Program
John Knowles Paine Overture to As You Like It
Copland Appalachian Spring
Supply Belcher An Anthem of Praise
Travis M. Ramsey FIRE!
Artists, programs, and dates are subject to change.
This concert is currently only available as part of a subscription package. Single tickets will go on sale June 15, 2026.
How do you capture the essence of home? How does the past inform the spirit of a community?
In the opening concert of its 102nd season, the PSO celebrates our home of Portland, Maine, and music that expresses our identity.
Travis Ramsey’s “FIRE!” provides an auditory history of a key moment in Portland history: the Great Fire of 1866, and Portland’s rise from the ashes. Telling the story of the immense fire and the aftermath of rebuilding, it captures the resiliency of the spirit of Portland—Resurgam (“I shall rise again.”). The journey into our state’s past is rounded out by works from Maine composers John Knowles Paine, the first professor of music at Harvard University and student of Hermann Kotzschmar, and Supply Belcher, also known as “the Handel of Maine.”
Bringing the focus outward is Copland’s iconic work, Appalachian Spring. Capturing the spirit of rural America, Copland uses folk-like melodies and simple harmonies to reflect on a national identity and weave a story of optimism and hope through difficult times.
