Teddy Leads Adams & Beethoven
Motion Through an Orchestral Tapestry
Join Curtis Symphony Orchestra and Grammy Award-winning conductor-composer Teddy Abrams (’08) for an afternoon of vivid symphonic storytelling. The program opens with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, showcasing his knack for mischief and irony, complete with a witty imitation of a metronome and a tip of the hat to Haydn. Tania León’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Stride, written to honor the legacy of suffragist Susan B. Anthony, follows. Composed for the New York Philharmonic’s project marking the centennial of the 19th Amendment, it combines the sounds of León’s Cuban American heritage with a dark, restless energy.
The afternoon culminates with John Adams’ Harmonielehre. A modern symphonic classic since its 1985 premiere, this exhilarating work marked Adams’ breakthrough as one of today’s most influential composers. Inspired by a vivid dream, its three movements surge with pulsing rhythms and shimmering waves of color in celebration of the composer’s 80th birthday.
Please note programs and artists are subject to change.
Program
| BEETHOVEN | Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93 |
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| Tania LEÓN | Stride |
| John ADAMS | Harmonielehre |
Artists
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Teddy Abrams Conductor
Teddy Abrams, a Grammy Award winner and Musical America‘s 2022 Conductor of the Year, has been the galvanizing force behind the Louisville Orchestra’s (LO) extraordinary artistic renewal and innovative social impact since his appointment as music director in September 2014. His work has been profiled by CBS Sunday Morning, the New Yorker, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and PBS NewsHour.
Among Abrams’ achievements in Kentucky are the Louisville Orchestra Creator’s Corps, which provides a fully funded residency for three composers who receive local housing, a salary, health benefits, and dedicated workspaces; and the “In Harmony” tour, a multi-season project funded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and taking the orchestra to every corner of the state for concerts and special community events. Deemed by the New York Times as a “Maestro of the People,” Abrams has “embedded himself in his community, breaking the mold of modern conductors.”
An award-winning composer, in April 2023 Abrams premiered his own Mammoth with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, and the LO in Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave. Other recent compositions include a piano concerto for Yuja Wang, with which he and the Louisville Orchestra made their Deutsche Grammophon debuts on her Grammy-winning March 2023 release, The American Project; and Space Variations, composed for Universal Music Group’s 2022 World Sleep Day. This season, Abrams premiered ALI, a musical about Muhammad Ali; and—as part of the Emerson Collective Fellowship—an orchestral work that tells the story of the state of Kentucky.
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Mariana Corichi Gómez Conducting Fellow
Mariana is a conductor, vocalist, and composer from Mexico City. She grew up in both State College, Pennsylvania and Morelia, Michoacán, where her family currently resides.
Mariana is a Conducting Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music studying with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Jim Ross and assisting various orchestras and Curtis Opera productions. Learn more.
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Curtis Symphony Orchestra
Comprised of outstanding talent and unmatched enthusiasm for musical collaboration, Curtis Symphony Orchestra stands as a cornerstone of the Curtis Institute of Music experience and a vital component of Philadelphia’s vibrant cultural scene. For 100 years, our exceptional students have sharpened their skills and broadened their musical horizons, as they prepare for professional careers with the world’s foremost orchestras and chamber ensembles.
Special Thanks
Orchestral concerts are supported by the Jack Wolgin Curtis Orchestral Concerts Endowment Fund.
Guest conductor appearances for each Curtis Symphony Orchestra performance are made possible by the Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser Chair in Conducting Studies.
Curtis received funding from Pennsylvania Creative Industries, powered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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- Date Oct 11, 2026
- Time 3:00 p.m.
- Location Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center
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