OVERVIEW

Trail-blazing pianist Awadagin Pratt brings a delightful mix of old and new with a keyboard concerto by Baroque master Bach and Rounds by Jessie Montgomery—a work both energetic and contemplative, written specifically for Pratt, who improvises the conclusion. Teddy Abrams conducts the overture to his own rap-opera about American boxing legend Muhammad Ali, while Copland’s orchestral suite from his ballet Appalachian Spring tells another story of the American dream—a young frontier couple working together toward a brighter future.

PROGRAM

BACH: Keyboard Concerto in A Major
JESSIE MONTGOMERY: Rounds for Piano and String Orchestra
TEDDY ABRAMS: Overture to The Greatest
COPLAND: Appalachian Spring