Michael Haithcock, conductor. “Poems, Hymns, and Stories”. The story of Mack the Knife is revealed in Kurt Weill’s musical retelling of John Gay’s 1728 The Beggar’s Opera. William Billings hymns from the American Revolution are revisited in William Schuman’s American classic, New England Tryptch. UM DMA composition graduate Lembit Beecher’s new work explores the timeless nature of the human heart while John Mackey’s hymn pays homage to the natural beauty of the “blue hour”, the lingering twilight just after sunset. Morton Gould spins “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” into a rousing ensemble tour de force and American Salute.

Pre-concert lecture with Lembit Beecher and Michael Haithcock at 7:15 in the Lower Lobby.

PROGRAM: Weill - Three-Penny Opera Suite; Beecher - Three Poems on the Sounds of the Human Heart (premiere performance); Mackey - Hymn to a Blue Hour; Schuman - New England Triptych; Gould - American Salute