Vista Philharmonic Orchestra: Ode to Joy

The Vista Philharmonic Orchestra is delighted to welcome the acclaimed Worcester Chorus of Music Worcester to the stage at Groton Hill Music Center, along with four outstanding soloists, for two performances of this monumental, yet whimsical, composition. Known as Ode to Joy because of the familiar theme in the symphony’s fourth movement, it’s the first symphony to incorporate vocal soloists and chorus into what was previously a purely instrumental genre. The program opens with an important work by Margaret Bonds, noted as one of the first Black composers and performers to gain recognition in the United States. Written in 1964 after the composer’s visit to Montgomery, Alabama, the Montgomery Variations fervently examines seminal events from the civil-rights movement.