Celebrate Women’s History Month and the women of classical music. Opening the concert is Louise Farrenc’s Overture No. 2. Farrenc was the only woman to hold the title of Professor at the prestigious Paris Conservatory during the entire 19th century and used the success of her compositions to fight for equal pay for women. Next on the program is Strum by Jessie Montgomery, a living composer who seeks to merge composing and performance with education and advocacy.

These works build up to an exciting performance of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Based on the female character of the same name in the Middle Eastern tale 1,001 Nights, this piece tells the story of Scheherazade’s cunning ability to avoid death at the hands of the Sultan Shahriar. Shahriar believe all women to be deceitful and vows to take a new wife each day, only to slay them the next morning. However, the brilliant Scheherazade outwits him by spinning intriguing tales that last until dawn and conclude the next night. After a thousand and one nights, she finally wins his love.