Our American Voices

Description:

This all-American concert offers a diverse perspective on American music with classics, as well as new voices. William Grant Still’s Afro-American Symphony meshes the genres of the symphony and the blues. Grant is the first significant African American composer who rose to the national stage.

Program:

Montgomery — Strum

Featuring expansive voicing, rhythmic vitality, colorful textures and folk-style melodies, this eight-minute piece showcases why Montgomery has lately emerged as a fast-rising star in American classical music.

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Barber — Violin Concerto

This popular concerto was a turning point in Barber’s stylistic development. Its first two movements echo his youthful Romantic style of composition, while the finale points to his later evolution toward modernism.

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Still — Afro-American Symphony

The first work by a Black composer ever performed by a major American orchestra, this four-movement symphony has become an enduring favorite due to its colorful mix of blues, jazz and classical idioms.

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Program Notes:

Jessie Montgomery—Strum

Samuel Barber — Violin Concerto

William Grant Still—Afro-American Symphony

 

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