Echoes of America

John Adams’s The Chairman Dances emerges from his opera Nixon in China, conceived as an “outtake” from the stage in which Madame Mao imagines a glittering, surreal dance. From that dramatic spark, the program turns inward with the luminous warmth of Jake Heggie’s Good Morning Beauty, whose lyrical immediacy speaks in a deeply personal voice. After intermission, Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings offers profound stillness and shared humanity, unfolding in long, searching lines. The concert culminates with Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite, whose open harmonies and buoyant spirit evoke renewal and possibility. Vocalist Nikola Printz joins us for this show.