Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra's 2nd Annual Summer Celebration

Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra (CCCO), the region's newest professional orchestra, presents its second annual Summer Celebration: America and the Nords, an afternoon of music fit for a Cape Cod summer, on Sunday, July 28, 3 pm, at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 533 Main Street, Rt. 28, Harwich Port. The orchestra is conducted by Music Director Matthew Scinto, featuring clarinetist David Dziardziel. A pre-concert talk featuring Conductor Scinto will be held at 2:15 pm.

CCCO's second annual Summer Celebration offers a program featuring the regional performance premiere of a work by American composer William Grant Still. In 1931, Still became the first African American composer to have a symphony debuted by a major American orchestra. Success continued for the composer in 1936 when he became the first African American to conduct a major orchestra, leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. A concert highlight features Clarinetist David Dziardziel performing Aaron Copland's majestic and jazz-filled Clarinet Concerto, a piece commissioned by jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman in 1947. The concert concludes one of Edvard Grieg's famous Lyric Pieces for strings, Erotik and Morton Gould's set of Spirituals for Strings and Harp, featuring harpist Charles Overton.

In its first year, CCCO presented six unique programs, premiered four new compositions through its composer-residency program and collaborated with local visual artists, poets, and nonprofits. Reflecting on a solidly successful inaugural season, Music Director Scinto is inspired. "Classical music has launched a new chapter on the Lower Cape, filled with the energy, life and excitement that our musicians bring to every concert. The connection between the composer, our audience and the musicians is continually palpable during our performances."

This summer's concert extends CCCO's celebration of its first full year with the Cape Cod debut of Serenade for Orchestra by William Grant Still. With the performance of this piece, CCCO continues its mission to provide the Cape with concerts featuring works by composers who have traditionally been under-represented in concert. "When I discovered the music of William Grant Still, I knew immediately that we needed to perform his music," shares Scinto. "The listener's heart and soul are captured from the first few notes of this Serenade." Scinto feels the same can be said of Morton Gould, the composer famous for American Salute, but featured on this program for his Spirituals for Strings. "His take on traditional spirituals are all at once melancholic, extremely optimistic and exciting," says Scinto.

Committed to artistic integrity and excellence, Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra's mission is to connect the diverse arts communities and individuals of Cape Cod inclusively. By collaborating with other disciplines of art and culture, the orchestra aims to create unique concert experiences while providing exciting, enriching and memorable orchestral music. Featuring living composers is at the forefront of the orchestra's mission; bringing audiences closer to the music of modern time, positioned as an essential and educational element to each performance program. Other repertoire will have an emphasis on championing the works of living composers, as well as the music of the classical canon.

Tickets to Summer Celebration are $35 general admission. Tickets are available at capecodchamberorchestra.org, by calling 508-432-1668, or at the door by cash or credit card.

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