Sat 5/13 @ 7:30PM
The Akron Symphony concludes its 2022-23 season at the University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall will a concert reflecting what’s become a popular programming tactic for symphonies, especially in the last several years: mixing a work by composer who’s a symphony staple with the work of someone who isn’t an “dead white male.”
Flutist/composer Valerie Coleman, who founded the Imani Winds quintet in 1997 to showcase primarily African-American and Latino musicians in the classical music world, is none of those. She’s a black woman in her early 50s who is very much alive. Her 2019 Umoja: Anthem of Unity for orchestra was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra. The orchestra describes it as “memorably euphoric music.”
They’ve coupled it with Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem, written between 1865 and 1868, in response to the 1865 death of his mother, with the first full performance of the work occurring in 1868. As it’s composed for orchestra, chorus and soprano and baritone soloists, the Akron Symphony will be joined by the Akron Symphony chorus, soprano Brianna Robinson and baritone Brian Keith Johnson.
The orchestra’s music director, Christopher Wilkins, will conduct, and also offer a “Preview from the Podium” at 6:30pm. Go here for tickets.