CONCERT DETAILS

Copland & Twain: An America 250 Celebration

Co-premiere by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Ravinia Festival

This exciting new theatrical concert from director Bill Barclay and Concert Theatre Works marries Aaron Copland’s stirring incidental music with Mark Twain’s poignant observations of a changing America. Copland's compositions, including Music for Movies and Music for the Theatre, meet excerpts from Twain's essays, apocryphal stories, speeches, and articles. Music Director Ken-David Masur leads the full orchestral power of the MSO, joined by six costumed actors and enhanced by projected visuals. The merging artistry of two critical pillars of American identity provides a soothing & thought-provoking take on the polarizing questions vexing our body politic today using majesty, tolerance, wisdom, and humor.

What to Expect:

  • The world premiere of a concert unlike any you’ve experienced before, involving actors, costumes, lights, set pieces, and of course a full orchestra; read more at the Concert Theatre Works website
  • Aaron Copland’s Music for Movies, which samples his film scores from The City, Our Town, and his Academy Award-winning score for Of Mice and Men; as well as his 1925 Music for the Theatre, infused with jazzy vignettes of the Roaring 20s

Support