Aperio, Music of the Americas, kicks off it’s 20th concert season with Southern Revival, a captivating program of chamber and orchestral music on Friday, October 17, 2025 at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston (MATCH). Featuring musicians from Aperio’s core ensemble conducted by Marlon Chen, this evening of poignant American music explores the power of nostalgia and collective memory, highlighting an array of composers and historical perspectives.

Anchored by Samuel Barber’s evocative and powerful work for soprano and orchestra Knoxville: Summer of 1915, the program navigates a variety of perspectives on childhood nostalgia and collective tragedy. Showcasing an evocative text drawn from James Agee’s prose masterpiece A Death In The Family, Barber’s music evokes a nostalgic, dreamlike memory of a peaceful summer evening from a child's perspective, casting an idyllic, peaceful scene in the foreboding shadow of personal tragedy. 

In contrast, Shawn Okpebholo's Two Black Churches gives voice to the painful historical and ongoing racial violence against Black communities. While Barber's work is a personal, gentle reflection, Okpebholo's is a powerful lament and a somber meditation on collective trauma.

The program also highlights significant works by Black composers, including Florence Price’s beautiful Andante Moderato from her String Quartet No. 1, Jessie Montgomery’s dynamic Strum for string quartet and introspective cello and piano duet titled Peace, Margaret Bonds' powerful piano work Troubled Water, and William Grant Still's elegant Serenade. The performance concludes with Richard Farina’s folk-inspired Birmingham Sunday.

EPSG:4326

Southern Revival

Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston

Brazilian Guitar & Cello

Music for Peace

Aliw Theater

Symphony No. 9 (From the New World)

Manila Symphony Orchestra

Knoxville: Summer of 1915

Aperio, Music of the Americas

Serenade

Violin Concerto in D Major

Troubled Water

Strum for string quartet

Two Black Churches

Andante moderato

Marlon Chen

Events

Past events

Oct 17, 2025

Southern Revival · Aperio, Music of the Americas

Aug 9, 2025

Brazilian Guitar & Cello · Manila Symphony Orchestra

Future and recently performed repertoire

Conductor in Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) by Dvořák

Manila Symphony Orchestra

Conductor in Knoxville: Summer of 1915 by Barber

Aperio, Music of the Americas

Conductor in Serenade by Still

Aperio, Music of the Americas

Conductor in Violin Concerto in D Major by Beethoven

Manila Symphony Orchestra

Conductor in Troubled Water by Bonds

Aperio, Music of the Americas

Conductor in Strum for string quartet by Montgomery

Aperio, Music of the Americas

Conductor in Two Black Churches by Okpebholo

Aperio, Music of the Americas

Conductor in Andante moderato by Price

Aperio, Music of the Americas

About

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