Opening Night: New World
Give Birth to the Dream
november 23, 2024
ABOUT
PROGRAM
MARY D. WATKINS – Five Movements in Color
DOLORES WHITE – Give Birth to the Dream
INTERMISSION
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF – Piano Concerto No. 2
ARTISTS
Mélisse Brunet, conductor
Angelique Clay, soprano
Michelle Cann, piano
Michelle Cann appears by arrangement with the Curtis Institute of Music.
VENUE
Singletary Center for the Arts
DURATION
1.5 Hours
ABOUT THE MUSIC
Encompassing different musical styles and genres from the African diaspora, Mary D. Watkins describes her Five Movements in Color as an “epochal painting or poem about our journey as a [Black] people in [the United States].” The heart wrenchingly beautiful second movement, Soul of Remembrance, was featured on LexPhil’s 2023/24 season finale concert.
Dolores White’s Give Birth to the Dream incorporates the poignant and hopeful verses of Maya Angelou’s poem, On the Pulse of Morning, featuring narration and soprano soloist, Angelique Clay.
The monumental Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff, featuring acclaimed pianist Michelle Cann, is a pinnacle of the repertoire for both soloist and orchestra. The measured and reverential piano chords in the opening gradually intensify and escalate throughout the three movements, culminating in an exalted ending that showcases the rhapsodic theme, marking this composition as an emotional odyssey.