A Baltimore Symphony study found that less than 2% of major orchestral programming consists of works by female composers. The Lafayette Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is working to improve that number by deepening their commitment to diversity in their programming and throughout the organization. The LSO will represent that commitment with Note-Able Women (Saturday, April 7, 7:30 pm) at the Long Center in Downtown Lafayette. Maestro Nick Palmer will conduct this concert of trailblazing composers.
The LSO will present the world premiere of Cristina Spinei’s Strut! for Full Orchestra. The Nashville-based Spinei writes music which pulses with the rhythmic energy of the American minimalist tradition. As a result, she is much in demand with choreographers and has been commissioned by companies including the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Nashville Ballet, Gallim Dance, New Dialect, and the New York Choreographic Institute. Spinei will be in attendance at the concert, as well as spending the day on Purdue University’s Pao Hall, engaging students at seminars for Composition and Dance Sound Design.
The vibrant May Phang, pianist with Great Lakes Artist Associates and the John Rabb Emison Professor of Creative and Performing Arts and Professor of Piano at DePauw University, will play Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor. Schumann (née Wieck) was a German musician and composer, considered one of the most distinguished concert pianists of the Romantic era. She exerted her influence over a 61-year concert career, changing the format and repertoire of the piano recital and the tastes of the listening public. Her husband was the composer Robert Schumann.
Also on the program is Chen Yi’s Ge Xu: Antiphony. As a Distinguished Professor at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, a prolific composer, and recipient of the Ives Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Dr. Chen blends Chinese and Western traditions, transcending cultural and musical boundaries. Her music has reached a wide range of audiences and inspired peoples of different cultural backgrounds throughout the world.
The concert will conclude with Amy Beach’s historic Gaelic Symphony. This was the first symphony composed and published by a female American composer. The piece debuted in 1896 to “public and journalistic acclaim.” Beach drew inspiration for the large orchestral work from simple old English, Irish, and Scottish melodies; thus, she subtitled the work “Gaelic”.
Sponsor support is brought to you by Dr. and Mrs. Stephen and Susan Henson. Tickets are available in advance at lafayettesymphony.org or by calling 765-742-6463 and range in price from $8-$39.
Launched in 1951 as a non-profit organization, the LSO is focused on enriching the cultural life of the Greater Lafayette community and 14 surrounding counties through musical excellence and educational experience. About 80 percent of its patrons are from Lafayette, West Lafayette and Tippecanoe County, while the remainder are from the surrounding counties of Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Howard, Jasper, Montgomery, Newton, Pulaski, Tipton, Warren and White.