Charleston Symphony Orchestra’s (CSO) Masterworks series presents Dvořák’s 8th Symphony.
March 24 and 25, 2023
7:30 pm
Gaillard Center
In this concert, two incredible symphonies from two seemingly disparate composers (Antonín Dvořák and William Dawson) will demonstrate how traditional music from their cultures informed their symphonic works. William Dawson incorporated African American spirituals while Antonín Dvořák integrated folks tunes from his Czech homeland.
William Dawson’s three movements of Negro Folk Symphony (I. The Bond of Africa, II. Hope in the Night, and III. O Le’ Me Shine, Shine Like a Morning Star!) draw from familiar spirituals, but also traditional African rhythms inspired by a trip to Africa.
Edward Hart created A Hymn, from “Dunbar Songs” as a musical setting for a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar – a leading Black American writer from the late 19th-early 20th centuries. Another work – Margaret Bonds’ Songs of the Season orchestrated by Hart – will make its world premiere during this concert as part of the CSO’s Project Aurora. Bonds, who passed in 1972, wrote vocal works (among her many other compositions) called art songs which included elements of jazz and American poetry.
In collaboration with the CSO and Project Aurora, enjoy an immersive multimedia concert experience as world-renowned Charleston painter Jonathan Green will present curated artwork inspired by the program.
For additional information and to purchase tickets, click here.
–Tidelines Editors
(Image credit: charlestonsymphony.org)