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News Updates – Blues Symphony

  • Wynton Marsalis Takes Concertgoers Through a Symphony of Blues

    Posted on February 8th, 2015 in Review

    Taking their seats, the symphony orchestra begins with a wave of the conductor’s baton, led by the cheerful sound of the piccolo and the rhythm of the drums—which the program notes is supposed to signify the American Revolution and the birth of the possibility of the blues.
    On Wednesday night, the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Md., played host to Wynton Marsalis’ Blues Symphony for hundreds who turned out—filling the expansive hall all the way to the balconies—to witness the premiere of the award-winning musician’s ambitious journey to chart the history of the blues throughout America.

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  • Wynton Marsalis’ ‘Blues Symphony’ at Washington Performing Arts at Strathmore

    Posted on February 5th, 2015 in Review | 1

    Last night, thanks to the generosity of Washington Performing Arts, DC audiences had the rare opportunity to see Wynton Marsalis in the fullest sense – as consummate performer, as bandleader, and as composer of a new symphony that premiered at The Music Center in Strathmore.
    Under the more than capable direction of conductor Jan Wagner, Marsalis debuted his Blues Symphony last night in a performance with the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, the culmination of his semester long residency at Shenandoah University as part of Washington Performing Arts’ “The Art of the Orchestra Series.”

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  • Wynton Marsalis debuts a stirring ‘Blues Symphony’

    Posted on February 5th, 2015 in Review

    You can’t accuse Wynton Marsalis of lacking ambition. It’s right there in the title of his “Blues Symphony,” which the composer debuted in its entirety Wednesday night at Strathmore. And that says nothing of its scale. The piece is for 100 musicians (here, the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra), in six discrete movements charting the evolution of the blues throughout the Americas.

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  • Wynton Marsalis Completes Residency At Shenandoah Conservatory

    Posted on January 30th, 2015 in Profiles & Interviews

    In January 2015, legendary jazz trumpeter, music educator and GRAMMY Award-winning musician Wynton Marsalis completed his 2014-15 residency at Shenandoah Conservatory, and the highlight of his involvement is the world premiere of his newly revised, complete “Blues Symphony” on Wednesday, Feb. 4, presented by Washington Performing Arts at The Music Center at Strathmore.

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  • World Premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s newly revised, complete Blues Symphony

    Posted on January 29th, 2015 in Concerts

    Washington Performing Arts presents World Premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s newly revised, complete Blues Symphony for 100-piece symphony orchestra at The Music Center at Strathmore on February 4th at 8pm
    With Special appearance of The Wynton Marsalis Quintet in solo set
    Performance is the culmination of a robust semester-long residency with the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra as part of Washington Performing Arts’ The Art of the Orchestra Series

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  • ASO’s performance of Blues Symphony to be broadcast on Monday, January 18th

    Posted on January 13th, 2010 in Concerts | 3

    The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will perform the 18th annual musical tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, “A King Celebration” on Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.

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  • World Premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s Blues Symphony

    Posted on October 29th, 2009 in Concerts | 3

    Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will now premiere selected movements of composer-musician Wynton Marsalis’s new symphonic work, Blues Symphony, November 19-22, 2009 in Atlanta Symphony Hall. The programming change was made in order to give the Orchestra an adequate amount of time to fully realize the composer’s expanded vision for the piece.

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  • Tickets On Sale Now for the World Premiere of Wynton Marsalis’ New Composition

    Posted on August 28th, 2009 in Concerts | 8

    Music Director Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will perform the world premiere of American Symphony by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer-musician Wynton Marsalis. One of Mr. Marsalis's…   Keep reading »

  • Wynton’s work with the Atlanta Symphony postponed

    Posted on July 4th, 2008 in Concerts | 2

    Wynton has postponed the world premiere of his “American Symphony,” his first all-orchestral work. It was originally scheduled to be performed July 19 by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and conductor Robert Spano at the National Black Arts Festival, with repeat performances Nov. 6 and 7 during the ASO’s 2008-09 main season. The premiere is to be rescheduled (dates to be announced).

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  • Wynton is composing a new orchestral piece

    Posted on February 22nd, 2008 in News | 3

    The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) and Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) have commissioned Wynton to compose a new orchestral piece. At the request of Wynton, ASO Music Director Robert Spano will serve as Wynton’s personal composition mentor, and will lead the ASO in the world premier performance during the NBAF’s 20th Anniversary season.

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