Civic Plays Price & Dvořák

Mar 2, 2026
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Overview Schedule Program Performers Extras

Overview

Ken-David Masur leads the Civic Orchestra in works by three titans of Black excellence in American music, starting with gems by George Walker and Ulysses Kay. Florence Price’s Ethiopia’s Shadow in America portrays an enslaved man’s spiritual journey from the time of his arrival on this continent. Antonin Dvořák, a vital early champion of American music, imbues his lyrical and exuberant Seventh Symphony with admiration and hope for his own native Czech Republic.

Ticket Information: Pay what you wish, starting at $5, for this concert. By paying for your ticket, you demonstrate the value music plays in your life and help make this performance available to all. Seating is general admission.

Schedule
Program
Kay

Overture to Theater Set

Walker

Lyric for Strings

Price

Ethiopia’s Shadow in America

Dvořák

Symphony No. 7

Performers
Civic Orchestra of Chicago
Ken-David Masur
Principal Conductor, Civic Orchestra of Chicago
The Robert Kohl and Clark Pellett Principal Conductor Chair

Extras

Teen Night

Teen night is an annual event hosted by the CSO Student Ambassadors that brings teens from across Chicagoland together to enjoy classical music. Enjoy a preconcert pizza dinner, activities and a concert — all with a $5 ticket. Learn more »

Sponsors & Partners

The 2025/26 Civic Orchestra season is generously sponsored by Lori Julian for the Julian Family Foundation, which also provides major funding for the Civic Fellowship program.

The Civic Orchestra of Chicago acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council.

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Civic to perform works by three Black American titans of classical music
When the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and Principal Conductor Ken-David Masur return in March, they will perform works of multicultural perspectives, with selections by Ulysses Kay , George Walker and Florence Price.
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Florence Price receives her moment on the world stage
Few composers have experienced the meteoric rediscovery that Florence Price has enjoyed in the last decade. Nearly forgotten since her death in 1953, her works are now seeing a renaissance.
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George Walker (1922-2018) dedicated his “Lyric for Strings,” which became most performed work, to his grandmother, who died when he was a student at the Curtis Institute of Music.
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