There are few moments as moving as walking on stage, cueing the snare drum roll, and hearing every member of The Grand Opera House audience stand and sing The Star Spangled Banner. That sense of community — bound by respect and love for one another and for our country — is deeply inspiring. At a time when our collective notion of what it is to be ‘American’ is fraught, I wanted to play a program that celebrated an America we love, that same love and respect broadcast with the passion expressed during the Banner singing.

On one side of intermission, we have music about America by Americans: The Ives/Schuman Variations on America, originally a work by 17-year-old Ives for organ, was arranged 70 years after its premiere by William Schuman for the New York Philharmonic. Witty, patriotic, and occasionally lovingly irreverent, it beautifully captures the American Spirit. After Ives, we’ll play the World Premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s suite from her opera Cold Mountain — a story of love, devotion, and hardship during the Civil War. Higdon’s language evokes mid-19th Century America while still being modern, fresh, and expressive. I am excited and honored to be a lead commissioner on this work.

On the other side of intermission is music about America by a visitor from Bohemia. Antonin Dvořák came to the United States to run a new school in New York. While in the states, he fell head over heels for the African-American and Native American musical traditions — especially spirituals. Dvořák used that vernacular, together with European formal technique, to craft a unique, and uniquely ‘American’ symphony that entered the repertoire immediately. Loved from day one for its tunefulness, honest expressive quality, and a slow movement theme that so accurately reflected values of African-American spirituals, that it became the spiritual “Goin’ Home.” The New World Symphony continues to inspire audiences 130 years after its premiere.