Rhapsody in Blue: Music From The City
Schedule
Thu, 06 Aug, 2026 at 07:30 pm
UTC-04:00Location
Southern Vermont Arts Center | Manchester, VT
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Ask any music lover to name an important American orchestral work, and there’s a good chance the answer will be George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Originally written for Paul Whiteman’s jazz orchestra with solo piano in 1924, the piece entered the concert music repertoire in a plush arrangement by Ferde Grofé—but it’s the lean, stripped-down original that best illustrates Gershwin’s groundbreaking synthesis of classical music’s disciplined elegance and the swinging spontaneity of jazz. Countless composers since Gershwin’s day have incorporated elements of jazz in their works: Aaron Copland’s bluesy trumpet in Quiet City, William Bolcom’s buoyant bounce, the brass swagger and driving pulse of John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine. And the improvising violinist and composer Mads Tolling, formerly of Turtle Island String Quartet, show with his bluesy concerto Yggdrasil that classical music and jazz continue to make a potent pairing.Program:
Aaron Copland Quiet City
John Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine
George Gershwin Lullaby
Mads Tolling Yggdrasil
William Bolcom Graceful Ghost Rag
George Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue
Mads Tolling, violin • Philip Setzer, violin • Adam Golka, piano • Carol Wincenc, flute • Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, english horn Guilherme Batalha, clarinet • Delano Bell, bassoon • Shichen Li, horn • Grace O'Connell, trumpet • Matthew Nienow, trombone Michael Salzman, tuba • Ethan Cowburn, percussion • Gregg August, bass • Ian Niederhoffer, conductor • Festival Young Artists
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Where is it happening?
Southern Vermont Arts Center, 860 SVAC Drive,Manchester, Vermont, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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