pre-concert lecture at 7:15PM

Kenneth Kiesler, conductor
Benjamin Penzner, viola Winner of the 2020 SMTD Concerto Competition

This USO concert features Benjamin Penzner, Winner of the 2020 SMTD Concerto Competition, playing the Viola Concerto by William, Walton. Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage opens this USO concert which ends with the "Four Sea Interludes" from the opera Peter Grimes by British composer Benjamin Britten. Highly regarded by his contemporary countrymen Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Holst, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was a super star of his time. In 1902 a group of Black Americans founded the Coleridge-Taylor society and arranged for three tours to America. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt feted him at the White House (at the time, a rare occurrence for a Black artist) and New York City held a parade in his honor. He included African music and American spirituals in his music. Symphonic Variations on an African Air is based on the spiritual “I’m Troubled in Mind.”

PROGRAM
Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage - Felix Mendelssohn
Viola concerto - William Walton
Symphonic Variations on an African Air - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes - Benjamin Britten

attend in person or watch livestream at https://myumi.ch/HillWatch