ROCO In Concert: “Courageous Catalysts”

Courageous Catalysts. (Photo: © Kansas City Symphony 2013)

ROCO honors Veterans’ Day with “Courageous Catalysts,” a program centering around Sept. 12, 1962, a world premiere commission that celebrates the 100th birthday of President John F. Kennedy and the courage of people who fight for change.

Michael Stern conducts the program, which includes Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 7 in C major, op. 105, the composer’s final published symphony, Beethoven’s Overture to Leonore No. 3, and Bruce Adolphe’s I Will Not Remain Silent, a violin concerto inspired by the life of German-American rabbi and civil rights leader Joachim Prinz. Throughout the concerto, the violin, played by ROCO concertmaster and featured soloist, Scott St. John, represents the voice of Prinz, while the orchestra represents opposing forces – Nazi Germany in the first movement and America during the Civil Rights era in the second movement.

ROCO has also commissioned a new fanfare for orchestra and chorus, composed by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts. Entitled The Big Heart, the work explores Houston’s response to Harvey in the context of the city’s selfless sheltering of the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The piece features a lyric by renowned librettist Mark Campbell, and will be performed in collaboration with Houston Chamber Choir.