Uniting Communities Through Extraordinary Music

Music has, throughout the ages, supported and enhanced stories sung, spoken, and danced. In our second program, we present works where music tells stories on its own, from Mother Goose’s nursery rhymes, through the journey of a river from its source to the sea, to the enduring presence of a fabled river in a composer’s life. Our featured concerto, by the English composer William Walton, is said, by one of its greatest devotees, to be a deeply personal work, evoking not only the people in Walton’s life, but also the Italian island of Ischia where he lived for the last 33 years of his life. Our exceedingly gifted young cello soloist, Leland Ko, returns to SPM after his dazzling debut performance with us at the age of 15! He has emerged as one of the leading young cellists of his generation, and we’re proud to have supported him in his path to success.