Masterworks 4 - 95th Anniversary Celebration

Masterworks IV: 95th Anniversary Celebration
May 15, 2025, 7:30 pm
Capitol Theatre – Wheeling, WV
Conductors: John Devlin and André Raphel
Guest Artists: Elisa Kohanski, cello; Wheeling Symphony Orchestra Community Choir

We end our 95th season with a huge birthday bash in a true celebration of our community! The concert starts with a new composition from Dr. Matthew Harder, Professor of Music at West Liberty University, inspired by the impact of the WSO over the last 95 years. Equally exciting, the new Wheeling Symphony Orchestra Community Choir will debut on this opening piece. We will then have another world premiere—two on one concert!—that pays tribute to the broad impact of the WSO and our musicians. Jonathan Kolm’s commissioned work will feature WSO Principal Cellist Elisa Kohanski, whose dedication to performing on every continent worldwide inspired this composition. After intermission, the WSO welcomes André Raphel, the WSO’s Conductor Laureate, back to the stage to conduct Ravel’s whirlwind La Valse.

The concert—and our season—will close with Ravel’s effervescent Suite No. 2 from Daphnis and Chloe, celebrating not only our 95 th anniversary but also the 150 th anniversary of Ravel’s birth. This three-movement work will once again feature the Wheeling Symphony Community Choir in this musical painting of the famous fantasy story in the perfect capstone to a celebratory season.