ABOUT THE EVENT

David Neely, music director
Teri Bickham, soprano

Witness spellbinding stories about bustling marketplaces, majestic palaces, ancient mythological creatures and a soul's journey through darkness into divine light in this enchanting performance by the UMD Symphony Orchestra. Each of the pieces presented tells its own story, exploring mythos and legends from across the world.

Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade brings the princesses’ legendary storytelling to the orchestral stage. Audience members listen as Scheherazade, represented by the solo violin, weaves her tales for the sultan.

In the world premiere of his piece, The Pure Lotus, Mark Wilson explores the ancient Egyptian vision of the soul’s night voyage to the afterlife. Inspired by his grandfather's collection of archaeology and ancient history books, Wilson drew on text from a papyrus scroll dated to 1250 BC that was previously poeticized by Robert Hillyer. These excerpts represent the soul singing out in paradise.

PROGRAM

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Mark Wilson: The Pure Lotus *World Premiere* featuring Teri Bickham, soprano
Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question

ABOUT THE UMD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Through its committed and polished performances under the baton of David Neely, UMSO is dedicated to the power of musical communication. In its repertoire, the orchestra explores the intersection between traditional symphonic masterworks and marginalized works from various eras, with many programs featuring composers of diverse backgrounds.