The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Louis Langrée announce the reprisal of the popular One City, One Symphony initiative, designed to bring people together through music. The Orchestra, along with dozens of community partners, will provide opportunities for audiences to connect and discuss music in-depth, leading up to the CSO’s performances on November 13-14 (Friday at 11 a.m. and Saturday at 8 p.m.) at Music Hall.
This year’s program centers around the theme of “Freedom,” commemorates the 150th anniversary of the 13th Amendment, and is dedicated to the legacy of Dr. Maya Angelou, who appeared with the Orchestra in November 2013 narrating Copland’s Lincoln Portrait in what would be one of her final artistic projects before she passed away. (The performance was recorded and included on the CSO’s most recent disc, Hallowed Ground.)
The two-month initiative culminates with a concert program featuring the world premieres of three short works based on Dr. Angelou’s poetry (“Equality,” “Forgive,” and “Elegy”) by Jonathan Bailey Holland, Kristin Kuster and T.J. Cole, as well as Dvořák’s beloved Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”) and Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 2.
One City, One Symphony will again feature community listening parties, dozens of community partners and collaborations, educational materials, radio broadcasts and more. For the first time, a poetry contest is also part of the initiative.
Tickets for the November 13-14 concert performances at Music Hall start at $12 and are available now by calling (513) 381-3300 or visiting www.cincinnatisymphony.org.
