The season closes with a program of unbridled joy, centered in the rhythms and character of jazz, pop, and gospel music. Tracing a remarkable musical evolution from the late 19th to the 20th century, Blue connects Ravel’s mesmerizing Boléro to Omar Thomas’ exuberant 2018 work Come Sunday, celebrating new sounds and cultural voices in classical music. PEI’s own Magdalena von Eccher performs Debussy’s seldom-heard Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra, while Gershwin’s An American in Paris—inspired by Ravel and reimagined here as perhaps a Canadian in Paris—anchors the concert with the vibrant, cosmopolitan energy of 1920s Paris.

PROGRAM:

Maurice Ravel Bolero 
Claude Debussy Fantasy for piano and orchestra 
        feat. Magdalena von Eccher, piano 
George Gershwin An American in Paris  
Omar Thomas Come Sunday