August 1, 2022

It has been a wild and wonderful ride as we got “Back to Live” for our 60th Anniversary season. Even behind our masks, there were wide smiles of joy and gratitude from artists and audiences, board and staff alike—reveling in the warmth of togetherness and astoundingly courageous music-making. We are so deeply moved by the artistry, generosity, and flexibility of everyone involved. 

This evening’s program features composer Kevin Puts’ Moonlight, a concerto for oboe and string orchestra inspired by the film and its themes of resilience and compassion. Moonlight features the virtuosic oboe soloist Katherine Needleman, for whom the work was written. Richard Danielpour’s Apparitions for string orchestra and percussion is a collection of pieces inspired by fantasies, dreams, and stories of the supernatural. Valentin Silvestrov’s Silent Music for string orchestra is a beautiful work by Ukraine’s most famous living composer, who recently fled the war in Ukraine. The Festival’s superstar percussionists take centerstage in Christopher Rouse’s exhilarating Ogoun Badagris, a work deriving its inspiration from Haitian drumming pattern; and in Andrea Reinkemeyer’s percussion quartet entitled #@&%!* (expletive deleted).

Sunday, August 7, 7pm, Violins of Hope

The 2022 Festival comes to a moving close with Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s INTONATIONS: Songs from the Violins of Hope, arranged for string orchestra and percussion. This work features brilliant mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and riveting violinist Benjamin Beilman, and commemorates the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the remarkable dedication of Israeli violin restorers Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein to restore Holocaust era instruments. The program concludes with Rodion Shchedrin’s popular Carmen Suite for string orchestra.