Nashville Symphony April 2023 Concerts
The World Premiere of a Symphony Commission: Hannibal Lokumbe’s
The Jonah People: A Legacy of Struggle and Triumph, an Epic, Fully Staged Operatic Experience Featuring Full Orchestra and Chorus, Ten Vocal Soloists, Jazz Quintet, African Drum and Dance Ensemble, and More Than 30 Actors
Plus
• The Three Mexican Tenors
- A Family Concert Exploring Music and Magic
- The Jacksons for One Night Only (w/o orchestra)
- Jazz Pianist-Composer Aaron Diehl (w/o orchestra)
- Banjo Virtuoso Béla Fleck with a Star-Studded Band (w/o orchestra)
NASHVILLE, TN—March 13, 2023 The Nashville Symphony’s April 2023 schedule features a month of unforgettable and historic performances that highlight the organization’s curatorial range. Featuring the history-making world premiere of a massive, groundbreaking work by composer Hannibal Lokumbe; pop’s most iconic family band; an expansive jazz trio; a supergroup of star-studded instrumentalists; a pops concert featuring music of Hollywood and Mexico; and a family-friendly matinee filled with magic and wonder.
The Aaron Diehl Trio
April 2, 7:30 PM
Tickets: Starting at $42
Bringing together the jazz and classical traditions, pianist-composer Aaron Diehl transforms the piano into an orchestral vessel in the spirit of beloved predecessors Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, Art Tatum and Jelly Roll Morton. Just as likely to invoke the influence of Prokofiev, Mozart or even Philip Glass, this singular artist has cultivated an authentic, expansive and original sense of style that will resonate brilliantly in the crystalline acoustical setting of the Schermerhorn. Presented without the Nashville Symphony. More information.
The Jonah People: A Legacy of Struggle and Triumph
WORLD PREMIERE Nashville Symphony Commission
April 13, 7:00 PM; April 14, 15, 8:00 PM; April 16, 2:00 PM
Tickets: Starting at $29
Nashville Symphony and Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero will give the world premiere performances of The Jonah People: A Legacy of Struggle and Triumph, a large-scale, multi- sensory and multi-media production conceived, created, and composed by the visionary Hannibal Lokumbe. Few artists have conveyed the African American experience in America as movingly and as powerfully as Lokumbe, and in this, his magnum opus, he draws on personal history and ancestral memory, telling his story through the eyes of a young boy, revealing how broken bonds of home yield, out of necessity, new bonds that transcend generations and time.
Over the course of this epic, fully staged operatic production — complete with full orchestra and a chorus made up of members of Tennessee and Kentucky HBCUs, ten vocal soloists, a Jazz quintet with Hannibal himself on trumpet, an African drum and dance ensemble, and over thirty actors — The Jonah People celebrates the spirit of those who persevered, endured, and against all odds maintained hope and resilience–despite captivity, oppression, servitude and the loss of all freedoms—to become successive generations of visionaries whose artistic, intellectual, scientific, literary, and spiritual contributions have changed our world forever. None would exist without the journey, the struggles, and the lives of The Jonah People. More information.
Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer & Rakesh Chaurasia
April 19, 7:30 PM
Tickets: Starting at $42
Begin with the most creative exponent of the banjo in our time, Béla Fleck. Add the greatest living player of the tabla, Zakir Hussain. Establish the trio with the acclaimed virtuoso of the classical (and bluegrass!) bass, Edgar Meyer. Combine with a special guest, the great Indian flautist Rakesh Chaurasia. Then finish the ensemble with the magic of improvisation. The results will be some of the most remarkable music anyone will hear at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Presented without the Nashville Symphony. More information.
The Jacksons
April 21, 7:30 PM
Tickets: Starting at $60
Experience the spirit of Motown from one of pop’s most iconic families. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael – five brothers from Gary, Indiana known as the Jackson 5 – rose to fame for their extraordinary musical talent and spectacular choreography. They became pop royalty, and launched what became Michael Jackson’s legendary solo career. Hear original members Tito, Jackie and Marlon Jackson perform hits including “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “Never Can Say Goodbye,” “Sugar Daddy,” “I’ll Be There,” “Maybe Tomorrow,” “The Love You Save,” “Who’s Lovin’ You,” “Goin’ Back to Indiana” and more. )Presented without the Nashville Symphony.) More information.
The Three Mexican Tenors
April 27, 7:00 PM; April 28, 29, 8:00 PM
Tickets: Starting at $35
Bursting with charm and charisma, The Three Mexican Tenors team up with Principal Pops Conductor Enrico Lopez-Yañez and the Nashville Symphony Nashville for an array of operatic favorites, including “O Sole Mio,” “Maria” from West Side Story, “You Raise Me Up” and more. Along the way, they’ll also take a tuneful trip through the classic music of Hollywood and Mexico, with tributes to legendary singers Juan Gabriel and Luis Miguel. More information.
Music and Magic
April 29, 11:00 AM
Tickets: Starting at $28
Make magic with the Nashville Symphony and a live magician as they conjure bewitching melodies from Harry Potter, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The Magic Flute and more. More information.
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The Nashville Symphony has been the primary ambassador for classical music in Music City since 1946. Led by Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero, the ensemble is internationally acclaimed for its focus on contemporary American orchestral music through collaborations with composers including Jennifer Higdon, Terry Riley, Joan Tower and Aaron Jay Kernis; commissioning and recording projects with Nashville-based artists including Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Ben Folds and Victor Wooten; and for its 14 GRAMMY® Awards. In addition to the classical season, the orchestra performs concerts in a wide range of genres, from pops to live-to-film movie scores, family-focused presentations, holiday events, jazz and cabaret evenings, and more.
An established leader in the Nashville and regional arts and cultural communities, the Symphony spearheads groundbreaking community partnerships and initiatives, notably, Violins of Hope Nashville, which engaged tens of thousands of Middle Tennesseans through concerts, exhibits, lectures by spotlighting a historic collection of instruments played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. Similarly, this spring, the Nashville Symphony presents the world premiere of an epic opera commissioned from Hannibal Lokumbe, The Jonah Project: A Legacy of Struggle and Triumph. Retracing his family’s ancestry and journey from slavery to the present day, Hannibal’s story celebrates the spirit of those who endured and thrived to become Black visionaries and world changers. More at nashvillesymphony.org
In addition to support from Metro Arts and Tennessee Arts Commission, Nashville Symphony is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP5534 awarded to the State of Tennessee by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Nashville Symphony is also supported in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID- 19 pandemic.
