A New Haven Orchestra Is Rethinking How We Hear New Music

With so many strong musical offerings in and around New Haven, audiences have no shortage of opportunities to hear great orchestral music. What sets one program apart, however, is not just what is performed - but how it is presented.

On May 9, the Civic Orchestra of New Haven, under the direction of Nadya Potemkina, will present Glow & Grace at Battell Chapel, bringing together familiar works by Gioachino Rossini and César Franck with something less expected: the New England premiere of Sonorous, a trombone concerto by rising Texas-based composer Quinn Mason (b. 1996).

With more than 80 seasons of music-making in the city, the Civic Orchestra of New Haven draws on a long-standing tradition while actively creating space for new voices.

At the heart of this approach is a simple idea: all music was once new. History reminds us that even now-beloved works were not always immediately embraced - The Rite of Spring famously sparked a riot at its premiere before becoming a cornerstone of the repertoire. When audiences are given the chance to encounter unfamiliar sounds in a thoughtful context, curiosity often follows.

For community ensembles in particular, there can be pressure to rely heavily on familiar repertoire. Different programs approach that balance in different ways. Programming that balances the known with the new is not a risk - it’s a choice that can deepen how audiences experience the music.

Rather than isolating contemporary and uncommon works, the Civic Orchestra of New Haven integrates them into each program, placing them alongside well-known pieces connected by a shared musical thread. In this setting, a new work is no longer something to “get through,” but part of a larger narrative linking past and present.

That approach is reflected in Glow & Grace. The trombone - rarely featured as a solo voice in orchestral concerts - brings a distinctive color to Mason’s Sonorous. Placed alongside Rossini’s sparkling overture and Franck’s expansive Symphony in D minor, the concerto becomes part of a broader conversation about brilliance, elegance, and power across different musical eras.

For audiences, this creates a different kind of listening experience - one that invites curiosity without requiring prior knowledge, and one that reflects how orchestral music continues to evolve.

The concert takes place Saturday, May 9 at 4:00 PM at Battell Chapel in New Haven.

More information and tickets: civicorchestraofnewhaven.org/concerts