Rachel Waddell, music director and conductor of orchestras in the Department of Music at the University of Rochester, “joined the University in 2017, planned her opening season to reflect the diversity within the University and to call attention to important historical events,” reads an unsigned Thursday (3/1) article at the University of Rochester’s website. “On Saturday, March 3, Waddell will lead the orchestra in a musical exploration of immigration [with] Antonin Dvořák’s popular New World Symphony (1893), and, along with dancers from the University’s Program of Dance and Movement, Cole Porter’s little known [jazz] ballet, ‘Within the Quota’ (1923). Both works convey impressions of coming to America at the turn of the 20th century.… The audience will also be invited to join the performers in the lobby to place pins on a world map to mark where they or their ancestors once called home.” Says Waddell, “It’s important to show people that classical music … is evolving, changing, and connecting back to how we live today…. We hope to stimulate discussion about the place that immigration has in our society. We need to have an active conversation about it.”
Posted March 2, 2018
