Join the Diablo Symphony in celebrating the return of live music at 2:00 p.m. on November 21 at the Lesher Center for the Arts! Titled “Amazing Grace”, this first concert of the 2021-22 season pays tribute to resilience and connection to cultural roots through works by composers of African-American, Black British and Czech descent.
- The program, under the baton of guest conductor Emily Senturia, opens with Adolphus Hailstork’s orchestral “Fanfare on ‘Amazing Grace’”, which weaves this emblematic African-American spiritual into an exciting fanfare. Living American composer Hailstork’s works, while continuing European classical tradition, reflect the influence of his African-American heritage and spirituals sung since childhood.
- Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s light-hearted “Petite Suite de Concert”, composed in 1910, then follows. English composer Coleridge-Taylor, the son of an African doctor, is known for a wide range of works influenced by traditional African and African American music.
- The concert concludes with Antonín Dvořák’s cheerful and optimistic Symphony No. 8 in G major. Born in Bohemia, Dvořák was passionate about his homeland and its traditional music. The 8th Symphony, composed in 1889, employs a variety of melodic themes, many of them based on Bohemian folk music.
Tickets, $35 for adults 18 and above and $10 for youth 13-17, are available at the Lesher Center Box Office, (address: 1601 Civic Drive Walnut Creek, phone: 925-943-7469) or online at https://lesherartscenter.showare.com/?category=86. Tickets will also be available at the door. Season tickets for the season’s five concerts may be purchased through the Lesher Center Box Office ($150 for adults and $25 for youth). Both individual and season tickets are free for children 12 and under (although they need a ticket to have a seat).
Proof of full vaccination, completed at least 14 days before the concert, is required. Masks must also be worn by those age two and older when inside the Lesher Center, including during the concert.
For information about the orchestra and its concerts and activities, visit the DSO's website at www.diablosymphony.org.
Season Sponsor: Patrick and Shirley Campbell Foundation’ Concert Sponsor: Alfred Gavello