The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is one of four U.S. orchestras chosen to take part in a first-ever Washington, D.C., festival celebrating American orchestras in 2017.
The inaugural SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras, a collaboration between the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Washington Performing Arts, will take place March 28-April 2 at the Kennedy Center. It will celebrate “the vitality, unique identity and extraordinary artistry of orchestras,” according to the Washington Performing Arts website. The other participants: the Boulder (Colo.) Philharmonic (performing March 28), the Raleigh-based North Carolina Symphony (March 29) and the Knights, a Brooklyn ensemble (April 1).
On March 31, the ASO, conducted by music director Robert Spano, will perform Christopher Theofanidis’ Creation/Creator, a 75-minute semi-staged piece that received its world premiere in April at Symphony Hall. It combines elements of oratorio, opera and music theater, using the orchestra, a large chorus, singers and actors. The D.C. performance will feature such frequent ASO collaborators as soprano Jessica Rivera and mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor plus tenor Thomas Cooley, baritone Nmon Ford and bass Evan Boyer. Theofanidis is part of the ASO’s School of Composers, a group created during Spano’s tenure.
The four participating orchestras, according to Washington Performing Arts, were “chosen from a pool of exceptional submissions from orchestra across North America.” Collectively, they’ll perform repertoire by nine living composers, two world premieres and numerous D.C.-area premieres, all inspired by nature, Americana, creation and creativity and choral influences.
For full details on SHIFT, go HERE.
