National Philharmonic: Dvořák Symphony No. 7
$19-$99 (kids free)
- Valerie Coleman, flute
- Katherine Needleman, oboe
- Mariam Adam, clarinet
- Alexander Davis, bassoon
- Priscilla Rinehart, French horn
- Jeri Lynne Johnson, conductor
Antonín Dvořák — Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70, B. 141
National Philharmonic joins forces with dynamic guest conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson for Valerie Coleman's Phenomenal Women and Dvořák's Symphony No. 7. Phenomenal Women draws inspiration from Maya Angelou's poem and book of the same name, and celebrates five phenomenal women—Angelou, mathematician Katherine Johnson, tennis great Serena Williams, Olympic boxer Claressa Shields, and former first lady Michelle Obama—telling each of their stories through jazz, classical, and traditional music styles. Coleman, a Grammy-nominated flutist and founder of Imani Winds, will play with a wind quintet assembled for the performance.
Hailed as one of Dvořák’s most significant works, Symphony No. 7 is a musical journey of epic proportions. From the majestic first movement to the triumphant climax of the finale, Dvořák weaves rich harmonies, playful rhythms, and elements of Czech folk music throughout. Brought to life under the baton of Jeri Lynne Johnson, conductor of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Stride as part of the 2022 Kennedy Center Honors and founder of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, this program is not to be missed.
About Valerie Coleman, flute
About Katherine Needleman, oboe
Katherine Needleman joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as principal oboist in 2003, the same year she won first prize at the International Double Reed Society's Gillet-Fox Competition.
A lifelong improviser, she has recorded the Marmalade Balloon, an album of improvised, ambient chamber music with distinguished classical music colleagues as well as synthesizers from the 1960s and 1970s. She started writing music down on paper during the COVID-19 pandemic and won the International Double Reed Society's Inaugural Commissioning Competition with her sonata for oboe and piano. They commissioned her to write a work for English horn and piano which received its premiere in July, 2021, with Alison Teale of the BBC Symphony.
A Baltimore native, Ms. Needleman attended high school at the Baltimore School for the Arts but left early to attend the Curtis Institute of Music. She served on the faculty at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University for fifteen years and is currently on faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music.
http://katherineneedleman.com/About Mariam Adam, clarinet
About Alexander Davis, bassoon
About Priscilla Rinehart, French horn
Priscilla Rinehart (she/her), a Florida native, recently completed a horn fellowship at the New World Symphony, where she performed a variety of repertoire styles and time periods, including the newest music of today. The past two summers have seen Ms. Rinehart at the Spoleto Festival U.S.A. An active freelance musician, She has been a member of the Chineke! Orchestra. Ms. Rinehart received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Juilliard, having studied with Erik Ralske, principal horn of the Metropolitan Opera, and Jennifer Montone, principal horn of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
https://schwarzman.yale.edu/artist/priscilla-rinehartAbout Jeri Lynne Johnson, conductor
In 2005, Jeri Lynne Johnson made history as the first Black woman to win an international conducting prize when she was awarded the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship. Since then, she has continued to break barriers in Europe and the US as the first woman and/or African-American woman on the podium for many orchestras and opera companies in the US and Europe including the Bournemouth Symphony (UK), the Weimar Staatskapelle. Recent conducting engagements include performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Sao Paulo Municipal Symphony Orchestra, and Santa Fe Opera. Jeri was also selected to conduct the Pulitzer Prize winning composition Stride by Tania Leon as part of the composer's tribute for the 2022 Kennedy Center Honors performance.
https://www.jerilynnejohnson.com/