Bursting with energy and imagination, our season finale brings together triumphant festival overtures and sweeping folk-inspired melodies to deeply personal songs and cinematic modern soundscapes, this season finale celebrates the many colors of the orchestral experience — and the community that brings it to life.

The concert opens with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Festival Overture, filled with ringing brass, moments of grandeur and celebration, and also reflections on prayer. A beloved favorite of musicians and audiences, the piece features several S.O. musicians, and the unique tone colors of Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestrations. This exploration on sound and texture continues with Ruth Gipps’s lyrical Song for Orchestra, showcasing the rich melodic voice of one of the 20th century’s most compelling composers.

A special spotlight falls on the musicians of the Summerville Orchestra Youth Philharmonic, who join the orchestra again for two exciting collaborative performances. Breathtaker by SYML has quickly become a favorite at the Summerville Orchestra’s Encore Series performances, and now makes its full concert hall debut in a lush orchestral setting. The collaboration continues with the joyful energy of Lord of the Dance, celebrating rhythm, community, and the next generation of musicians sharing the stage together.

Following intermission, the orchestra is joined by acclaimed local baritone Nathan Matticks for Gustav Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer, a deeply personal and emotional song cycle exploring love, heartbreak, memory, and the search for meaning. Written early in Mahler’s career, the work already contains the sweeping emotional world and orchestral beauty that would later define his symphonies.

The season concludes with Christopher Theofanidis’s electrifying Rainbow Body, one of the most celebrated American orchestral works of the 21st century. Inspired by the music of medieval mystic Hildegard of Bingen, the work transforms ancient chant into a stunning explosion of orchestral colors — a brilliant finale that leaves the season shining throughout the summer.

From young musicians to celebrated local artists, from timeless masterworks to contemporary favorites, A Celebration in Full Color is a joyful finale celebrating the power of music to inspire, connect, and illuminate.