Tenor Brent Weber, a member of the Fredonia School of Music faculty, will be the featured soloist when the Western New York Chamber Orchestra presents “The All American.”
Works by four American composers will be featured when the Western New York Chamber Orchestra opens the 2024-25 Classics Series at SUNY Fredonia on Sunday, Sept. 22.
“The All American” takes place at 3 p.m. in the Harry A. King Concert Hall of Rockefeller Arts Center on the Fredonia campus. The Western New York Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Glen Cortese, is an ensemble-in-residence at the Fredonia School of Music.
“The most compelling theme of this concert is that we are celebrating four American composers with song texts from the prophetic and prolific Langston Hughes and folk traditions of our country,” WNYCO Executive Director Lisa Layman said. “In these politically charged and socially divided times in our current times, hearing and celebrating our national traditions in an inclusive and celebratory way is timely.”
Tenor and School of Music Lecturer Brent Weber will be the featured soloist on John Musto’s “Shadow of the Blues,” which Musto recently orchestrated. The Fredonia Chamber Choir, under the direction of Dr. Vernon Huff and joined by the Lake Erie Choral Artists, will be singing Aaron Copland’s “Old American Songs” and Florence Price’s “Weary Blues,” which WNYCO’s Cortese has just finished orchestrating.
“I hope our audience will feel comfort and joyful after enjoying these amazing texts and melodies, but also be inspired about the future of our great American experience,” Ms. Layman said.
Tickets are available online 24/7 and by phone (716) 673-3501 or in person at the Fredonia Ticket Office in the Williams Center on Monday, Wednesday or Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Student tickets are free in advance and $5 at the door the day of the performance with valid ID. General public tickets are $20.
“The All American” is presented as part of the 2024-25 Lake Shore Savings Season at Rockefeller Arts Center.
