A NEW ERA: OPENING NIGHT WITH PETER ASKIM

2025 GRAMMY-winning Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz’s incandescent Kauyumari kicks off the WSO’s New Era with a bang, its pulsing rhythms and its relentless energy serving as a metaphor for this exciting new chapter in the orchestra’s history. Following the success of the world premiere of his commissioned work Elegy for the Victims of 1898 at the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra’s November 2023 concert Project 1898, the WSO is proud to once again commission a new piece from Wilmington’s own Algernon Robinson. Drawing on his lifelong connection to the city and the orchestra, Robinson brings a fresh, forward-looking approach to composition, making him a visionary voice who bridges the WSO’s past and future, tradition and innovation. Tchaikovsky’s powerful, lyrical Symphony No. 5 is a journey through human emotion itself, from tragedy to triumph. Encompassing the melancholy of the first movement, the timeless beauty of the second movement (whose Horn solo has inspired numerous popular songs) and rhythmic excitement, it leads to a glorious, joyous conclusion: setting the scene for an exciting season - and Era - to come.

Category: Live Music | Concert