Cellist Gabriel Cabezas with the Millikin-Decatur Symphony

Gabriel Cabezas, a 22-year-old cellist from Chicago, performs with the Millikin-Decatur Symphony on Prairie Performances with Roger Cooper. He has performed across the country with orchestras from New York to Los Angeles and Chicago.

The concert opens with Mussorgsky’s Dawn on the Moskva River followed by Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 featuring Cabezas. Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto has four movements in two sections: “Allegretto,” “Moderato,” “Cadenza” and “Allego con moto.”

After an intermission, the orchestra performs Fauré’s Pavane featuring the Millikin University Choir under the direction of Brad Holmes, Millikin professor of music and director of choral activities.

The concert concludes with a performance of the three movements of Debussy’s La Mer: “From dawn to noon on the sea,” “Play of the waves” and “Dialogue of the wind and the sea.”