In honor of Black History Month, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) pays homage to African American composers with an energetic and insightful program for “Welcome Back to the United States of America” on Feb. 4 and 5.
Canadian American conductor Peter Oundjian explores the music of North America with the ISO, starting with William Grant Still’s Poem for Orchestra, which Still’s wife says was “inspired by the concept of a world being reborn spiritually after a period of darkness and desolation.”
Florence Price – the first Black woman to have her music performed by a major U.S. orchestra – honors her African American heritage with a movement of her String Quartet, arranged for orchestra by Oundjian.
Barber’s unbroken Symphony No. 1 releases its titanic strength and energy, and the ISO commissions a new work by young African American composer Joel Thompson, recently celebrated in the New York Times for his moving work “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed.”
Through the ISO’s Unheard Voices initiative, generously supported by the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation, the 2021-22 season celebrates contemporary and historical composers whose works are often underrepresented in orchestras today.
About Conductor Peter Oundjian
Peter Oundjian is renowned across the globe for his vibrant collaborative spirit and engaging musicality. He began his career as a solo violinist, and first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet, followed by an international conducting career leading orchestras in virtually every major musical center in the world. After a 14-year tenure as the Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and six years at the helm of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Oundjian was recently named Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival. Oundjian became a visiting professor at the Yale School of Music at the age of 25, and has mentored young violinists, conductors, and chamber groups at Yale for 38 years. In 2016, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Yale Philharmonia, leading the orchestra in engaging performances of works from across the orchestral canon. He also oversees the training of graduate-level orchestral conducting students.
Performances begin at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4 and at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 5. Per the ISO health and safety guidelines, proof of vaccination and face masks are mandatory. For more information regarding the policies of the Hilbert Circle Theatre, please visit indianapolissymphony.org.