Join us in-person at the UMD Memorial Chapel. Please note that this event will not be livestreamed.
New Music Director of Choral Activities Jason Max Ferdinand continues the holiday tradition of bringing Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols to campus for its 21st year. Choirs, brass quintet and organ combine to bring the joy of the season to life with carols, hymns and spoken word that epitomize hope and goodwill.
University Chorale and UMD Chamber Singers team up to present an exciting variety of old and new, classical and contemporary choral selections. Repertoire to be announced closer to the concert.
The UMD Wind Orchestra concludes its season with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s beloved “Gran Partita” and works by Karel Husa and J.S. Bach. Mozart’s tenth Serenade, the “Gran Partita” roughly translates to “big wind symphony.” Filled with melodic ornamentation, Mozart wrote this light-hearted piece for entertainment at social gatherings and dinner parties. While this informal practice has caused many serenades from that time period to be lost, luckily many of Mozart’s survived and his “Gran Partita” has become widely recognized as one of the most notable works for wind band.
Bounding with wit and excitement, German composer Paul Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis is based on musical themes written by Carl Maria von Weber. This vibrant work was an immediate hit with American audiences when it premiered in 1944, and it remains so today.
Catch this preview concert at The Clarice before the UMD Wind Orchestra travels to the University of Georgia to perform at the prestigious College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) National Conference by special invitation. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to witness a sneak peek of a new work by Brazilian American composer Clarice Assad in advance of its official world premiere.
Initially titled Lament, George Walker’s Lyric for Strings is an impactfully poignant piece with a notable history that continues to resonate with audiences. Walker wrote the work as an elegy to his late grandmother and a testimony to her experience as an enslaved woman. In the face of racial discrimination and social injustice, Walker was a pioneer, becoming the first African American composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. UMD wind conducting alum Lucia Disano D.M.A.
Go on a musical exploration of the St. Louis Gateway Arch with James Stephenson’s Sonata Rhapsody “The Arch” featuring UMD Senior Lecturer Matthew Guilford on bass trombone. The 630 bars of music match the height of the arch in feet while the score itself visually resembles an arch.
The UMD Symphony Orchestra presents its season finale concert featuring Johann Strauss, Jr.’s, Overture to Die Fledermaus (The Bat), Hungarian composer Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra and Jake Runsestad's A Silence Haunts Me. Pulled from one of his most notable operettas, Strauss’ Overture is a soaring work that encompasses the best of the batty opera’s melodies all packed into eight minutes of farcical delight.
Inspired by Shakespeare's play, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture is a beautiful and lush musical rendition of the tragic love story beloved by romantics.
Majestic and lyrical while also contemplative and somber, Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor was written as a tribute to Dvořák’s first love, who was gravely ill and passed away while Dvořák was still composing. In her memory, he included the melody of his song Leave Me Alone in My Fond Dream, a particular favorite of hers. This masterwork will feature UMD Associate Professor Eric Kutz on cello.
