Pre-concert lecture at 7:15PM in the Lower Lobby.

Kenneth Kiesler, conductor, Danielle Belen, violin.

Kenneth Kiesler conducts this USO concert, which opens with Mendelssohn’s concert overture, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, and continues with the virtuosic Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, featuring the prize-winning violinist and SMTD professor of violin Danielle Belen. Composer John Luther Adams will be in residence for the rehearsals and performance of his Become Ocean, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize and the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. This undulating, contemplative piece for three orchestras has become a phenomenon among audiences and orchestras. The title comes from John Cage’s homage to the music of composer Lou Harrison: “Listening to it we become ocean.” It also refers to the environment as Adams notes in the score: “Life on this earth first emerged from the sea. As the polar ice melts and sea level rises, we humans find ourselves facing the prospect that once again we may quite literally become ocean.”

PROGRAM: Mendelssohn- Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage; Bruch- Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Danielle Belen, violin; John Luther Adams- Become Ocean