James Ross leads the NOI Philharmonic in jovial works that visit the varied roots of each composer.. Quinn Mason's festive Toast of the Town is written in the style of a lighthearted operetta and is tuneful and charming in its writing. György Ligeti's Romanian Concerto is inspired by folk music echoing from his childhood in the central Romanian region of Transylvania. Trailblazing composer Florence Price's Piano Concerto in One Movement brings forth virtuosic dialogue between soloist and orchestra with nods to traditional spirituals and the historic African-American juba dance that originated in Central Africa and moved with the enslaved to American plantations. Joining James Ross and the NOI Philharmonic for the concerto is pianist Natalia Kazaryan. Hailing from Tbilisi, Georgia, Natalia is committed to performing works by women composers, curating all-women programs at prestigious area venues including Washington D.C.'s Portrait Gallery and The Kennedy Center. Also adopting a folkloric character, Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 3 combines traditional Finnish sonorities with a hymn-like and triumphant conclusion that departs from the composer’s earlier symphonies.

The National Orchestral Institute + Festival, a program of the University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, trains aspiring orchestral musicians, composers, conductors and arts administrators from across the country in a month of dynamic music-making and professional exploration at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Musicians are chosen through a rigorous, cross-country audition process. Every year, these young artists present passionate and awe-inspiring performances of adventuresome repertoire at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

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Program:

Quinn Mason: Toast of the Town - Overture for Orchestra

György Ligeti: Romanian Concerto

Florence Price: Piano Concerto in One Movement

Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 3 in C major, Op. 52