Thompson, Stefan – Forward, Upward, Onward, Together (World Premiere)
Bartok, Bela – Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
Dvorak, Antonin – Cello Concerto

Special guest:
Nicholas Canellakis, cello

Our March program celebrates the global travels and diverse influences of some of our favorite composers, creating a rich tapestry of sound that will be meaningful for both the orchestra players and our audience. Czech composer Antonín Dvořák spent three years in America (from 1892-1895) as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City, which is where he composed his great Cello Concerto. We’ll be joined by guest cellist Nicholas Canellakis, a multifaceted artist who appears regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Hungarian composer Béla Bartók was well known in America as a pianist, teacher, and ethnomusicologist, and his Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta is one of his most popular compositions. We’ll open the concert with a world premiere symphonic work from young Bahamian composer Stefan Thompson, a recent Boston Conservatory graduate, now studying for a PhD in Screen Scoring at New York University. The work’s title, Forward, Upward, Onward, Together, comes from the motto of the Bahamas.

Treat yourself to a feast for the ears and eyes.  Conductor Dr. Dirk Hillyer pairs Debussy’s Afternoon of a Faunand Satie’s Gymnopedies with masterpieces by Picasso, Braque and DuChamps. Emily Richardson, harp, solos in Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro; and Eduardo Gomez is flute soloist in Griffes Poem for Flute and Orchestra.  Maestro Hillyer will share his knowledge of painting and music as he and the orchestra lead us on a journey through masterworks of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Still | In Memoriam
Lidström | World Premiere
-Mats Lidström, cello
Beethoven | Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”

Cellist Mats Lidström performs a world premiere based on a Robert F. Kennedy speech during his bid for the American Presidency. William Grant Still’s In Memoriam memorializes the forgotten Black soldiers who fought for our country in the Civil War. The “heroic” Third Symphony expresses Beethoven’s belief in the indomitable spirit of mankind.

“Even though A Far Cry has decisively established itself as a mainstay of the Boston musical community, something about it feels perpetually fresh with every performance.” —The Boston Globe

A Far Cry has risen to the top of Billboard’s Traditional Classical Chart and was named Boston’s best classical ensemble by The Improper Bostonian. In 2023, in a testament to the group’s stellar collaborative nature, all three albums the group was involved with were nominated for a GRAMMY Award. For their Groton Hill appearance, “For” Seasons – A Far Cry’s take on Vivaldi’s iconic Four Seasons – will explore the work through a lens of nostalgia with a call to action on climate change. Along with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the program includes works by Thorvaldsdottir, Sufjan Stevens, Quinn Mason, and Caroline Shaw.

“Even though A Far Cry has decisively established itself as a mainstay of the Boston musical community, something about it feels perpetually fresh with every performance.” —The Boston Globe

A Far Cry has risen to the top of Billboard’s Traditional Classical Chart and was named Boston’s best classical ensemble by The Improper Bostonian. In 2023, in a testament to the group’s stellar collaborative nature, all three albums the group was involved with were nominated for a GRAMMY Award. For their Groton Hill appearance, “For” Seasons – A Far Cry’s take on Vivaldi’s iconic Four Seasons – will explore the work through a lens of nostalgia with a call to action on climate change. Along with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the program includes works by Thorvaldsdottir, Sufjan Stevens, Quinn Mason, and Caroline Shaw.