Life Cycles

Overview

Please note, this concert will take place on Sunday, June 9, 2024.

Our season concludes with Life Cycles, a revitalizing journey through timeless works and an examination of the cyclicality inherent in human life. The program features David Biendenbender’s Luminescence, a scintillating transformation of Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light, where fragments of the source material emerge amidst vibrant woodwind flourishes and metallic percussion sounds. Jennifer Jolley’s Ash muses on her upbringing in Southern California, a place lacking snow but often blanketed in falling ash from nearby wildfires, contemplating the beauty arising from these powerful and destructive fires through obfuscated melodies and delicate chamber moments.

The second half highlights John Philip Sousa’s enduring march, The Thunderer, followed by Ira Hearshen’s reimagining of its trio theme, After “The Thunderer”. We wrap up with selections from Leonard Bernstein’s On the Town, the swinging three-movement suite capturing moments from the hit musical, including Gabey’s naive dreams of love, his struggles finding love in the big city, and the sailors congregating in Times Square for a night on the town.

Program

Artists