Saturday, September 26th, 2026 | 7:30pm
Umstattd Hall | Zimmermann Symphony Center
2331 17th St. NW
Canton, OH 44708
DESCRIPTION
Music director finalist Wesley Schulz opens our season with an American celebration– from spirituals to Hollywood– exploring music that captures the American sound. Omar Thomas’ Come Sunday opens the concert as a two-movement tribute to the Hammond organ’s central role in Black worship services. The composer writes, “the first movement, Testimony, [blends] Bach, blues, jazz, and R&B” into a sound that feels both structured and deeply expressive, while the second, Shout!, builds into a virtuosic and celebratory release, driven by rhythmic intensity and moments of unrestrained joy.
Violinist Rachel Lee Priday joins the orchestra for Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D major, a work shaped by the composer’s legacy in Hollywood. Drawing on themes from his film scores, the concerto pairs sweeping, memorable melodies with passages that require precision and sensitivity, placing the soloist at the center of the work.
Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” reflects Dvořák’s belief that a distinctly American voice could emerge from the musical traditions of Black and Indigenous communities. Composed in 1893 during his time in the United States, the symphony weaves spirituals and folk melodies into a work still grounded in his Czech identity, inviting a new orchestral sound for American music.
PROGRAM
Come Sunday…………………………………………………………………………..Omar Thomas
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35……………………….Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Intermission
Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”……………………………Antonín Dvořák
TICKETS
$20 / $35 / $45 / $60 / $70
Includes fees. Additional $2 to mail tickets.
College Students (18+): FREE
Children 17 and under: FREE
Veterans, First Responders, Healthcare Workers, & Educators: 20% off
SNAP & Medicaid Recipients: 20% off
Groups of 10 or more: 20% off
Subscribers: additional tickets 20% off
*Must call to redeem discounted tickets
*Discounts do not apply to Economy section
Box Office: 330-452-2094
boxoffice@cantonsymphony.org
Hotel Accomodations
The Canton Symphony Orchestra is a proud partner of Embassy Suites by Hilton at the Akron-Canton Airport, who have offered CSO patrons an exclusive rate to book rooms attending our concerts from out of town. To take advantage of this special offer, please click the link below or the image above. The rate is $135/night!
7883 Freedom Ave NW, North Canton, OH 44720 | (330) 305-0500
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Rachel Lee Priday, violin
A consistently exciting artist, renowned globally for her spectacular technique, sumptuous sound, deeply probing musicianship, and “irresistible panache” (Chicago Tribune), violinist Rachel Lee Priday has appeared as soloist with major international orchestras, among them the Chicago, Houston, National, Pacific, St. Louis and Seattle Symphony Orchestras, Boston Pops Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Germany’s Staatskapelle Berlin. Her distinguished recital appearances have brought her to eminent venues, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ Mostly Mozart Festival, Chicago’s Ravinia Festival and Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series, Paris’s Musée du Louvre, Germany’s Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and Switzerland’s Verbier Festival.
Passionately committed to new music and creating enriching community and global connections, Rachel Lee Priday’s wide-ranging repertoire and multidisciplinary collaborations reflect a deep fascination with literary and cultural narratives. Her work as soloist with the Asia/America New Music Institute promoted cultural exchange between Asia and the Americas, combining premiere performances with educational outreach in the US, China, and Vietnam. She has premiered and commissioned works by composers including Matthew Aucoin, Christopher Cerrone, Gabriella Smith, Timo Andres, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Cristina Spinei, Melia Watras, and Paul Wiancko. In 2022, she premiered a new Violin Concerto, Kuyén, written for her by Miguel Farías, which depicts the Moon in Mapuche mythology, with the UC Davis Symphony at the Mondavi Center. | Learn More
Wesley Schulz, Conductor & Music Director Finalist
Widely recognized for his imaginative programming and spirited yet heartfelt music making with orchestras, Wesley Schulz’s conducting has been deemed “spectacular.” Schulz is Music Director and Conductor of the Auburn Symphony Orchestra (WA) and was formerly the Associate Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony. As a guest conductor, Schulz has appeared with the Seattle, Utah, Austin, Tallahassee, Canton, Williamsburg, Greenville, Richmond (IN), Waco, and Bozeman Symphony Orchestras among many others. Schulz is Principal Guest Conductor at the Pacific Northwest Ballet having led productions such as Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet as well as annual performances of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.
Key to Schulz’s success is his passion for diversifying classical music and expanding the concert hall to include all listeners. He has collaborated with some of the most dynamic musical artists of our time including Tessa Lark, Leslie Odom Jr, John Williams, Philippe Quint, Bella Hristova, Richard Lin, Pink Martini, Randall Goosby, Cirque de la Symphonie, Amos Lee and many more. When not on the podium, Schulz enjoys CrossFit, snowboarding, cooking and playing endless fetch with his two dogs, Chewbacca and Han Solo. | Learn More
Composer Spotlights