The Seattle Festival Orchestra presents their spring concert, New Hope, celebrating the renewal of strength and hope brought on by spring. The powerful Soul Force, by contemporary composer Jessie Montgomery, is a one-movement symphonic work inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in which he states: “We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.” The concert program also premieres the new work, Springtime in the Stars, by Seattle composer and SFO cellist Matt Weiss; followed by Les Préludes by Franz Liszt, a symphonic poem exploring themes of renewal after a storm. Completing the program is Tchaikovsky’s ecstatic and challenging Piano Concerto No. 1 featuring soloist Edwin Hsu at the keyboard.
The Saturday, May 13th performance is a special family friendly show just for younger audiences that’s geared to maximize their enjoyment while providing a fulfilling musical program for the whole family. Kid noises and dancing are welcome. SFO’s family-friendly concerts are shorter in duration to keep things fun for everyone.
Seattle Festival Orchestra is an all-volunteer community orchestra that presents concerts to delight and engage a 21st century audience. With diverse programming, SFO creates space for its audience to experience the catharsis of the wide range of emotions available in orchestra music, to feel with our musicians the joy and sorrow, wonder and ecstasy of our art.
