American Conductor and Belarusian Ensemble Present American Musical Classics

Embassy Press Release

The American conductor Philip L. Simmons  and the Classic Avantgarde Soloists Ensemble will present a selection of American musical masterpieces on October 16 in the Small Chamber of the Belarusian State Philharmonic. The program will feature musical masterpieces composed by well-known American composers, including such artists as Charles Ives, Scott Joplin, and John Philip Sousa, who have made a considerable impact on American and world musical culture.

For the first time, an audience at the Belarusian Philharmonic will hear John Philip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever, which has become one of the most popular American works of all time and the official march of the USA, Old Man River composed by Jerome Kern and popularized by Frank Sinatra, and The Entertainer by the famous ragtime composer Scott Joplin. Arrangements of The Entertainer and Stars and Stripes Forever were prepared exclusively for the Classic Avantgarde Soloists Ensemble by Ilya Levinson, composer-in-residence for American Music Festivals, whose diverse repertoire includes operas, musicals, symphonic and chamber music, film scores and original music for theater productions. 

For detailed information about the event, please contact the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Belarus. Tel: (017) 217 04 81 or the Belarusian State Philharmonic at 331 36 91.