Experience the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s performance of “Ring Shout” from Four Black American Dances by Carlos Simon, originally performed in February 2024 as part of "Carlos Simon Curates." The full program curated by the Grammy®-nominated composer was carefully selected to shine a spotlight on local artists, including the Spelman and Morehouse College Glee Clubs. Conductor Jonathan Taylor Rush led the Orchestra in a program that featured works by Simon, known for imbuing a powerful social conscience into his works and exploring contemporary life in Black America.

The rarely spotlighted tuba takes center stage in a recent concerto by the eminent composer, jazz trumpeter and bandleader Wynton Marsalis—fusing traditions ranging from classical to bebop to boogaloo. Of note are a passage in which the soloist plays the tuba and sings simultaneously, and a blistering finale that nods to bebop saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker. Conductor Jonathan Taylor Rush led Principal Tuba Steven Campbell with the Minnesota Orchestra in this performance on May 19, 2023.

In the world premiere of brea(d)th, with music by Carlos Simon and libretto by Marc Bamuthi Joseph—who performs as spoken word artist—the murder of George Floyd is situated in the context of the United States’ centuries-long oppression of Black Americans, asking the audience to consider how we heal and what comes next. Joseph’s libretto, which “considers bread, as in value, breath, as in lifeforce, and breadth, as in the radius of American promise,” is tightly woven with Simon’s music of great emotional range—at turns solemn, bluesy, heart-rending and dissonant, with an instrumental Elegy movement for strings placed at the center. Conductor Jonathan Taylor Rush led the Minnesota Orchestra in this performance on May 19, 2023.

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Petite Suite de Concert offers a variety of charming ideas in each of its brief yet affective four movements, showcasing the composer’s immense talents in capturing the romanticism and sentimentality of early 20th-century British musical tastes. Conductor Jonathan Taylor Rush led the Minnesota Orchestra in this performance on May 19, 2023.