American Composers Forum

Beethoven’s Fifth & Rhapsody
2021-10-02 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago)
The season launches with two giants from the symphonic repertoire: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Described as a “compelling, sparkling virtuoso,” Michelle Cann will grace the ASO stage with Gershwin’s Rhapsody. The concert also features Copland’s inspired Fanfare for the Common Man and Umoja by Valerie Coleman (a BandQuest composer), recently commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Dates & Times:

Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 6:30 PM CT | 7:30 PM ET
Sunday, October 3, 2021 at 2 PM CT | 3 PM ET

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CLASSICS: A CONCERT FOR UNITY
2021-10-02 19:00 - 20:00
Louisville native Valerie Coleman (a BandQuest composer) wrote her piece and titled it “UMOJA” as a gesture of love between good friends. As we strive to create unity within our families, our city, our nation, and our world, we present this concert as an embrace and lifting up of the joys and sorrows of our community. We search for healing connections and offer welcome to all. Local musicians join the orchestra to reflect on the last year through song before Teddy leads Tchaikovsky’s searing Sixth Symphony.
Date & Time: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 7 PM CT | 8 PM ET
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Experiential Orchestra presents Renewal: An Evening with Louise Toppin
2021-10-02 19:00 - 20:30
Fresh from winning its first Grammy Award, Experiential Orchestra (EXO), led by Music Director James Blachly, opens its 2021-22 season with a concert highlighting its partnership with the African Diaspora Music Project (ADMP). Featuring ADMP Founder and Editor, celebrated soprano Dr. Louise Toppin, the program includes two New York premieres by 20th century African-American composer Julia Perry – her Prelude for Strings from 1946, revised 1962 and newly orchestrated by Roger Zahab, and Symphony for Violas and Basses from 1961, a substantial one-movement work.
The concert also includes Quinn Mason’s (a NextNotes creator) Reflections on a Memorial (2020), Jessica Meyer’s Through Which We Flow (2017), and three works for voice – “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” by David Baker from his cycle Wisdom (1990), recorded by Toppin; “Golden Days” by William Grant Still from his opera Costaso (1950); and Jessie Montgomery’s I Want to Go Home (2015), premiered with the composer, Julia Bullock, and Blachly in 2015.
A conversation with Toppin will follow the concert, focusing on her remarkable career as a world-renowned soprano and scholar with more than 30 works written for her by composers including Adolphus Hailstork (a BandQuest composer), Julius Williams, and many others.
Date & Time: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 7 PM CT | 8 PM ET
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Signature Concert #1 - Fury, Contemplation & Hope
2021-10-02 20:30 - 21:30
Your Fort Collins Symphony returns to the Lincoln Center’s Main Stage after a year of virtual performances. The opening night of our 2021-2022 Season will guide you through a range of emotions that include passion, contemplation, and hope. We present Rodion Shchedrin’s fiery Carmen Suite, Leonard Bernstein’s thoughtful Serenade after Plato’s Symposium, and Jessie Montgomery’s expectant Banner, a re-imagining of the Star-Spangled Banner for the 21st
Banner – Jessie Montgomery
Serenade after Plato’s Symposium – Leonard Bernstein,
Featuring Guest Violinist Linda Wang
Carmen Suite – Rodion Shchedrin
Date & Time: Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 8:30 PM CT | 7:30 PM MDT
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SLO Symphony: Classics Reimagined – String Glory
2021-10-02 21:30 - 22:30
The Symphony’s return to the stage, in celebration of their 60th anniversary, will take place on Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 9:30 PM CT | 7:30 PM PT at the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo.
In light of new guidelines from San Luis Obispo County Health Officials, the previously planned program has been modified. The new program, Maestro Andrew Sewell’s Classics Reimagined – String Glory, includes Michael Daugherty’s (a BandQuest composer) Strut, Claude Debussy’s Danses, Marcel Grandjany’s Aria in Classical Style, Gustav Mahler’s sublime Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 for strings and harp with soloist and principal harpist Marcia Dickstein (Los Angeles), and Edvard Grieg’s Holberg Suite (suite in olden style).
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