Five Philadelphians and a marimba: a special goodbye at Orchestra 2001

In the 28 years he has led Orchestra 2001, James Freeman has introduced Philadelphians to important works by major foreign composers like Olivier Messiaen. But he has also made us aware of the rich concentration of composers located in the Philadelphia area. For the first concert of his last season as O2001’s music director, Freeman will spotlight four Philadelphia composers and one notable local musician — Philadelphia Orchestra percussionist Angela Zator Nelson. Two of the pieces will be premieres: Robert Capanna’s Piccolo Concertante for String Orchestra and Andrew Rudin’s September Trilogy, composed in 2007 in commemoration of 9/11. Angela Zator Nelson will be the marimba soloist in Andrea Clearfield’s Marimba Concertino — a piece that wowed audiences when Carl Middleman’s Classical Symphony premiered it in 2005. The program closes with Aaron Jay Kernis’s Musica Celestis, an 11-minute work for string orchestra based on the medieval vision of the angels singing in heaven.

Orchestra 2001 presents Five Philadelphians on Sunday, October 5 at 8pm (pre-concert discussion at 7:30pm) at Swarthmore College’s Lang Concert Hall, and on Tuesday, October 7 at 8pm (pre-concert discussion at 7:30pm) at Mitchell Hall in the College of Physicians, 19 South 22nd Street, Philadelphia (above the Mütter Museum). The Swarthmore performance is free and open to the public; donations are welcome. For tickets and prices for the Mitchell Hall performance, visit the website or call 215-893-1999.