Unorchestrated
The Akron Symphony will present Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, nicknamed Romantic, on March 2 at EJ Thomas Hall. Bruckner’s composition, his first to receive widespread acclaim, showcases the composer’s unique style and is filled with lyrical themes, expressive contrasts, splendid orchestration, glorious climaxes, and dramatic developments. In the second episode of this two-part series, Music Director Christopher Wilkins and Matthew Mauro, acting principal horn, take a deeper dive into Bruckner’s music. The Akron Symphony Orchestra will present Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony,...
info_outline Bruckner's Fourth - Part 1Unorchestrated
The Akron Symphony will present Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, nicknamed Romantic, on March 2 at EJ Thomas Hall. Bruckner’s composition, his first to receive widespread acclaim, showcases the composer’s unique style and is filled with lyrical themes, expressive contrasts, splendid orchestration, glorious climaxes, and dramatic developments. In the first episode of a two-part series, Music Director Christopher Wilkins and Matthew Mauro, acting principal horn, discuss Matt’s career, and Matt shares some of his experiences with the audition process for an orchestra. The Akron Symphony...
info_outline Gospel Meets Symphony 30th Anniversary ConcertUnorchestrated
The Akron Symphony and the Gospel Meets Symphony Choir will celebrate 30 years of music and fellowship during Gospel Meets Symphony on February 10 at EJ Thomas Hall. Led by Maestro Christopher Wilkins and Gospel Meets Symphony Choirmaster Jonathon Turner, the evening will highlight the community spirit that has made GMS one of Northeast Ohio’s most enduring musical traditions. In this episode, Christopher, Jonathon and Brenda Justice, coordinator of choral programs at the Akron Symphony, discuss what the program means to Akron, share some memories of past performances, and talk about...
info_outline An Akron-fueled CollaborationUnorchestrated
The Akron Symphony will open the second half of the season with a performance featuring Mozart’s 29th Symphony on January 13 at EJ Thomas Hall. The evening will also fully embrace Akron as the Orchestra performs Jake Gunnar Walsh & Jon Sonnenberg’s Conflagration - featuring EarthQuaker devices - and Mary Lou Williams’ jazz-infused Zodiac Suite, featuring longtime friend of the ASO and Akron’s own Theron Brown and his quartet. In this episode, Music Director Christopher Wilkins and Theron discuss the program, emphasizing the career and influence of composer Mary Lou Williams. Theron...
info_outline Dvořák’s ecstatic Cello ConcertoUnorchestrated
The Akron Symphony will present Dvořák’s warm-hearted, ecstatic, and deeply lyrical Cello Concerto with guest soloist Khari Joyner on November 18 at EJ Thomas Hall. The performance will also include William Grant Still’s Festive Overture and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6. Like the New World Symphony, the Cello Concerto is another work hailing from Dvořák’s American period and is therefore infused with the same sense of homesick longing that pervades the symphony. Khari Joyner has a following both nationally and abroad as a versatile concert cellist, chamber musician and...
info_outline Sonic Theater on OrganUnorchestrated
The Akron Symphony Orchestra will present Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony on October 21 at EJ Thomas Hall. In this episode, Music Director Christopher Wilkins sits down with Robert Mollard, principal keyboardist, to talk about the performance in a conversation that was sponsored by The Friends of the Akron Symphony. Join the Akron Symphony for Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony, featuring Principal Keyboardist Robert Mollard on the Rodgers digital organ, on October 21 at 7:30 p.m., at EJ Thomas Hall. The Preview from the Podium begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the performance, which also includes...
info_outline A Cultural Expression through MusicUnorchestrated
The Akron Symphony will open its new season with Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on September 29 at EJ Thomas Hall. The evening will also include the Akron premiere of Jerod Tate’s Clans from Lowak Shoppala’. The piece will include narration by Akron’s Dr. LaDonna Blue Eye, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation, and Jerod will be the guest conductor. In this episode, we sit down with Music Director Christopher Wilkins and composer Jerod Tate to discuss his distinguished career, his inspirations, and Lowak Shoppala', which is a work that expresses Chickasaw identity through the medium of modern...
info_outline Beethoven's Supreme MasterpieceUnorchestrated
The Akron Symphony will open its new season with Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on September 29 at EJ Thomas Hall. Not only will the evening be the start of a yearlong celebration of 70 years of music, but also mark the 50th anniversary of EJ Thomas Hall, which the Akron Symphony opened in October of 1973 with a performance of … Beethoven’s 9th! In this episode, we sit down with Music Director Christopher Wilkins and Chorus Director Chris Albanese to discuss a composition that is recognized as one of the supreme masterpieces of the Western tradition, and has become an international symbol of...
info_outline Brahms Requiem Part 2Unorchestrated
As the performance of Brahms Requiem approaches, the chorus has been hard at work preparing! Go behind the scenes with host Tom Moore and Akron Symphony chorus director Chris Albanese to learn more about how the chorus is gearing up for Brahms Requiem.
info_outline Brahms Requiem Part 1Unorchestrated
Valerie Coleman’s Umoja expresses the joy of community, through a single irresistibly catchy tune. Not since Bobby McFerrin’s Don’t Worry, Be Happy has a composer created such memorably euphoric music. Deep joy lies also at the heart of Brahms’ Requiem. It is his most personal work, composed as a response to the death of his mother. Its focus is not on the past, but on the present. The work’s majestic harmonies and soaring melodic lines are for us: they are comfort for the living.
info_outlineIn the sixth episode of Deep River: The Legacy of the Spirituals, we speak with Jennifer Mekel Jones, who served for a decade as Choirmaster of the ASO’s Gospel Meets Symphony. She is a composer, singer, songwriter, recording artist, ordained minister, and a central figure in the musical life of the region.
In this episode, Jennifer tells stories about her deeply musical family, beginning with the formative years learning from her mother, Esterline Jones, who played a pivotal role in the earliest years of Gospel Meets Symphony. She also gets us up to speed on the musical activities of her two children, Joshua and Jazmin, and on her professional life and ministry since she passed on the responsibilities of leading the GMS Choir to Jonathon Turner.
Musical excerpts include a performance of In Bright Mansions Above from the Gospel Meets Symphony performance in 2018, Pass Me Not; an original song from Jennifer’s album, Destiny; and a surprise private solo track made while Jennifer was a student at Akron’s Buchtel High School, Nick Nack Paddy Wack.