Waco Symphony Orchestra: Breaking Boundaries featuring Lawrence Loh

Breaking Boundaries

Lawrence Loh Finalist, WSO Music Director/Conductor

Puerto Rican-born composer Angélica Negrón’s genre-defying music transports the listener to another world. American Composer Aaron Copland wrote Lincoln Portrait during the early years of World War II, combining music and spoken word in a groundbreaking way to raise the spirit of our country.

This program concludes with what many describe as the pinnacle of 20th century symphonic music. The Fifth Symphony of Dmitri Shostakovich pushed the envelope on how overtly avant-garde and exploratory his music could be. In 1936, the Communist Party arrested, imprisoned, or executed thousands of political and cultural figures who didn’t fit their mold. After public criticism, Shostakovich wrote this new symphony in a populist style that pleased everyone, including the critics – likely saving his life. The masterful finale can be interpreted as a glorious military march or through a pane of irony where the artist triumphs over his critics.

Angélica Negrón What Keeps Me Awake

Aaron Copland Lincoln Portrait, Glenn Beals, narrator

Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 5

Tickets can be purchased here.