Kinetic closes its unprecedented season with an all-American dance-inspired program explores the importance of dance in our communities, whether it is through religious rituals, a celebration of shared culture and identity, or collective grief and mourning. The role of community has never been more essential in our lives, as we recover from a dark and isolating year of this pandemic.

Higdon’s Breeze Serenade was originally part of a larger work, Dance Card. She writes, “This work reflects the deep commitment that string players bring to their music making, not only in the many years of learning to play their instruments, but also in the dedication manifested in gorgeous music-making as an ensemble.”

Adam’s Shaker Loops was inspired by the composer’s childhood memories of a Christian colony  in New Hampshire called the Shakers, “the vision of these otherwise pious and industrious souls caught up in the ecstatic frenzy of a dance that culminated in an epiphany of physical and spiritual transcendence.” 

William Bolcom dedicated his most famous composition, Graceful Ghost Rag, to the memory of his father. The simple, bittersweet melody, starts with the viola while the other musicians’ dancing rhythms in the background help conjure up feelings of nostalgia and longing.

Abel’s Dances and Delights was written in celebration of the Sphinx Organization’s 10th anniversary. Abels writes, “The piece begins with a slow, graceful introduction, which reveals a blues section. Soloists take turns playing virtuostic cadenzas over the orchestras gentle, rhythmic pizzicato. The final section is a raucous hoedown, with more technically dazzling solos by the [string] quartet.” 

PROGRAM

Jennifer Higdon: “Breeze Serenade” from Dance Card

John Adams: Shaker Loops

William Bolcom: Graceful Ghost Rag

Michael Abels: Delights and Dances

— curated by Samuel Park

This concert will be presented as a virtual live stream performance on Sunday June 6, 7:00 PM CT.
After the live stream concludes, the concert recording will be available On Demand until Sunday, June 13, 2021.