Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra: Sea and Sky

The works on Maestro Wesley Schulz’s beautiful program are inspired by the sea and sky. Nielsen’s Helios Overture was written while the composer was on holiday in Athens, and the music poetically depicts the sun over the Aegean Sea. Similarly, the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius wrote his optimistic Second Symphony while vacationing in an Italian coastal village. The touching work provided hope to the Finnish people while they fought against Russian oppression, and it became a symbol of national pride. Torke’s Sky Concerto, nominated for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Music and premiered by Tessa Lark (who also received a Grammy nomination for her recording of the work), is infused with references to Lark’s Kentucky roots and background as bluegrass fiddler. Torke has written, “Just as when one looks up and sees the open expanse of the sky, I felt an openness when writing this piece, a renewed freshness to putting notes together.”