MasterWorks VII: We the People – An American Celebration

We the People is an orchestral reckoning with identity, heritage, and the complexities of shared national memory. Opening with Amy Beach’s Bal Masqué, we celebrate one of the first prominent American women composers, who so brilliantly captured the spirit of early 20th-century American romanticism. Violinist Zhan Shu then performs Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, a piece renowned for its sweeping lyricism and striking contrasts. Jessie Montgomery’s Hymn for Everyone and Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land Suite share a quiet optimism shaped by struggle. Montgomery’s piece layers rich string writing with moments of dissonance, offering a somber vision of healing through unity. Copland’s music, rooted in rural Americana, mirrors that sensibility with open textures and folk-inspired themes that reflect perseverance and dignity. Together, they suggest that even in uncertainty, there is beauty—and a future worth imagining. Through four distinct compositional voices, We the People traces the contours of a nation still finding its way—one story, one sound at a time.