Curtis Symphony Orchestra at Immaculata University

Mark Russell Smith, conductor (’87)

Craig Knox, tuba (’89)
Yuwon Kim, conducting fellow

Diverse voices harmonize in this portrait of American life and experience. Signature works by Charles Ives and Aaron Copland—The Unanswered Question and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Appalachian Spring—paint a picture of our nation’s emerging musical vernacular in the 20th century inspired by traditional hymns, folk songs, and the transcendental movement. They frame the Philadelphia premiere of the Tuba Concerto by Curtis faculty and alumna Jennifer Higdon, one of today's most popular and widely performed composers, who creates a virtuosic showcase for Curtis tuba faculty and alumnus Craig Knox. The program closes with the haunting Symphony No. 7 by Antonín Dvořák, a champion of Czech folk music who went on to become America’s most celebrated immigrant musician of the 19th century.