December 31, 2022, and January 1, 2023, Taiwanese American conductor Mei-Ann Chen will step in to replace conductor Marin Alsop (who is under doctor's orders not to travel as she recovers from the flu) in the Minnesota Orchestra's New Year's Eve concerts. She will lead the orchestra in a dynamic program of gorgeous melodies and rich colors beginning with Bernstein's lively Overture to Candide, followed by the Minnesota premiere of Jessie Montgomery's Rounds for Piano and Orchestra, written for and performed by pianist Awadagin Pratt. Rimsky-Korsakov's adventurous Scheherazade closes the concert. These performances mark Maestra Chen's debut with Minnesota Orchestra.

"...the music, while of varying qualities, had such an extravagance of inspiration, such pitch perfect artistry (led by the great Mei Ann Chen), and such imagination, that one wanted to yell out, “Stop! Let’s hear this again! Let’s catch our breath.”

New Sounds alert for ACO concert at Carnegie tomorrow night!