trinity Choir, Downtown Voices, and NOVUS. NOVUS will also present Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite for 13 instruments.

Great Awakenings

Trinity Church

Celebrate the richness of American music with the Festival Orchestra, under the dynamic direction of Music Director Timothy Myers, in the stunning, historic St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church. This program brings to life the charm, lyricism, and storytelling that define America’s musical heritage. Featuring Aaron Copland’s beloved Appalachian Spring Suite and its powerful setting of the Shaker tune “Simple Gifts,” the program also includes Samuel Barber’s luscious Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and Jessie Montgomery’s poignant Banner.

Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra: Appalachian Spring and American Classics

St. Matthew's Lutheran Church

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

America @ 250

Ambassador Mansions & Gardens

As part of our season long observance of America 250, this concert takes a look at the role music played in one of the most tumultuous times in the history of the world. At 1945’s Potsdam Conference, works by Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Kreisler, and others were one of the only things that united the assembled Allies–represented by President Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. In this new production, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra & Chorus will incorporate storytelling to show just how powerful music can be, and how Hampton Roads played a part in this pivotal moment.

Finding Peace at Potsdam

Chrysler Hall Norfolk

Ferguson Center for the Arts

Step into a turning point in history — Potsdam, Germany, 1945. The war has ended, but the future hangs in the balance. Truman, Churchill, and Stalin sit across the table, navigating mistrust, determination, and fragile hope as they shape the post-war world.
Amidst the tension of delicate political negotiations, the world leaders bonded over their love of music. Finding Peace at Potsdam brings this fascinating moment to life through powerful storytelling and stirring performances of their beloved classics. Experience the music of Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Kreisler, and more, woven together with insights that reveal the surprising role Hampton Roads played in this pivotal chapter of history.
It's more than a concert — it's an unforgettable journey through music and memory, where history's struggles and triumphs resonate in every note.

Christopher Newport University

Celebrate creative ingenuity with conductor Robert Spano and renowned classical saxophonist Steven Banks. From Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite to Joan Tower’s new Saxophone Concerto, this program pulses with vitality. Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 5 brings lyrical warmth and a sense of peace.

Appalachian Spring

Hilbert Circle Theatre

Renée Fleming joins conductor James Gaffigan in an exploration of the ever-changing relationship between humanity and the natural world. Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene blends stunning imagery of nature with reflections in music of the human experience in the environment. The program also includes masterpieces by two of the most important American composers of the 20th century: Charles Ives and Aaron Copland.

Renée Fleming’s Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene

Kennedy Center

We celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with a world premiere by our Composer-in-Residence, reflecting on the nation's past, present, and future.

Orchestra Concert 7 - Season Finale · American Spirit

First Church OKC

Schoenberg was one of the most revolutionary & challenging composers, but his early works are among the most lyrical & romantic pieces ever written. Mahler’s heart-rending Adagietto needs little introduction and is regularly in the Top 40 of Classic FM’s annual Hall of Fame, while Schoenberg’s impassioned Transfigured Night is a musical realisation of a Richard Dehmel poem, in which a young woman confesses to her betrothed that she bears another man’s child, conceived before they met. His acceptance of her, and resolve to raise the baby as theirs, is one of the most touching moments in classical music.

English Symphony Orchestra Residency: Schoenberg, Mahler, Elgar, Taylor & Copland

Cheltenham Town Hall

Celebrate the rich tapestry of American classical music in a concert that highlights the pioneering sounds of Aaron Copland. From the sweeping landscapes of the American heartland to the vibrant rhythms of urban life, experience music that is as diverse and dynamic as the country itself. Join us for an unforgettable performance that honors the spirit and innovation of American classical music!

The Music of our Time: Sounds of America at 250

Musical Instrument Museum

Explore how music and poetry unite to amplify powerful voices of dissent, resistance, and hope with the Portland Chamber Orchestra. Banner & Burden: Music and Spoken Word is a bold collaboration with the Oregon Poetry Association, featuring original spoken word performances by emerging young poets whose words illuminate the tribulations—and triumphs—of our community.

