Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Alexis Colner, harp
Vocalists from Norfolk State University
Harlan Zackery, director
George Gershwin: An American in Paris
Jennifer Higdon: Harp Concerto
Curtis Stewart: New Work (world premiere)+
Copland: Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo
Support for this commission provided by the National Endowment for the Arts
Line dance down the aisles to Aaron Copland’s Rodeo featuring the iconic “Hoe-Down.” Principal Harpist Alexis Colner brings her instrument’s harmonically bountiful sound to the forefront with Jennifer Higdon’s GRAMMY® Award-Winning Harp Concerto. Along with Curtis Stewart’s brand-new work inspired by Black religious music and experiences, this program celebrates the great American composers of the past, present, and future.
Celebrating his fifth season, Eric Jacobsen serves as the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s twelfth Music Director, the Macon & Joan Brock Chair. He is also artistic director and co-founder of The Knights, the uniquely adventurous NYC-based chamber orchestra, and Music Director of the Orlando Philharmonic. In addition to conducting, Eric is a dedicated chamber musician (cello) and is a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.
Praised for “combining omnivory and brilliance” (The New York Times), six-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated violinist and composer Curtis Stewart translates stories of American self-determination to the concert stage. He is the Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra, a professor at The Juilliard School, and a member of award-winning ensembles PUBLIQuartet and The Mighty Third Rail. He has been awarded a 2025 Sphinx Medal of Excellence and has been commissioned to compose new solo, chamber, and orchestral works by the Seattle Symphony, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall’s Play/USA, The Knights, La Jolla Music Society, the Royal Conservatory of Music, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and more.
In demand as an orchestral player across the country, Alexis Colner has been invited to appear as guest principal harpist with world-class orchestras including the Minnesota Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and Omaha Symphony. Additional performance credits include concerts with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Opera, and Sarasota Orchestra. She was appointed the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Harpist in 2023.
Aaron Copland is often referred to as the “Dean of American Composers.” He developed a compositional style that, through works like Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Fanfare for the Common Man, and his Third Symphony, came to be considered the sound of American music.