May and June are a time of celebration, especially of the accomplishments and milestones in the life of our younger family and friends. Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture captures the excitement and expectation of the graduation season with infectiously exuberant music, complete with college anthems and even a few drinking songs! Beethoven's Symphony No.1, built on the achievements of Haydn and Mozart, is a work of youthful exuberance and charm, but with plenty of the composer’s own voice and promise of the great things to come.

Our twin soloists, Julia and Emma Churchill are, in fact, the twin daughters of our conductor, Mark Churchill. They will have just completed their professional music studies and have chosen two stunning, shorter works to share with us. A staple of the violin repertoire, Ernest Chausson’s poignant Poeme for Violin and Orchestra is his most-loved composition, and Darius Milhaud’s Cello Concerto No.1 is a raucous piece drawing from jazz and Brazilian musical influences whose last movement is titled “Joyeux!”

Johannes Brahms Academic Festival Overture

Ernest Chausson Poeme for Violin and Orchestra with soloist Julia Churchill

Darius Milhaud Cello Concerto No.1 with soloist Emma Churchill

Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 1

Saturday, May 14, 2022, 7:30 pm • Hudson High School, pre-concert talk 6:45-7:15 pm