Hill Auditorium
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
$12-20 student tickets available
The electrifying young Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, a former Dudamel Fellow and associate conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was appointed music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 2016, following in the footsteps of Simon Rattle and Andris Nelsons.
Her tenure has been one of unqualified success, generating excitement among live audiences and critics worldwide. She brings the CBSO to Ann Arbor as part of a limited US tour with cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto, composed in the aftermath of World War I. The orchestra had a close association with Elgar, who conducted the ensemble’s very first concert over a century ago, in 1920. The program also includes an abbreviated orchestral rendering of Thomas Adès’s third opera, based on Luis Buñuel’s 1962 surreal film about a collection of society characters who find themselves inexplicably trapped together at a post-opera party. The CBSO “brilliantly captured the profound, uncanny disquiet that makes [the film] so unforgettable.” (Bachtrack)
Program
Benjamin Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Edward Elgar Cello Concerto in e minor, Op. 85
Thomas Adès The Exterminating Angel Symphony
Claude Debussy La mer
Thank You to Our Sponsors
PERMANENTLY ENDOWED SUPPORT
- Ilene H. Forsyth Choral Union Endowment Fund
PRINCIPAL SPONSOR
- Principal Sponsors of conductor Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla: Max Wicha and Sheila Crowley
SUPPORTING SPONSOR
MEDIA PARTNERS
Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla was named Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in February 2016 following in the footsteps of Sir Simon Rattle, Sakari Oramo and Andris Nelsons. Her Music Directorship was extended through the 2020-21 season. Winner of the 2012 Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award, she subsequently made her debut with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in a symphonic concert at the Salzburger Festspiele.
Recent highlights include numerous European tours with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, the NDR Elbphilharmonie, the Swedish Radio Orchestra, Filharmonica della Scalla, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the National Symphony Orchestra.
Sheku Kanneh-Mason is already in great demand from major orchestras and concert halls worldwide. He became a household name in 2018 after performing at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle, his performance having been greeted with universal excitement after being watched by nearly two billion people globally. Sheku initially garnered renown as the winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition, the first Black musician to take the title. He has released two chart-topping albums on the Decca Classics label, Inspiration in 2018 and Elgar in 2020. The latter reached No. 8 in the overall UK Official Album Chart, making Sheku the first cellist in history to reach the UK Top 10.
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