Performances At League Conference Feature New Works, Innovative Programming

Two concerts taking place during the League of American Orchestras' 74th National Conference in Nashville (June 3-5) illustrate orchestras' increasingly innovative programming, including poignant new works based on topical events that edge towards social justice.

Written to honor the victims of the 2015 mass shooting at Charleston's Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Hannibal Lokumbe's Crucifixion Resurrection: Nine Souls a-Traveling will be performed by Intersection Contemporary Music Ensemble, with Artistic Director Kelly Corcoran conducting, in a free concert on June 4, 5:30-6:30pm, at Downtown Presbyterian Church, 154 5th Avenue North. Scored for jazz ensemble, chorus, narrators, and vocal soloists, the work honors the nine victims of the mass shooting at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC.

This performance is sponsored by a generous gift from the CHG Charitable Trust, as recommended by Carole Haas Gravagno.

Envisioned by Lokumbe as an integral part of his piece, a meditative "Walk of Love" will precede the concert. At 5 p.m., Conference delegates will convene in the lobby of Omni Hotel with Nashville community members to participate in a silent walk to Downtown Presbyterian Church. Participants will hold banners commemorating the nine victims of the mass shooting; the twelve-minute reflective experience will serve as a prequel to the commemorative work.

Conference hosts Nashville Symphony and Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero will perform a rich program at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on June 3, including Jonathan Leshnoff's Symphony No. 4, "Heichalos," a work commissioned by the Nashville Symphony for the Violins of Hope, instruments played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. Joan Tower's Sixth Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman and Barber's Adagio for Strings are also on the program; as well as an exciting new production of Orff's Carmina Burana featuring the Nashville Ballet and an original film by Duncan Copp. Tower is this year's recipient of the Gold Baton Award, the League's highest honor, which she'll receive on June 4. Additional Performances: June 3, 1-2:30pm:

During the Conference's Opening Plenary, students in Nashville Symphony's Accelerando initiative will premiere a new work by composer (and Nashville Symphony violist) Christopher Farrell. Accelerando is an intensive music education program designed to prepare gifted young students of diverse ethnic backgrounds to pursue music at the collegiate level and beyond, forming the next generation of orchestra musicians. June 5, 1:30-3:00pm:

Time for Three-violinist Nicolas (Nick) Kendall, violinist Charles Yang, and double-bassist Ranaan Meyer-will close the Conference. Time for Three defies traditional genre classification; with an uncommon mix of virtuosity and showmanship, the American trio performs music from Bach to Brahms and beyond, giving world-premieres by Pulitzer Prize-winners William Bolcom and Jennifer Higdon, as well as playing originals and their own arrangements of everything from bluegrass and folk tunes to mash-ups of hits by the Beatles, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, and more. Time for Three will play genre-bending works that demonstrate the way that classical musicians can easily cross between musical cultures. About 1,000 orchestra stakeholders-managers, musicians, trustees, volunteers, and business partners-will attend the Conference, which will take place at the Omni Hotel and at the Nashville Symphony's concert hall, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, June 3-5.

Visit www.leagueconference2019.org for full details and to register.