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.