Raleigh Civic Symphony
Old Worlds/New Worlds
Sunday, November 20, 4 PM
Talley Student Union, Stewart Theatre, Raleigh, NC
NC State’s Raleigh Civic Symphony performs a concert highlighting the role of folk, popular music and the music of the Americas in the symphonic music of both Europe and the United States.
Czech Composer Antonín Dvořák was a vocal advocate for the folk music of his homeland, often including it in his own works. During his time teaching, composing and traveling in the United States, he encouraged American composers to use their native music as source material for their own compositions, rather than looking to Europe for inspiration. William Grant Still, known as the “Dean of Afro-American Composers,” embodied Dvořák’s advice in composing his “Afro-American” symphony, drawing on popular African-American musics such as the Blues and spirituals. The Symphony, the most-performed American symphony until 1950, fuses Black culture and symphonic form in an irresistible, moving and personal language. The concert will also feature the world premiere of Croatian composer Ivan Josip Skender’s Shades and Fireworks.
Program:
Antonín Dvořák: American Suite
Ivan Josip Skender: shadesfireworks (world premiere)
William Grant Still: Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American”
$12 general public
$5 for NC State students; $10 for faculty/staff/seniors
