Video streamed event and on demand: Soup concert with Violin, Viola and Double Bass

The music of American violinist and composer Marc O’Connor stands out, with its vibrant blend of bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. Emily’s Reel is dedicated to the daughter of cellist Yo-Yo Ma as a thank-you to Ma for playing O’Connor’s Appalachia Waltz as an encore number at a concert of Bach’s cello suites. The music is generally swinging and masterful, with occasional hints of melancholy, as in Old Country Fairy Tale.

In the middle of the concert, the series of songs by O’Connor will be broken up with music by Augusta Read Thomas, who is often considered one of today’s most influential American composers. In Silent Moon, she evocatively conveys a winter landscape at night, illuminated only by the tranquil moon. She says that calm is a prerequisite for recreating the energy released when the light returns.