Gustav Holst’s The Planets is an epic orchestral suite that takes the listener on a majestic journey through the solar system. Each of the seven movements represents the number of planets visible from earth at the time the piece was composed, taking on the astrological character of the planet it represents.
Featuring the world premiere of Oracles by composition faculty member Mark Wilson, the concert will also include James Stephenson’s The Road Home with faculty member Chris Gekker on trumpet and Shuying Li’s The Last Hivemind, which was inspired by the TV series Black Mirror and explores the potentially disastrous repercussions of using artificial intelligence or “hive mind.”
Brentano Quartet (USA)
Set in 1898, Flyin’ West is the vivid and spirited story of African American women pioneers who settle together in the all-black town of Nicodemus, KS. After emancipation, the play’s four women have taken advantage of the Homestead Act to leave the oppressive South in hopes of finding the freedom that had been denied to them for so long. Cleage’s work explores themes of determination, racial pride, intermarriage and the power of love to highlight the female empowerment that she sees as vital to the African American community.
SITI: The Bacchae
For the 18th consecutive year, the High School Choir Invitational puts the future of choral music in the spotlight as talented area high school choirs gather for a vibrant side-by-side performance with the UMD Chamber Singers and University Chorale.
This graduate student-led contemporary music ensemble focuses on cultivating new music experiences in the community both within and outside of the standard concert hall to present the music of now.
Program:
Jenni Brandon: Shades of Violet
Patrice Michaels: The Long View: A Portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Nine Songs
Daron Hagen: Duo for Violin and Cello
Brett Miller: Blue
Nathan Daughtrey: An Extraordinary Correspondence
The jazz program’s season opening concert really swings. Interim Director of Jazz Studies Tim Powell brings together the UMD Jazz Ensemble, UMD Jazz Lab Band and the University Jazz Band. Enjoy an entertaining evening of jazz featuring composers ranging from Bill Evans to George and Ira Gershwin to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Program:
Irina Muresanu and James Stern have both performed at The Clarice with epic unaccompanied violin recitals. Now these two revered faculty combine forces to show that a rich world of sound can be found in the top half of a string quartet. The program features the magical sonorities of the French Baroque, the Classical perfection of Mozart, the daredevil stunts of violin geekdom, two loving homages to the diversity of 20th-century art and a romp through the Hungarian countryside by an Oscar-winning Hollywood composer.
Black Grace (New Zealand): Crying Men
