Celebrate the new year with a symphonic soundtrack to the American experience! Pianist Bailey-Michelle Collins joins for George Gershwin’s jazzy and rhapsodic Concerto in F. Governor Grisham breathes renewed life into the words of our 16th President in Aaron Copland’s dramatic Lincoln Portrait. Plus, powerful music by award-winning American contemporaries Joan Tower and John Corigliano. See you at The Lensic!
The Santa Fe Symphony
Bailey-Michelle Collins, piano
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, narrator
Guillermo Figueroa, conductor
John Corigliano
Promenade Overture
Joan Tower
Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, No. 4
Copland
Lincoln Portrait
Gershwin
Concerto in F
Of Note
Joan Tower, born in 1938, is a trailblazing female American composer whose work has inspired later (and current) generations of women composers. Each of the five parts of her Fanfare is dedicated to “women who are adventurous and take risks.”
Copland’s Lincoln Portrait is a collection of several texts including Lincoln’s 1862 State of the Union address and his Gettysburg Address. Since its premiere in 1942, the piece has been narrated by notables such as Tom Hanks, Katherine Hepburn, George Takei, Margaret Thatcher, Barack Obama, and Julius “Dr. J” Erving.
After the success of his Rhapsody in Blue, which was orchestrated by Ferde Grofé, Gershwin’s Concerto in F is completely his own and clearly shows his skill as a composer and orchestrator.
Bailey-Michelle Collins, piano
Bailey-Michelle Collins has received praise for her “lyrical and spacious” performances of George Gershwin’s Concerto in F. In October 2018, Bailey was named a winner of the Lynn Concerto Competition, where she performed for a panel of esteemed judges including Avery Fischer Grant recipient Lydia Artymiw. As a result, she was featured as a piano soloist with the Lynn Philharmonia during their fall concert season, Guillermo Figueroa conducting.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
Michelle Lujan Grisham is the thirty-second governor of the state of New Mexico, the first Democratic Latina to be elected governor in U.S. history. As governor, Lujan Grisham has implemented a series of evidence-based policies aimed at transforming New Mexico’s public education system, expanding the state’s economy to include more high-quality employment opportunities and preserving New Mexico’s air, land and water.