This moving program showcases evocative works by composers who have used their music to speak truth to power, including the vibrant, contemporary voice of Jessie Montgomery, Valerie Coleman’s celebration of identity and unity, and the deeply expressive music of Dmitri Shostakovich, composed in the shadow of political oppression.

Banner & Burden: Music and Spoken Word

Patricia Reser Center for the Arts

With the performance of Shostakovich’s 5th symphony, the Diablo Symphony remembers this great composer in his 50th anniversary season. The difficulties under which Shostakovich composed permeate the deep and complex emotions of this extraordinary and brilliant work. Performed alongside works by two American composers which celebrate the joys and bravery of everyday existence, this program explores the whole gamut of human emotions. Don’t miss this powerful finale to our season!

Season Finale: Shostakovich 5

Lesher Center for the Arts

An uplifting program of resilience, remembrance, and inspiration. Featuring stirring works like Fanfare for the Common Man, selections from Shostakovich’s mighty Fifth Symphony, and the moving Song of Hope. Trumpet soloists Dan Marbes, Adam Gaines, and Kevin Short, along with student and community brass players, join the Civic Symphony of Green Bay to celebrate the power of music to unite and heal. Concertmaster Taylor Giorgio will be featured on Schindler’s List.

Harmonies for Hope

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

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

Britten's Young Apollo and Les Illuminations were written in Canada and America. Here, his setting of Rimbaud’s surrealist poetry is sung by acclaimed UK soprano, Elizabeth Watts. We also hear the sound of 1940s America in the works of Britten’s “very dear friend” and mentor in his bohemian New York circle, Aaron Copland.

Britten In America With Elizabeth Watts And Oleg Shebeta-dragan

The Halls

arc Shopping Centre

Kings Place

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

Jayce Ogren's insightful examination of American music continues in this wide-ranging program exploring the musical character of the nation on the approach of its 250th birthday. The concert opens with a profound arrangement of our National Anthem by Italian-American composer Luigi Zaninelli. Sarah Kirkland Snider, a composer with "an unerring knack for breathtaking beauty" (The New Yorker), presents an anticipated new work called Marmoris co-commissioned by Monterey Symphony. Next up is Leonard Bernstein's effervescent Symphonic Dances from West Side Story followed by icon Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait, narrated by surprise honorable guests from Monterey. The season concludes with William Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony, a 1934 work that reflects Black experience in America and has an enigmatic conclusion, representing an unresolved struggle.

USA 250 West Side Story + Lincoln Portrait

Sunset Center Theater

IPO lowers the curtain on our 48thseason by celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This Semiquincentennial celebration features music by Joan Tower, Jessie Montgomery, John Philip Sousa and concludes with Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait.

AMERICAN TURNS 250: A Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of America in Music

Trinity Christian College

Selections from Margaret Bond’s fervent Montgomery Variations plus Samuel Barber’s lyrical Violin Concerto, featuring virtuoso soloist Nathan Meltzer, make up the first half of our final concert, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Aaron Copland’s magnificent Third Symphony, written in 1946 on commission from Serge Koussevitsky, boasts a heroic finale based on Copland’s earlier Fanfare for the Common Man. The piece was immediately hailed as “the greatest American symphony – it goes from the heart to the heart.”

Radiant Reflections: "American Reflections"

North Central College

IPO lowers the curtain on our 48thseason by celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This Semiquincentennial celebration features music by Joan Tower, Jessie Montgomery, John Philip Sousa and concludes with Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. The evening will begin at 6:30pm with a FREE pre-concert lecture. Hosted by IPO bassist Alison Gaines, the lecture will feature narrator LaRob K. Rafael, IPO Gibb Music Director Stilian Kirov, and violist Matthew Lipman.

