Season finale: American Stories

Saturday, April 18
Singletary Center for the Arts

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Program

Joan Tower - Made in America

Aaron Copland - Lincoln Portrait
‍ ‍Silas House, narrator

Intermission

Brittany J. Green - Black Dandelions (world premiere)

Leonard Bernstein - Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Artists

Lexington Philharmonic

Mélisse Brunet, conductor

Silas House, narrator

Duration

2 Hours

About the Music

The final concert of LexPhil’s 2025-2026 season commemorates the 250th anniversary of America, weaving together stories and music that reflect the past, present, and future of American identity. From iconic anthems to bold new voices, American Stories honors the vast and varied soundscape of our nation.

The evening opens with Joan Tower’s Made in America, a work inspired by her years abroad and a renewed appreciation for American freedoms, centered around the tune “America the Beautiful.” This theme is repeatedly challenged by dissonant interruptions. Through moments both tender and bold, she crafts a musical journey that celebrates — and questions — American ideals.

Former Kentucky Poet Laureate Silas House then joins the orchestra as narrator for Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, a poignant tribute to Abraham Lincoln. Written in 1942, the piece blends folk melodies with excerpts from Lincoln’s speeches. With House’s distinct voice and deep connection to place, Lincoln’s words resound with renewed clarity and conviction.

A highlight of this concert is the world premiere of Black Dandelions by Brittany J. Green, LexPhil’s 2025–26 Saykaly Garbulinska Composer-in-Residence. The three movement work is an expansion of her earlier piece Against/Sharp and features text from three Black women poets - Crystal Wilkinson (former Kentucky Poet Laureate), Jaki Shelton Green, and Ebony Stewart . Utilizing the themes of “Blackness, land, and Southern identity”, Green centers the piece around the, “resilience of Black womxn in the American South”.

We close the season with Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, a thrilling concert suite from his iconic 1957 musical. Blending classical, jazz, and Latin rhythms, the dances trace a dramatic arc of rivalry, romance, and tragedy. From the high-octane “Mambo” to the dreamlike “Somewhere,” Bernstein’s bold orchestration brings the streets of New York to life in a collision of conflict, longing, and hope.

From reflection to celebration, American Stories is a vibrant tribute to the music and people that define America.

Tickets & More

Single tickets to Season Finale: American Stories are offered at three pricing levels for adults. Section A is $78, Section B is $53, and Section C is $28. Adult single tickets are subject to a $5 processing fee. Youth & Students with a valid ID are $11. Avoid the fees and become a subscriber.

Please note, the performance will include minimal screen projections.

Inside the Score

Join us prior to the season finale for a free pre-concert lecture with Music Director Mélisse Brunet for an exclusive, in-depth look Inside the Score! The talk begins at 6:30PM in the Presidents Room prior to the concert. Seating is limited, doors will close once capacity is reached.

Presented by The Glenview Trust Company

Date

Saturday, April 18

Times

Concert Begins at 7:30PM

Venue

Singletary Center for the Arts
405 Rose Street
Lexington, Kentucky
40508

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The Artists & Composers

House is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels (Clay's Quilt [2001], A Parchment of Leaves [2003], The Coal Tattoo [2005], Eli the Good [2009], Same Sun Here [2012], Southernmost [2018] and Lark Ascending [2022], which was a Booklist Editors' Choice and is the winner of the 2023 Southern Book Prize and the 2023 Nautilus Book Award. Four of his plays have been produced. He is also the author of the 2009 book of creative nonfiction Something's Rising (with co-author Jason Kyle Howard).In 2025 he will release two books: a poetry collection called All These Ghosts (September 9) and--under a slight pseudonym--a murder-mystery called Dead Man Blues (October 14).

In 2023 he was inducted as the Poet Laureate of Kentucky for 2023-2025 and became a Grammy finalist. In 2022 he was the recipient of the Duggins Prize, the largest award for an LGBTQ writer in the nation. The same year he was named Appalachian of the Year in a nationwide poll.
Read more at silashouse.com.
Learn more here.
Joan Tower is an American composer known for energetic, rhythmically driven orchestral and chamber music. Born in 1938, she was the first woman to win the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. Tower taught for decades at Bard College and has written widely performed works including Made in America.
Learn more here.
Aaron Copland was an American composer who shaped a distinctly national concert style. His open harmonies and folk influences appear in works like Appalachian Spring and Fanfare for the Common Man. A Pulitzer Prize winner, Copland helped define twentieth-century American classical music through composition, teaching, and conducting.
Leonard Bernstein was an American composer, conductor, pianist, and educator. Music director of the New York Philharmonic, he gained worldwide fame for blending classical music with Broadway, notably in West Side Story. A charismatic communicator, Bernstein championed music education through television lectures and influential recordings.

Special Thanks

Season Finale: American Stories is funded in part by an America250KY grant made possible by the Kentucky Historical Society and the Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, with state tax dollars from the Kentucky General Assembly and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.