American Jubilee Concert Celebrates African American Influences on Classical Music and Introduces New Pianist
Muskegon, MI — West Michigan Symphony (WMS) celebrates Black History Month with music spanning spirituals and songs, ragtime and jazz, Broadway and classical. Taking place at 7:30pm Friday, February 27, this concert will be led by guest conductor Kellen Gray, one of the foremost interpreters of the music of African-diasporic composers. The program will include the Overture to the opera Jubilee by Michael Ellis Ingram; the Negro Folk Symphony by William Levi Dawson; and the Concerto in F by George Gershwin. The latter will be performed by pianist Michelle Cann, lauded as “exquisite” by The Philadelphia Inquirer and “a pianist of sterling artistry” by Gramophone. Held at the Frauenthal Center, 425 W. Western Avenue in Muskegon, the performance is sponsored by Bank of America. Mike and Kay Olthoff are the 2025-2026 Season Sponsors; Blue Lake Public Radio is the Media Sponsor. For tickets, starting at $19 for adults, $10 for students, visit westmichigansymphony.org or call 231.727.8001.
Jubilee, which premiered at the Seattle Opera in 2024, features more than 40 spirituals, including “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Balm in Gilead,” “Deep River,” “Go Down, Moses” and “Steal Away.” The result is a tapestry of American music, based on songs that had a seminal impact on the evolution of ragtime, jazz, Broadway musicals, and American classical music. Ingram’s Overture is an appropriate introduction to the opera, celebrating Black culture with the broad colors of a full symphony orchestra. Written on the heels of his famed Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin’s Concerto in F was a paean to the energy and optimism of the Roaring ‘20s, incorporating Charleston rhythms, jazz and blues into the traditional format of a classical concerto. Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony is a major work for a large orchestra, featuring an engaging mixture of traditional European techniques, African rhythms, and melodic material derived from spirituals.
At 7:30pm on Saturday evening February 28, Michelle Cann will present a program of piano music at The Block, West Michigan Symphony’s live listening room at 360 W. Western Avenue. This will include the Florence Price Sonata in E minor, Felix Mendelssohn’s Fantasie in F-sharp minor, and Clara Schumann’s Variations on a Theme of Robert Schumann. For tickets, starting at $35 for adults, $10 for students, visit westmichigansymphony.org or call 231.726.3231.
As part of this weeklong residency, Gray and Cann will discuss the music during a free Lunch ‘n Learn, held at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, February 25 at The Block, 360 W. Western Avenue, sponsored by Embark Financial Partners. Cann will also present a master class to piano students at Grand Valley State University on Thursday afternoon.
Free shuttle transport is available from Muskegon Farmer’s Market to the door of the Frauenthal, and back again after Friday night’s concert. A post-concert gathering is held in the lower-level Frau Lounge, an opportunity for the audience to mingle with conductor and musicians. Beverages, desserts and charcuterie are available for purchase.
Just Released! 2026-2027 Mainstage Season
The West Michigan Symphony’s 2026-2027 mainstage season at the Frauenthal will bring everything from Tchaikovsky’s beloved Violin Concerto to the nostalgic hits of The Beach Boys and the sweeping soundscape of the Wild West. Music Director Scott Speck has speckled the season with surprises, standards and works that promise to inspire and connect. Season ticket packages are available now starting at just $99, and offer more than just great music – flexible ticket exchange, VIP service, additional ticket discounts and a satisfaction guarantee. For full season listing and information click HERE.
About West Michigan Symphony
An anchor cultural organization headquartered in Muskegon celebrating its 86th Season this year, West Michigan Symphony led by Music Director Scott Speck is a resident presenting group at the Frauenthal Center, where its eight-concert season is the most visible part of a larger artistic enterprise of far-reaching community benefit. The WMS also operates The Block, a 120-seat listening room for the musically curious complementing the WMS’s mainstage orchestra offerings with jazz, classical and more. WMS concerts and education events bring 18,500 people—more than 30% of whom are children and students—annually, making it the largest performing arts organization along the West Michigan Lakeshore.
Media
If media is interested in attending and covering any of the above events, a limited number of media passes are available. Please contact Carla Flanders for more information. For media resources including photos, click HERE.
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