FRI JAN 16, 2026, 11:00 AM
SAT JAN 17, 2026, 7:30 PM
Music Hall

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Cristian Măcelaru conductor 
Morris Robinson narrator and bass
Rita Dove poet

Margaret Allison Bonds (1913–1972) 
arr. Cooper
The Montgomery Variations
   I. Decision
   II. Prayer Meeting
   III. The March
   VII. Benediction

Samuel Barber (1910–1981) 
Rita Dove poet (b. 1952)
Adagio for Strings, Op. 11

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
"Zion's Walls" from Old American Songs Set No. 2

Traditional Songs 
arr. H.T. Burleigh
orch. Trefler
"Deep River"

Margaret Allison Bonds (1913–1972) 
Langston Hughes poet (1901-1967)
orch. Trefler 
"I, Too, Sing America" from Three Dream Portraits

INTERMISSION 

Wynton Marsalis (b. 1961)
Blues Symphony
   II.  Swimming in Sorrow
   III. Reconstruction Rag
   VII. Danzon y Mambo, Choro y Samba

These performances are approximately 110 minutes long, including intermission.

The CSO is grateful to CSO Season Sponsor Western & Southern Financial Group and Fort Washington Investment Advisors and Digital Access Partner CVG.

The appearance of Morris Robinson is made possible by the Vicky and Rick Reynolds Fund for Diverse Artists.

Newly commissioned work by Rita Dove is made possible by Kari and Jon Ullman.  

Sponsorship of Rita Dove is provided by Mr. Ron Ellis, Mr. Arthur Norman & Mrs. Lisa Lennon Norman, Ms. Nita Walker, Mrs. Sheila J. Williams, Ms. Diana Willen and an anonymous donor.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation, the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Pre-Concert Talks are made possible by an endowed gift from Melody Sawyer Richardson.

WGUC is the Media Partner for these concerts. This concert will air on 90.9 WGUC on March 29, 2026, followed by 30 days of streaming at cincinnatisymphony.org/replay.

The CSO in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust.