Sarasota Orchestra concerts take on a wide range of American music

Over the next two weeks, the Sarasota Orchestra will perform three concert programs highlighting American music.

Aaron Copland’s “Symphony No. 3” is part of a Masterworks program Feb. 25-26 that also features Igor Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto in D, performed by guest violinist Stefan Jackiw. It also includes Jessica Hunt’s 2019 composition “Climb.”

“Climb” was commissioned in 2019 by the Philadelphia Orchestra in honor of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven. Principal flute Betsy Traba said Hunt tied her own issues with auto-immune disease with Beethoven’s struggles with deafness and what he “went through psychologically. She compares that to a person dealing with chronic illness. Some of us cannot simply walk up a flight of stairs. Instead we must climb.”

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She cites Copland as one of the American composers who touches on a variety of styles and sounds.

“He started out as an atonal composer and then ended up writing ‘Appalachian Spring’ and ‘Billy the Kid.’ He structured harmonies that were really open, gave you that wide expansive feel,” Traba said. The last moment of his symphony incorporates his “Fanfare for the Common Man,” which was originally written as a stand-alone piece.

The Masterworks weekend, led by guest conductor Kensho Watanabe, includes a Feb. 24 Guided Tour performance, a shortened version of the concert with added commentary, perspective and personal connections about the music.

The Orchestra’s Pops series will present “Gershwin, Berlin & Friends,” with jazz trumpeter Byron Stripling conducting and vocalist Sydney McSweeney performing music by American composers from the early part of the 20th century.

“When Byron Stripling first came here, he was so unbelievable. The audience went nuts and the musicians loved him,” Traba said.

From March 8 to 12, John Gennaro Devlin will conduct the Great Escapes series “American Vibes,” featuring music from Broadway, Disney movies and the Great American songbook. The March 9 and 11 performances will be a full concert. The others will be roughly one hour.

Traba said the programs reveal how difficult it is to pinpoint anything specific about American music. “Each individual has their own voice. There are some composers like Berlin and Gershwin and even Leonard Bernstein that show a jazz influence, but it is really wide ranging.”

Sarasota Orchestra

‘Copland and Stravinsky,” with guest conductor Kensho Watanabe and violinist Stefan Jackiw will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25 and 2:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are $37-$99. The Guided Tour program at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 is $26-$69. The “Gershwin, Berlin & Friends” Pops concert will be presented at 7:30 p.m. March 3 and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. March 4 at Van Wezel. Tickets are $40-$90. The Great Escapes “American Vibes” program will be presented March 8-12 in Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are $45-$108. 941-953-3434; sarasotaorchestra.org

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Copland, Disney and American favorites performed by Sarasota Orchestra