Description

We’re thrilled to open our 11th season with a concert version of George Gershwin’s iconic American opera Porgy & Bess, in the masterful arrangement by Robert Russell Bennett. Join us for an unforgettable evening featuring guest artists soprano Heather Hill, a rising star of Broadway and opera and renowned for her role in the Broadway revival of Porgy & Bess, and baritone Keith Spencer, known by our audience as the visionary creator and star of our world-premiere production of Brothers on Broadway. Capital Singers Music Director Vinroy D. Brown, Jr. having prepared the 30-voice chorus, will conduct the combined orchestra, soloists, and chorus. The evening will commence with orchestral works by two esteemed women composers, as conducted by Ruth Ochs. First, Joan Tower’s 2008 Grammy Award-winning Made in America, followed by Florence Price’s Ethiopia’s Shadow in America, a recently rediscovered tone poem from 1932 that masterfully evokes elements of the African-American experience. Joan Tower: Made in America Florence Price: Ethiopia’s Shadow in America Conductor, Ruth Ochs George Gershwin: Porgy & Bess Conductor, Vinroy D. Brown, Jr. Heather Hill, soprano, Keith Spencer, baritone Westminster Symphonic Choir; Donald Nally, director Pre-Concert lecture 6:30 PM