The Cambridge Symphony Orchestra (CSO) presents the Masterworks concert Beethoven, Tower and Adams in two performances: on Saturday, November 9, 2019 at 7 p.m. at Durgin Hall, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and on Sunday, November 10, 2019 at 4 p.m. at Kresge Auditorium, MIT. Music Director Cynthia Woods conducts the orchestra.

The CSO joins forces with four returning CSO vocal soloists—Indra Thomas, Joanna Porackova, Javier Abreu and Ron Loyd—and the University Choir and Chamber Singers from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell (Jonathan Richter, director), to present two powerful works for chorus and orchestra, one classic and one contemporary, side-by-side in concert. Members of the Nashoba Valley Chorale and the Nashua North High School Music Department join the choir as well.

Ludwig van Beethoven completed his Symphony No. 9 (1824) three years before his death. This monumental final symphony, a masterpiece of lyrical beauty and heroic triumph, moves toward utopian celebration with the stirring “Ode to Joy,” for which Beethoven introduced soloists and chorus into a major symphony for the first time.

As a modern complement to Beethoven’s Ninth, John Adams’ minimalist choral work Harmonium (1981) sets to music the haunting poetry of John Donne and Emily Dickinson. Adams has described the genesis of his composition as “one of human voices—many of them—riding upon waves of rippling sound.” The program opens with Joan Tower‘s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1 (1986) performed by the CSO brass.

Our Spotlight Partner for the Kresge performance is the Cambridge Women’s Center, which provides a supportive community space for all women by offering opportunities for empowerment, learning, healing, trauma support, and understanding. Please visit cambridgewomenscenter.org for more information, and stop by their table in the lobby at Kresge before the performance or during intermission to sign up for volunteer opportunities.

The CSO 2019-20 season is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Tickets for the Kresge performance are $25 (general) and $15 (students and seniors) and can be purchased at http://www.cambridgesymphony.org. Admission to the performance at UMass Lowell is free.

As part of the EBT Card to Culture Program, the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra also offers discounted admission to this concert for Massachusetts EBT cardholders: $5 general admission for adults, and free admission for kids 16 and under with the purchase of at least one $5 adult ticket. This discount program is offered in collaboration with the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services’ Department of Transitional Assistance.

Established in 1975, the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, Inc. (CSO) is a 501(c)(3) community music organization presenting classical music to diverse audiences who value great music in an accessible environment. Our volunteer musicians hail from Cambridge, Somerville and other parts of Greater Boston. As the only community orchestra in Cambridge and Somerville, the CSO creates outstanding programing through the combined energy of dozens of dedicated and talented individuals who believe in the importance of classical music and expanding our community’s access to it.

For more information about the concert and about the CSO, go to www.cambridgesymphony.org

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