PERFORMANCE

LexPhil presents Jubilee & Joy, a powerful evening of music that celebrates humankind’s timeless pursuit for connection and joy. Under the baton of Music Director Mélisse Brunet, the program brings together two works that connect across centuries — each a jubilant proclamation of hope and humanity.

The evening opens with 2025-2026 Saykaly Garbulinska Composer-in-Residence Brittany J. Green’s TESTIFY!, a vibrant sonic tapestry inspired by the rhythms and harmonies of her childhood memories. “Many of my earliest musical memories are from the church,” Green writes. “I was always enamored by the rhythms of instruments and bodies sounding and moving in jubilation and perfect harmony.” At the heart of this piece is the joyful sizzle of her mother’s tambourine — an instrument she made “dance and sing like magic.” Built on those percussive patterns and infused with the spirit of the hymn “I’m So Glad,” TESTIFY! is, in Green’s words, “a kaleidoscope of sounds I hold dear.”

LexPhil is then joined by The Lexington Singers for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, filling the hall with a resounding call for unity and joy. Monumental in scope and spirit, the Ninth Symphony moves from stormy intensity to radiant exultation, culminating in the iconic “Ode to Joy” movement — a choral anthem that exalts freedom, fellowship, and peace. Composed while Beethoven was completely deaf yet brimming with visionary conviction, this symphony stands as one of music’s most transcendent declarations of shared humanity.

Jubilee & Joy is a celebration of the enduring strength of human connection and the shared hope we sing into the future.