AMERICA TURNS 250: A Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of America in Music

Copland Appalachian Spring

Crosstown Concourse

University of Memphis

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

As part of the DIA’s Friday Night Live series, Timothy Weiss conducts DCWS for the performance of two works celebrating America—an arrangement of Copland’s Appalachian Spring and the world premiere of Daniel Pesca’s Visions of Mt. Tamalpais, a DCWS co-commission.

Detroit Institute of Arts

Fasten your seatbelt as Alessio Bax tackles Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a creation of massive power and drive and one of the hardest-to-master works in the repertoire. After its premiere in New York City, a critic wrote that “its great length and extreme difficulties bar it from performances by any but pianists of exceptional technical powers.” Its quiet start leads into an astonishing unleashing of notes and hurtles to a riveting conclusion. Copland’s Third Symphony also was first presented in the U.S. Its spirit is undeniably “American”—vital, optimistic, and big-hearted—triumphantly exclaimed in the finale’s stirring “Fanfare for the Common Man.”

Copland & Rachmaninoff

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

Serbian-born cellist Maja Bogdanović makes her long-awaited Richardson Auditorium debut with Camille Saint-Saëns’ melodic first cello concerto, one of the most popular in the repertoire. Aaron Copland’s Letter from Home is an emotional wartime offering in Copland’s unmistakable voice. Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, one of his most beloved works, completes this program with its powerful message of hope and optimism.

Copland, Saint-Saëns & Prokofiev

Princeton University

The season concludes with a jubilant celebration honoring the 250th anniversary of the United States, showcasing American music and its rich and diverse heritage. The evening begins with Jessie Montgomery’s A Hymn for Everyone, a vibrant work that reflects the spirit of unity and shared history. Leonard Bernstein’s powerful Symphony No. 1 (“Jeremiah”) follows, blending bold orchestration with a heartfelt exploration of faith and resilience. Jeff Midkiff’s From the Blue Ridge brings the soul of bluegrass to the concert hall in a thrilling mandolin concerto inspired by Appalachian traditions. The concert concludes with the innovator of the “American Sound,” Aaron Copland, with two movements of his tribute to the American West, Rodeo.

America 250

Coronado Theatre

Dylan Addonizio, clarinet

Northwestern Bienen School of Music

Concert conducted by John Axelrod (UNDER 35)

Teatro Malibran

John Axelrod conducts Daugherty, Copland and Ives

This exciting new theatrical concert from director Bill Barclay and Concert Theatre Works marries Aaron Copland’s stirring incidental music with Mark Twain’s poignant observations of a changing America. Copland's compositions, including Music for Movies and Music for the Theatre, meet excerpts from Twain's essays, apocryphal stories, speeches, and articles. Music Director Ken-David Masur leads the full orchestral power of the MSO, joined by six costumed actors and enhanced by projected visuals. The merging artistry of two critical pillars of American identity provides a soothing & thought-provoking take on the polarizing questions vexing our body politic today using majesty, tolerance, wisdom, and humor.

Copland & Twain: America 250

Warner Grand Theater

Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts

The music of America is dazzling and full of timbres! With locomotive driver Juri, we'll embark on a journey across the continent. We'll begin on the legendary steam locomotive Pacific 231. In the Wild West, we'll see the Grand Canyon and stop off at a cowboy's house for a boisterous feast. Then we'll head south toward Mexico and even Brazil – a journey full of adventure with fascinating instruments and stunningly beautiful music!

Music Express

Germering Town Hall

Friday Favorites: Appalachian Spring

In Appalachian Spring, Aaron Copland vividly and colourfully depicts a spring day in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. This ballet score portrays a pioneer community in the early 1900s, following a young man as he marries and settles down to build a home.

Stockholm City Hall

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

American Independence 250!

Aurora University

We end Season 102 with music that explores identity, reinvention, and imagination. Dvořák’s My Homeland Overture brings warmth and lyrical charm, while Aaron Copland’s El Salón México offers a colorful, folkloric portrait of a Mexico City dance hall. Chosen in honor of Copland’s 125th birthday, it reflects the season’s recurring theme of place and cultural exchange.

