The Syracuse Orchestra will perform an afternoon program of American music at the Smith Opera House in Geneva on Sunday, Nov. 15, with free admission for children through grade 12 and Hobart and William Smith students with ID.
The 3 p.m. concert, presented by Geneva Concerts, will feature newly appointed Music Director Austin Chanu and mezzo-soprano Nikola Printz in “Echoes of America,” according to a news release and the concert announcement.
The performance will take place at 82 Seneca St. A pre-concert chat with the conductor begins at 2 p.m. and is open to everyone.
Chanu joined the orchestra after serving as assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he assisted Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Four works by American composers
The program opens with John Adams' “The Chairman Dances: Foxtrot for Orchestra,” written while he was working on his opera “Nixon in China.” The piece imagines Madame Mao interrupting a presidential banquet, Mao stepping down from his portrait and the pair dancing back to their youth.
Printz will then sing Jake Heggie's “Good Morning, Beauty,” a set of four songs with words by Taylor Mac. The romantic and humorous songs explore love after the honeymoon.
After intermission, the orchestra's strings will perform Samuel Barber's “Adagio for Strings.” The full orchestra will close with Aaron Copland's “Appalachian Spring,” composed for dancer and choreographer Martha Graham and featuring variations on the Shaker tune “Simple Gifts” near the end.
Tickets and student admission
Adult tickets cost $35, and college students with ID pay $10. Admission is free for Hobart and William Smith students with ID and children through grade 12, in keeping with Geneva Concerts' efforts to promote live performance.
Tickets are available online at Geneva Concerts, at the door and at Stomping Grounds, 41 Seneca St. in Geneva. Stomping Grounds accepts cash or checks only.
Geneva Concerts' programs receive support from the Williams Family Foundation, the Wyckoff Family Foundation, the Rotary Club of Geneva and the New York State Council on the Arts, with support from the governor's office and state Legislature.
For more information, visit Geneva Concerts' website or email info@genevaconcerts.org.
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