Concert Tickets Available Now for Saturday, June 3

Long Beach Symphony’s season finale, “An American in Paris”, celebrates our country’s musical geniuses, with all-American compositions from the 20th and 21st centuries. The Classics Concert takes the stage Saturday, June 3, at the Long Beach Terrace Theater.

Under the direction of Maestro Eckart Preu, the performance will feature award-winning pianist Michelle Cann tickling the ivories for “Piano Concerto in One Movement” by groundbreaking American composer Florence Price. The concert also includes brilliant works by Brian Nabors and Nan Schwartz, along with Duke Ellington’s swinging “Harlem” and George Gershwin’s foot-tapping “An American in Paris.”

“This final concert of the season will send you off dancing,” Long Beach Symphony President Kelly Ruggirello said. “This is a carefully curated selection of works encompassing distinct idioms, styles and tonalities completely unique to these American composers’ differing lives and times.”

The concert promises to be an exploration of complementary juxtapositions from different moments in time. For example, Nabors’s “Pulse,” which premiered in 2019, is inspired by the connection between humans and their physical and spiritual surroundings. Trail-blazing Schwartz’s “Romanza,” another modern work, envelops listners in a lush carpet of sound, with a sweet and piercing solo violin singing passionately about love. Whereas, Ellington’s fan-favorite composition harnesses the sounds and images of 1951, rich with African American cultural innovation and creative energy. And, going back in time even further, Gershwin’s 1928 “An American in Paris” is a rhapsodic ballet bringing home the sounds of Paris to the U.S.A.

When the second act opens with Price’s elegant 1934 composition, the audience will be treated to the virtuosic piano playing of Cann, who performed with the New York City premier of the composer’s “Piano Concerto” with The Dream Unfinished Orchestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra. A prolific and award-winning artist and music educator, she received the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence and the 2022 Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award. She’s also won top prizes in the Russian Music Piano Competition, the Blount Slawson Young Artists Competition, and the Wideman International Piano Competition.

“No Long Beach Symphony performance ever falls flat, and our orchestra performing these special American compositions with Michelle Cann on piano promises to be an exceptional season finale,” Ruggirello said.

The Long Beach Symphony concert is generously sponsored by Mrs. Jane Claus, Cindy Costello, Robert D. Hanson Fund and Westin Long Beach.

Long Beach Symphony will present these beautiful compositions Saturday, June 3, at the Long Beach Terrace Theater. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for “Sip & Enjoy,” plus a 7 p.m. pre-concert talk that promises additional insights into the evening’s music. The concert starts at 8 p.m. “An American in Paris” tickets, starting at $32, are available now at LongBeachSymphony.org or by calling 562-436-3203, ext. 1.