Opening Night! Travels, Tales, & Dances

Nothing travels better than music. So, pack your bags. We’re heading to Cuba for a spicy Marquez cocktail: catchy melodies, infectious rhythms, and, of course, that signature conga kick. And, we’ll leave it all on the left Bank, where Gershwin jazzes up the City of Lights with love, laughter, and a little longing for home in the music that inspired the movie, An American in Paris. Then, we’ll tone it all down with Piazzolla’s hauntingly beautiful tango—Oblivion—straight from Argentina’s soul.

By the way, we’ll lose ourselves in a piece that was once lost itself. Florence Price wrote this vivacious violin concerto in 1952, one year before her unexpected death. It was never performed, never published. Almost five decades later, it was discovered by accident in an abandoned house she once owned 70 miles south of Chicago. Melissa White, a stunning soloist and founding member of the Grammy-winning Harlem Quartet, is making up for lost time. She’s embraced Price’s music, and—what can we say?—they’re oh-so much better together. This is going to be a dazzling debut.

PROGRAM
ARTURO MARQUEZ
Conga Del Fuego Nuevo (New Fire Conga)

FLORENCE PRICE
Violin Concerto No. 1
Featuring soloist Melissa White

GEORGE WHITEFIELD CHADWICK
Overture to Rip Van Winkle

ASTOR PIAZZOLLA
Tango: Oblivion

GEORGE GERSHWIN
An American in Paris

PERFORMERS
Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra
Steven Karidoyanes, conductor
Melissa White, violin