“Appalachian Spring,” the gorgeous, joyful orchestral suite by Aaron Copland, is one element of a terrific program that will be presented by the Space Coast Symphony this Sunday at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center. If dance comes to mind when you think of Appalachian Spring, it’s likely because it was originally commissioned as a ballet by the great dancer and choreographer Martha Graham. Copland won a Pulitzer Prize for the work, which premiered in 1944. The piece includes the Shaker folk song “Simple Gifts” and wonderfully captures the essence of the American pioneer spirit. Leading up to “Appalachian Spring” (the grand finale), the program segment “Caliente” showcases two of the orchestra’s principal musicians performing works with a South American flair. Principal Clarinetist Jennifer Royals, a Vero Beach resident, will perform Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, originally written for none other than jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman. Principal harpist and Yale graduate Haley Rhodeside will embellish the harp’s usual palette of colors with Argentinian Alberto Ginastera’s fiery Harp Concerto, ablaze with dance-like rhythms and percussive intensity. Another work on the program that unites the Americas is William Grant Still’s “Danzas de Panama” from a collection of Panamanian folk tunes. The concert starts at 3 p.m.
Music meets passion as the Indialantic Chamber Singers spring concert “Fire of the Soul” comes to Trinity Episcopal Church in Vero Beach Saturday. “Unless you have a heart of stone, this concert has something for you,” says choral director Kyle Jones. The music was chosen to stir the deepest feelings: devout spiritualism in works from Renaissance-era Palestrina, the classical Mendelssohn and African-American spirituals “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel” and “Battle of Jericho.” Then there’s the Russian “Ave Maria” and Israeli “Prayer Before Sleep.” The passion for simple community life is reflected in the Haitian song “Tchaka,” celebrating a shared meal. And Shakespeare’s “If Music Be the Food of Love” shows that music itself can ignite the soul. Concert time: 3:30 pm.
After a brilliant, ovation-filled performance at the Emerson Center earlier in the month, the dynamic 23-year-old Russian pianist Sergey Belyavskiy will appear this Sunday at First Presbyterian Church in Vero, sharing the stage with the church’s director of music Jacob Craig in a four-hand piano concert. Belyavskiy is expected to again perform an audience favorite, Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” Concert time: 4 p.m.
