As the world’s oldest instrument, the flute appeared in Greek mythology and ancient Hindu tradition long before finding its way into classical music, where it has remained a fixture. Tonight, Joanna G’froerer, NACO’s principal flue since 1992, demonstrates what all the fuss is about. 

The flutes of Mozart’s time were nothing like the fine instruments of today, and legend has it that Mozart didn’t really care for them. But like everything the great composer touched, his Flute Concerto No. 1, written as a commission for an amateur flutist, is pure musical gold, particularly in Joanna G’froerer’s hands.

Franco-British guest conductor Stephanie Childress makes her NAC Orchestra debut on this exciting program that includes Entr’acte for String Orchestra by Caroline Shaw. The youngest composer ever awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music, Shaw says of her own work, “I love the way some music suddenly takes you to the other side of Alice’s looking glass....” Entr’acte is filled with pops of joy mixed with lush sonic poetry that melds into a world of traditional Classical harmonies.

Felix Mendelssohn might have been German, but he loved the British Isles. He was inspired to compose his “Scottish” Symphony No. 3 by a visit to the ruins of the Palace of Holyrood and later wrote, “I believe I found today in the old chapel the beginning of my Scottish Symphony.”