World Premiere: Invictus & An African American Requiem

Chicago Philharmonic Presents:

World Premiere: Invictus & An African American Requiem

Chicago Philharmonic
Scott Speck Conductor
Apollo Chorus, directed by Stephen Alltop

Marta Aznavoorian Piano
Tiana Sorenson Soprano
Leah Dexter Mezzo-Soprano
Cameo Humes Tenor
Khary Laurent Bass

Date: Saturday, October 18, 2025
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Harris Theater for Music and Dance – Chicago, IL

Program:

World Premiere

Invictus (2025) – Stacy Garrop
Marta Aznavoorian Piano

Concerto for piano and orchestra:

I. Out of the night that covers me,
II. Black as the pit from pole to pole,
III. I thank whatever gods may be
IV. For my unconquerable soul.

Invictus (2025) by Stacy Garrop is a powerful new piano concerto inspired by William Ernest Henley’s poem of the same name, depicting resilience and determination. Through bold orchestration and virtuosic piano passages written for internationally acclaimed pianist Marta Aznavoorian, the piece captures the unbreakable human spirit in the face of adversity.

Co-Commissioned by Marta Aznavoorian, pianist, and the American Composers Forum.
American Composers Forum support is made possible by The Thelma E. Hunter Fund.

Midwest Premiere

An African American Requiem (2018–19, premiered 2022) – Damien Geter
Apollo Chorus, directed by Stephen Alltop
Tiana Sorenson Soprano
Leah Dexter Mezzo-Soprano
Cameo Humes Tenor
Khary Laurent Bass

An African American Requiem is a 90 minute twenty-movement work based on the traditional Latin requiem liturgy infusing spirituals and modern declarations relating to racial violence against African Americans, as well as a setting of Ida B. Wells’ speech Lynching is Color Line Murder.

This concert is made possible by:

Eric Wassenaar and Khrystyna Savchuk, MD

Additional support is provided by:

Lori Ashikawa
Jemia Cunningham-Elder
Zantraquilla Madkins
Stetson Marshall
Harris Theater for Music and Dance

About Chicago Philharmonic

Founded in 1989 by musicians of the Lyric Opera Orchestra, the Chicago Philharmonic Society is dedicated to reimagining the orchestra concert experience. With nearly 200 musician members and a unique system of musician governance, Chicago Philharmonic is recognized as one of the most versatile, innovative, and ambitious orchestras in the country.

Chicago Philharmonic proudly collaborates with the world’s greatest artists across multiple genres. Past partnerships include Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Joshua Bell, Kishi Bashi, The Joffrey Ballet, English National Ballet, Tank and the Bangas, William Basinski, American Ballet Theatre, Ryan Speedo Green, and more.

Since Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40 honoree Terell Johnson became Executive Director in 2021, the orchestra has continued to expand its artistic reach and push the boundaries of symphonic performance. Notable recent milestones include a history-making debut at Lollapalooza as the first orchestra to perform at the festival, a sold-out Carnegie Hall debut with Sleeping At Last, and a world premiere tribute to Whitney Houston at Ravinia Festival. From groundbreaking live film concerts to dynamic collaborations with today’s most exciting artists, Chicago Philharmonic remains at the forefront of innovation and inclusion in the city’s performing arts landscape.

Learn more at www.chicagophil.org.

About Scott Speck, Principal Conductor

With recent performances in London, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, Scott Speck has inspired international acclaim as a conductor of passion, intelligence, and winning personality. Scott Speck was named Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Chicago Philharmonic in June of 2013 and has been Music Director of the Joffrey Ballet since 2010. He has become a frequent guest for the Chicago Symphony’s family concerts. His work with Chicago Philharmonic earned him the award “2021 Conductor of the Year” from the Illinois Council of Orchestras.

Scott Speck is the co-author of two of the world’s bestselling books on classical music, Classical Music for Dummies and Opera for Dummies. These books have received stellar reviews in both national and international press, have garnered enthusiastic endorsements from major American orchestras, and have been translated into twenty languages. His third book in the series, Ballet for Dummies, was released to great acclaim as well. For more information visit www.scottspeck.org.

About Marta Aznavoorian, Pianist

“A Pianist of exceptionally finished technique and purity of musical impulse” (Boston Globe)

Armenian-American pianist Marta Aznavoorian is known for her inspiringly spirited playing and vast emotional reach. The multi-Grammy-nominated artist has performed to critical acclaim throughout the world as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She made her professional debut at the age of 13, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24, K. 491 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the invitation of Sir George Solti. She then went on to engage with orchestras throughout the United States and abroad, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Boston Pops, and Chicago Symphony.

Aznavoorian has received numerous awards and accolades, including First Prize in the Stravinsky International Competition and a special prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned contemporary work. As a recipient of the Level 1 award in the National Foundation of the Arts talent search, she became a Presidential Scholar and was invited to the White House, where she met former President George H.W. Bush and performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Known for her expressive energy and originality, Aznavoorian has recorded extensively for Naxos, Warner Classics, and Erato, and has just released her seventh album under Cedille Records.

