Program

The Akropolis Reed Quintet presents “These American Stories”, a narrative program of influential music from the last century of American history. Each work tells its story from a different perspective, at a unique moment of realization or imagination. As America has come of age over the past hundred years, so too has its music, and through it all maintained a uniquely American vocabulary. American music has always had a way of telling its story, and Akropolis has collected and arranged works which reflect the journey to prosperity, both through America’s stories and its collective conscience.

Charles Ives – Variations on America (1891) arr. Ryan Reynolds
Charles Ives – “The Alcotts” from Piano Sonata No. 2 (1915) arr. Ryan Reynolds
George Gershwin – An American in Paris (1928) arr. Raaf Hekkema

~Intermission~

Gregory Wanamaker – Elegy (2001)
John Steinmetz – Sorrow and Celebration for reed quintet and audience (2015)
Duke Ellington – The Neo-Hip-Hot Kiddies Communities (1970) arr. Raaf Hekkema