An Appalachian Trail Symphony/Wesleyan University Orchestra

The Wesleyan University Orchestra, under direction of Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Nadya Potemkina, presents the premiere of Part I of Keane Southard’s “Appalachian Trail Symphony: New England” which was co-commissioned by the ensemble and a consortium of New England orchestras. The symphony depicts the composer’s 2016 hike of the trail from Connecticut to Maine and uses sounds from the trail, including birdsongs and melodies composed while on the hike, to express both the physical and emotional journey of hiking across five New England states. The work is a musical celebration of the trail, the 80th anniversary of its completion, and the beauty and grandeur of New England’s wilderness.

Also featured in the concert are Wesleyan Private Lessons Teacher and baritone Chai-lun Yueh and violinist Winona Murphy.

Admission is free.

Full Program:

-Saint-Saens: “Danse Macabre” (Winona Murphy, violin)

-Dvorak, Selection from Biblical Songs, Op. 99 (Chail-lun Yueh, baritone)

-Southard: “An Appalachian Trail Symphony: New England” (Part 1)
I. Connecticut
II. Massachusetts
III. Vermont

-Berlioz, “March to the Scaffold” from Symphonie fantastique