Aznavoorian is a founding member of the Grammy-nominated Lincoln Trio, which Fanfare Magazine has labeled as the “hottest trio in the business,” earning several Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations. She also performs extensively with violinist Stefan Milenkovich and her sister, cellist Ani Aznavoorian. The Aznavoorian Sister Duo released their debut album in 2022, Veiled Mountain: Gems from Armenia, under Cedille Records. A champion of contemporary music, she has recorded and premiered works by some of the world’s leading composers, including William Bolcom, Osvaldo Golijov, Augusta Read Thomas, Shulamit Ran, Joan Tower, and Jennifer Higdon, among others. She is set to premiere and record a commissioned piano concerto written for her by Stacy Garrop on October 25, in collaboration with Cedille Records and the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra.

A student of the renowned Menahem Pressler, Aznavoorian earned her Bachelor’s Degree and Artist Diploma from Indiana University and her Master’s Degree from the New England Conservatory. As a dedicated educator and philanthropist, she teaches lessons and masterclasses across the United States and abroad. She has received several awards, including the Alumni Legends Standing Ovation Award for her humanitarian work in her native city of Chicago. Aznavoorian serves as a faculty member and Keyboard Coordinator at DePaul University and is an Artist-in-Residence at the Music Institute of Chicago.

Committed to creating training pathways for students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, Aznavoorian’s new foundation, Keynote Productions, aims to provide funding and support to help young musicians achieve their full potential. Marta Aznavoorian is a Steinway Artist.

For more information, please visit her website at www.martaaznavoorian.com.

About Stacy Garrop, Composer

Dr. Stacy Garrop is an award-winning, internationally recognized freelance composer and lecturer whose music is centered on dramatic and lyrical storytelling. Her catalog covers a wide range of genres, with works for orchestra, opera, oratorio, wind ensemble, choir, art song, and various sized chamber ensembles. Dr. Garrop has received numerous awards and grants including an Arts and Letters Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Fromm Music Foundation Grant, Barlow Prize, and three Barlow Endowment commissions. Notable commissions include Forging Steel for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Battle for the Ballot for the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Goddess Triptych for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Berko’s Journey for the Omaha Symphony, Forged by the Sea for the U.S. Navy Band, The Transformation of Jane Doe for Chicago Opera Theater, In a House Besieged for The Crossing, Give Me Hunger for Chanticleer, Glorious Mahalia for the Kronos Quartet, Rites for the Afterlife for the Akropolis and Calefax Reed Quintets, and My Dearest Ruth for voice and piano with text by the husband of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Dr. Garrop has served as the featured composer of the Bowling Green State University New Music Festival and the Indiana State University Contemporary Music Festival, as well as a mentor composer for the Cabrillo Conductors/Composers Workshop, LunART Festival Composers Hub, and Chicago a cappella’s HerVoice Emerging Women Choral Composers Competition. She was the inaugural Emerging Opera Composer for Chicago Opera Theater’s Vanguard Program (2018-2020), and Composer-in-Residence with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, funded by New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras (2016-2019).

Theodore Presser Company publishes her works. Her music is frequently recorded by Cedille Records, with works commercially available on several additional labels. For more information, please visit her website at www.garrop.com.

About Damien Geter, Composer

Damien Geter is an acclaimed American composer who infuses classical music with various styles from the Black diaspora to create music that furthers the cause for social justice, as well as a celebrated bass-baritone whose varied credits include performances from the operatic stage to the television screen. He is Richmond Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence through 2026 and serves as Interim Music Director & Artistic Advisor at Portland Opera.

Geter’s rapidly growing and “invigoratingly fresh” (Opera Today) body of work (in 2022 alone, he had six premieres) includes chamber, vocal, orchestral, and full operatic works, with his compositions praised for their “skillful vocal writing” (Wall Street Journal). This season, the world premiere of Geter’s new major opera, Loving v. Virginia, concludes Virginia Opera’s 50th anniversary season. Based on the true story of Mildred and Richard Loving, the opera is co-commissioned by Virginia Opera and Richmond Symphony. Another new opera of Geter’s, Delta King’s Blues, commissioned by IN Series, will be workshopped in January 2025 and premiered later that year. His song, Amanirenas, commissioned by soprano Karen Slack for her African Queens art song program, tours at Washington Performing Arts, the Ravinia Festival, Aspen Music Festival, 92nd Street Y New York, the Nashville Symphony, and Friends of Chamber Music Denver. His newly commissioned song, Gentle lady, do not sing, is included on the Choral Scholars University College Dublin’s album, Music by James Joyce, Volume I (September 2024, Signum Classics).

As conductor this season, he leads Paul Moravec’s opera The Shining, based on Stephen King’s iconic novel, at Portland Opera, and Carmel Symphony Orchestra’s Opening Night Gala, America the Beautiful concert.Future commissions include world premieres with the Richmond Symphony and Nathaniel Dett Chorale, plus a new operatic production at Portland Opera in 2026.Called “superb” by The News Tribune, DC Theater Arts praises Geter’s “commanding presence and voice full of bass-baritone gravitas”. Last season, Geter portrayed the role of abolitionist and historian William Still to great critical acclaim in Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec’s oratorio Sanctuary Road, presented by Virginia Opera. He also joined Auburn Symphony Orchestra in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony and Rembrandt Chamber Musicians in The Wayfarer’s Melodies: A Musical Journey, singing the John Ireland Songs of a Wayfarer cycle.Geter is an alumnus of Austrian American Mozart Festival and Aspen Opera Center, was an Irma Cooper Vocal Competition finalist, and toured with American Spiritual Ensemble. He owns DG Music, Sans Fear Publishing. www.damiengetermusic.com.