Firebird Finale

Celebrating America 250

Neumann University

Celebrate the vibrant rhythms of American music with Torke’s dynamic Run, Freiberg’s lively Latin American Chronicles, and Copland’s bold Symphony No. 3. Featuring clarinet soloist Wesley Ferreira, this concert showcases the diverse energy that defines America’s musical spirit.

Rhythms: of Diversity and Energy

The Lincoln Center

UC Berkeley Philharmonia Orchestra 2026

UC Berkeley Department of Music

Copland captured the American spirit in his music, so evocative of windswept prairies, mountain hollows, and the optimism and resilience idealistically attributed to the inheritors of the new world. Like Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, and Rodeo, his Third Symphony—the source of his Fanfare for the Common Man—summons that irrepressible spirit in a deeply satisfying listening experience.

Copland’s American Inspiration

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Wind Division Recital

560 Music Center

A concert full of beauty, optimism, and the American spirit! William Grant Still’s Wood Notes paints a musical picture of the natural world, followed by Barber’s gorgeous and expressive Violin Concerto. We end with Copland’s Appalachian Spring, a heartwarming and hopeful tribute to new beginnings, capturing the promise of a young pioneer couple starting their life together.

Promise of America

Texas Lutheran University

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

Discover the courage and spirit of a Revolutionary War heroine with Dicey Langston: The South Carolina Girl Who Defied an Army. This world premiere by Peter B. Kay and Mark Waldrop brings to life the tale of Dicey Langston, a South Carolina teenager whose bravery helped shape the nation’s fight for independence. This brand new work is paired with Aaron Copland’s beloved Appalachian Spring. This inspiring program celebrates local history and the resilience of the American spirit. Join us for this powerful blend of storytelling and music!

Dicey Langston: The South Carolina Girl Who Defied an Army

ONNY gets an early start on celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday with this stirring program of music by American composers. There’s a reason John Williams has been called a modern-day John Philip Sousa, as there is no one better at stirring feelings of patriotism through his music. And when it comes to celebrating American heroes through music, Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait continues to be the gold standard. The work combines Copland’s rousing music with Lincoln’s powerful words. The program concludes with Howard Hanson stunningly beautiful Symphony No.2, better known by its subtitle, “Romantic.” It promises to be a thoughtful and inspirational tribute to our nation’s semi quincentennial.

Summon the Heroes

Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall

Trinity Episcopal Church Watertown

Experience the power of musical kinship as the SC Philharmonic and the SC Philharmonic Youth Orchestra unite on one stage! We open with Valerie Coleman’s Umoja – Anthem of Unity, a vibrant, rhythm‑driven celebration of togetherness—performed side‑by‑side by our professionals and rising stars to showcase the spark of collaboration.

From the New World

University of South Carolina

As the nation marks 250 years since its founding, the Canton Symphony Orchestra closes its 2025–2026 MasterWorks season with a program that reflects the evolving American story through voices both historic and contemporary. We the People is an orchestral reckoning with identity, heritage, and the complexities of shared national memory.

MasterWorks VII: We The People - An American Celebration

Zimmermann Symphony Center

Our pops on the river is strictly Red, White, and Blue with patriotic music and fireworks on the Red River.
Selections will include Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" and a world premiere of the concert overture "Dear Enemy" by a composer with roots in Avoyelles Parish, Marie Chenever.

Courage

Alexandria Riverfront Amphitheater

West Side Story Selections

The Garde Arts Center, Inc.

Like birds soaring through the sky or fingers sweeping effortlessly across piano keys, this program promises an experience of awe-inspiring beauty. Listeners have described Gabriela Montero’s piano playing as wonderfully imaginative with a monster technique. Montero takes on Prokofiev’s emotionally turbulent Third Piano Concerto in her SLSO debut. Ryan Bancroft also makes his SLSO debut leading the orchestra in Aaron Copland’s soaring Third Symphony—plus an imaginative work that gazes skyward by contemporary American composer and environmentalist Gabriella Smith.

