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Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Coleridge-Taylor, Copland & Dvořák 9
Mar 23-26, 2023
Overview
Thomas Wilkins conducts three works featuring unique musical visions of America, capped with Dvořák’s majestic New World Symphony, which draws on African American and Native American source materials. Coleridge-Taylor’s ballet suite captures the spirit of Longfellow’s epic poem The Song of Hiawatha. CSO Principal Clarinet Stephen Williamson performs Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, premiered by Benny Goodman, which features a rollicking blend of jazz and classical sounds.
Program
Coleridge-Taylor
Hiawatha Suite
Copland
Clarinet Concerto
Dvořák
Symphony No. 9 (From the New World)
Performers
Extras
Enhance your concert experience with these additional events.
Preconcert Conversation
Explore the music in the free preconcert conversation featuring John Novak in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets are needed.
March 23 College Night
Join us for an exclusive event for college students. Enjoy dinner and a Q&A session with Thomas Wilkins followed by a CSO concert. Learn more »
March 26 Postconcert Q&A: Thomas Wilkins and Stephen Williamson with Renée Baker
Hosted by the CSO African American Network
Join Chicago composer, conductor and frequent CSO African American Network guest Renée Baker for a postconcert Q&A with guest conductor Thomas Wilkins and solo clarinetist Stephen Williamson after the matinee concert on Sunday, March 26. Learn more »
All ticket holders are invited to attend this free, postconcert discussion.
Sponsors & Partners
The appearance of Thomas Wilkins is made possible by the Juli Plant Grainger Fund for Artistic Excellence.
Official Airline of the CSO
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts
Discover more on Experience CSO
When the Boston Symphony Orchestra offered Thomas Wilkins the position of youth and family concerts conductor, he hesitated: “I thought, ‘I don’t want be known as the guy who does kiddie concerts for a living.'”
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Though he has performed as soloist with many orchestras worldwide, Principal Clarinet Stephen Williamson is excited to take on the role again with the CSO: “The great thing is when you play in front of your orchestra, it’s your colleagues there supporting you.”
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Largely forgotten in the century after his untimely death at age 37, Afro-British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and his works are receiving overdue recognition.
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CSO Principal Clarinet Stephen Williamson demonstrates how crafting one’s own personal narrative can fuel expression in Zoltán Kodály’s "Dances of Galánta."
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In October 1891, concertmaster Max Bendix was soloist in the U.S. premiere of Dvořák’s Violin Concerto. Theodore Thomas conducted.
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