A little mystery. A dazzling soloist. A symphony overflowing with joy.
The Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra opens its season with Roots and Rhythm, a concert that brings together the warmth of musical tradition and the excitement of discovery. Featuring internationally acclaimed violinist Sicong Chen, Edgar Meyer’s inventive Violin Concerto, and Dvořák’s beloved Symphony No. 8, this vibrant program invites you to experience music that sings, dances, and surprises.
From American folk and jazz influences to melodies inspired by the Bohemian countryside, the evening explores how composers transform familiar sounds into something extraordinary. These are works with personality, movement, and heart—music that can sweep you into a lively dance one moment and draw you into a quiet, expressive passage the next.
And it all begins with a surprise.
Our Mystery Piece invites you to start the season with curiosity. We’re keeping its identity under wraps, giving you the chance to encounter the music with fresh ears and discover it as it unfolds.
Without a title to guide your expectations, what will capture your attention first? A melody? A rhythm? The color of an instrument rising out of the orchestra? Let yourself listen, wonder, and enjoy an opening that makes discovery part of the concert experience.
Internationally acclaimed violinist Sicong Chen joins the orchestra for Edgar Meyer’s Violin Concerto, bringing the solo violin into the spotlight in a work full of character and invention.
Meyer’s musical voice draws on classical, American folk, and jazz traditions. His concerto brings those influences together in an engaging conversation between soloist and orchestra, pairing virtuosity with rhythmic vitality and expressive depth.
For the listener, that means an opportunity to hear the violin in a different light. Alongside its lyrical beauty and brilliance, the instrument reveals a playful, searching personality. The music invites you to follow its turns, feel its momentum, and hear how an American composer opens new possibilities within the concerto tradition.
Chen’s appearance is a highlight of the season opener: a chance to experience an acclaimed artist performing a work that rewards both close attention and the simple pleasure of listening. Watch the exchange between soloist, conductor, and orchestra as individual voices come together to bring the score to life.
The concert culminates in Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, a work whose warmth and exuberance make it a wonderful beginning to a new season.
Overflowing with melody and inspired by the sounds of the natural world, the symphony carries the spirit of the Bohemian countryside into the concert hall. Birdlike phrases, folk-inspired rhythms, lyrical passages, and jubilant orchestral gestures give the music an irresistible sense of life.
Its appeal is immediate, but its emotional range is rich. Tender moments make room for reflection. Dance rhythms bring lift and motion. Expansive melodies gather strength across the orchestra, creating the thrill of hearing many musicians breathe and move together.
Dvořák gives you so much to follow: an intimate phrase passed between instruments, a melody that seems to blossom as it returns, or a sudden burst of energy that changes the atmosphere of the room. You may find yourself leaning in to catch a quiet detail, then swept along by the full sound of the ensemble.
By the finale, the symphony’s warmth and vitality become a celebration—an exhilarating close to an evening built around the power of rhythm and the pleasure of melody.
Roots and Rhythm is an inviting concert for longtime music lovers and anyone curious about hearing a live orchestra. You don’t need to recognize a theme or know the history of a concerto to enjoy the experience. Come ready to listen, and let the musicians lead you through an evening of discovery.
There is something special about sharing these moments in person: the anticipation before the first note, the focus of a soloist stepping into a phrase, and the energy that builds as an orchestra fills the hall. A recording can introduce you to a piece; a live performance lets you experience it taking shape in the moment.
Bring a friend, make an evening of it, and help us launch the season with music full of imagination and life. With a surprise opening, Sicong Chen’s featured performance, and the radiant joy of Dvořák’s Eighth, Roots and Rhythm promises a memorable welcome back to the concert hall.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3857856-2
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3857856-3