Copland’s Third

Powell Hall

Celebrate the vibrant sounds of the nation with our last concert of the season. This concert features John Williams’ The Cowboys Overture, Leonard Bernstein’s Times Square: 1944, and Copland’s iconic Appalachian Spring along with much more. Our guest vocalist for this concert is Andrea Ross.

Ode to America

Venice High School

Get ready for a musical road trip across the United States! As we near the USA’s 250th birthday in 2026, join us for a concert full of patriotic fun. Tap your toes to Copland’s Hoe Down, experience the vibrant colors of Angélica Negrón’s Tornasol, and savor the elegance of Florence Price’s Andante and Amy Beach’s Gaelic Symphony. Then, let John Williams’ Superman March send you out on a heroic flourish.

Symphonic Sounds of Home: Music of the United States

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

Voice Division Recital

The WashU Symphony Orchestra and WashU Choirs will unite for a special performance of Franz Joseph Haydn's Mass in Time of War, featuring soloists Kelly Daniel-Decker, soprano, Erin Haupt, alto, Clark Sturdevant, tenor, and Ben Worley, bass.

WashU Symphony Orchestra and Choirs

This spring program dances between elegance and vitality. Joseph Bologne's sparkling overture opens with Classical pose and charm, followed by Haydn's brilliant Trumpet Concerto— a work of wit and virtuosity. After intermission, Copland's beloved Appalachian Spring is a radiant portrait of hope, humility, and openhearted joy. Music that lifts and lingers with both refinement and spirit.

Elegance & Energy

Juneau-Douglas High School

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

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, The Syracuse Orchestra performs music from around the world that celebrates freedom and our richly diverse local community.

Let Freedom Ring

St. Paul's Syracuse, the Downtown Episcopal Church

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!

The Palace Theatre

Piano concertos don’t get any more fun than John Adams’s Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?, a showstopping whirlwind filled with funky grooves, propulsive rhythmic drive, and pop music influences from bebop to honky-tonk. Conducted by the composer himself, it’s the perfect showcase for Víkingur Ólafsson’s breathtaking piano prowess. To close this special celebration of American music, Adams leads Copland’s beloved Appalachian Spring, culminating in the stirring Shaker Hymn, “Simple Gifts.”

Adams Conducts Adams & Appalachian Spring

Jones Hall

Season Finale: American Stories

University of Kentucky

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

Benjamin & Marian Schuster 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

From tranquil fields and springs to turbulent storms and a raging bushfire, this program’s full impact can only be felt live. Copland’s Appalachian Spring radiates airy optimism, Beethoven’s "Pastoral" Symphony captures nature’s beauty and power, and Brett Dean’s Fire Music envelops the hall, depicting destruction and rebirth in surround sound.

Appalachian Spring and Beethoven 6 with Alsop (EARTH | Songs)

Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

The Music Center at Strathmore

Bixby Kennedy is a winner of the 2024-2025 Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition.

Composer

Aaron Copland

Events

Upcoming events

18 - 21 Jun, 2026

Lincoln Portrait & Ellington Harlem · Chicago Symphony Orchestra

19 - 20 Jun, 2026

Copland Symphony No. 3 · Grant Park Music Festival

19 - 21 Jun, 2026

Appalachian Spring · Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

24 - 25 Jun, 2026

Copland Haydn Offenbach Weill · Munich Philharmonic

Jun 28, 2026

The Knights at Caramoor with Conrad Tao · The Knights

Past events

18 - 21 Jun, 2026

Lincoln Portrait & Ellington Harlem · Chicago Symphony Orchestra

13 - 14 Jun, 2026

Sounds of America III: Appalachian Spring · Bozeman Symphony

About

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