Sounds of America

The Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra presents an all-American concert program celebrating the range and character of American classical music under the direction of Toshiyuki Shimada. The evening opens with choral works by Randall Thompson and Jake Runestad, performed by the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Chorus alongside soloists Grace Murphy and Henry Cox. The first half concludes with Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story Concert Suite No. 1, featuring selections such as “Maria,” “One Hand, One Heart,” “Somewhere,” and the “Balcony Scene,” bringing the emotion and storytelling of the iconic musical to the concert stage.

Following intermission, the orchestra performs Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3, a landmark work often regarded as one of the defining pieces of American symphonic music. With its sweeping themes and sense of scale, the four-movement symphony reflects the energy and optimism of its era, providing a powerful and fitting conclusion to a program dedicated to American composers and their enduring influence.