Critic's Pick — Nashville Symphony: An American Celebration

Nashville Symphony opens its new season this weekend with An American Celebration — an impressive concert event designed to honor “the rich sonic kaleidoscope of American composers past and present.” Music director Leonard Slatkin has put together an expansive program, including American masterworks like Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms (featuring the Nashville Symphony Chorus) and George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture. Audiences can look forward to experiencing Joan Tower’s evocative “Made in America” (the work for which the Nashville Symphony’s recording received its first Grammy Award in 2008), Cristina Spinei’s lively “Strut” and Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs. The evening also promises an incredible lineup of guest soloists — from country legends Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss to opera and Broadway luminary Sylvia McNair, plus Storm Large (of Pink Martini fame) and singer-songwriter Baxter Hall. Marked by sweeping beauty and vibrant energy, An American Celebration offers an exciting season opener, while also serving to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary, along with the symphony’s 80th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. 

Sept. 11-13 at the Schermerhorn

1 Symphony Place