Porgy and Bess
Aaron Copland in 1962 from a television special By CBS Television - eBay itemphoto frontphoto back, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19913210
On this week's Prairie Performances, Friday at 7 pm on WILL-FM 90.9, the final concert for long-time conductor Michael Luxner of Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra after 20 years of service. The orchestra will feature selections from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. The show will feature guest artists Janice Chandler-Eteme and Leon Williams, nationally renowned vocalists known for their performances of the Gershwin classic.
Opening with a performance of Charles Ives' The Unanswered Question and Aaron Copland's Suite from the Ballet Appalachian Spring and after an intermission, the Millikin Union of Choirs will join the two guest soloists to perform selections from Porgy and Bess. Gershwin’s folk opera mixes the sounds of jazz, folk and spiritual music as it follows a close knit community living in fictional Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina.
"Porgy and Bess" (4/16/16)
Millikin-Decatur Symphony
Michael Luxner, conductor
Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano
Leon Williams, baritone
Charles Ives | The Unanswered Question
Copland | Suite from Ballet Appalachian Spring
George Gershwin | The Porgy and Bess Concert (arr. Robert Russell Bennett)