The Cape Symphony Orchestra presents “Music from West Side Story and the Americas” at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center on November 14, 2026 at 4:00 PM and November 15, 2026 at 3:00 PM.

Ticketholders are invited to a discussion of the concert program led by Assistant Conductor Joe Marchio one hour before each performance.

Download a printable version of these Program Notes.

THE CAPE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Music Director Alyssa Wang, Conductor
Cynthia López Olaya and Wesley Carman, Guest Vocalists

This roster lists the musicians performing today’s concert, and is subject to change. The official Cape Symphony Orchestra roster, including recognition of our musician chair supporters, is on our website.

CONCERT PROGRAM

TANIA LEÓN (b. 1943)
Pasajes

GABRIELA LENA FRANK (b. 1972)
Three Latin American Dances

Introduction: Jungle Jaunt
Highland Harawi
The Mestizo Waltz

INTERMISSION (20 minutes)

LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990)
Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Prologue                       (Allegro moderato)
Somewhere                 (Adagio)
Scherzo                          (Vivace e leggiero)
Mambo                           (Meno presto)
Cha-Cha                        (Andantino con grazia)
Meeting Scene           (Meno mosso)
Cool Fugue                   (Allegretto)
Rumble                           (Molto allegro)
Finale                              (Adagio)

West Side Story Concert Suite No. 1
Cynthia López Olaya and Wesley Carman, Guest Vocalists

Maria
One Hand, One Heart
Somewhere
Balcony Scene (Tonight)

ABOUT TODAY'S PROGRAM

The musical traditions of the Americas have been shaped by centuries of migration, cultural exchange, and the meeting of Indigenous, European, and African influences. They crossed borders, mingled, and evolved into new forms of expression, from intricate Latin American dance rhythms to jazz-inflected Broadway sounds.

Cape Symphony explores that musical landscape through the work of three composers with different backgrounds and perspectives, but a shared fascination with rhythm, movement, and the expression of cultural identity. Tania León and Gabriela Lena Frank draw upon the musical heritage of Latin America while forging distinctly contemporary voices. Leonard Bernstein brought the sounds of the Americas into the heart of American musical theater, creating a work that remains one of the most compelling fusions of classical music, jazz, and popular culture.

“I was thinking of America’s 250th year when programming this concert,” says Music Director Alyssa Wang. “Part of what makes West Side Story so beloved is that it embraces musical stylings from Puerto Rico and Latin America. And so it made sense to pair Bernstein with works by two living American composers who are famous for melding classical music with Latin American musical traditions. The result is an all-American program, with the dance rhythms of our southern neighbors threading it all together.”

Join us on a journey across continents, traditions, and generations, revealing just how much the musical voices of the Americas have to say to one another.

Tania León’s music often reflects the sounds, rhythms, and experiences of her native Havana, filtered through a lifetime of musical exploration and a career spent moving between cultures. Pasajes (2022) is a series of musical recollections inspired by the sights and sounds of her childhood. León has described it as a collection of fresh ideas, each passage offering a new perspective.

The piece unfolds as a succession of distinct musical impressions, drawing upon Latin American folk melodies, Caribbean dance rhythms, and Cuban carnival exuberance. A lyrical opening gives way to sounds suggesting birdsong and the natural world. Gradually, rhythmic energy takes hold, evoking the pulse of everyday Cuban life. The music builds toward a festive, street-parade atmosphere, recalling the spontaneous music-making that accompanies carnival celebrations.

Gabriela Lena Frank was born in Berkeley, California to a mother of Peruvian and Chinese ancestry and a father of Lithuanian and Jewish descent. The exploration of heritage, identity, and cultural memory are central to her work. Three Latin American Dances (2004) takes listeners from the Amazon basin to the Andes and the Pacific coast of South America.

Each movement tells a different story:

Jungle Jaunt is full of quick changes, rhythmic surprises, and orchestral fireworks. It begins with an affectionate nod to Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story before taking off in its own direction, incorporating rhythmic and harmonic ideas associated with dances of the Amazon region.

Highland Harawi shifts the atmosphere toward melancholy and longing. Frank imagines a song accompanied by a single quena, a traditional Andean flute, with a lone dancer responding to its melody. A sudden burst of activity inspired by Illapa, the Inca deity associated with thunderstorms, interrupts before the music settles back into reflection.

The Mestizo Waltz is inspired by the romancero, a tradition of popular songs and dances that combines Indigenous musical influences, the rhythms of African-descended communities, and elements of Western brass band music. It has the feel of a dance that invites everyone onto the floor.

INTERMISSION

Your Cape Symphony Orchestra will now perform Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances and Concert Suite No. 1 from West Side Story.

Nothing captures the sound and spirit of American musical theater quite like West Side Story. A reimagining of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the 1957 musical brought together an all-star creative team: Bernstein's music, Stephen Sondheim's lyrics, Arthur Laurents's book, and Jerome Robbins's direction and choreography. The result was a landmark in American theater that blurred the boundaries between musical comedy, opera, ballet, jazz, and popular music.

Bernstein created something that had rarely been attempted on Broadway: a musical in which dance and music carry as much dramatic weight as dialogue and song. His score reflects the cultural tensions of the story; Latin American dance rhythms, jazz, blues, and European classical traditions all find their way into the mix. The music moves effortlessly from mambo to fugue, from tender love song to ferocious street fight.

In 1960, Bernstein extracted nine sections from the score to create an orchestral suite that stands on its own, without dialogue, lyrics, or choreography. The New York Philharmonic premiered Symphonic Dances from West Side Story at Carnegie Hall on February 13, 1961, at a gala benefit billed as "A Valentine for Leonard Bernstein."

The connected sections follow the emotional arc of the musical:

Prologue – Simmering hostility between the Jets and the Sharks is conveyed in restless, jagged musical exchanges.
Somewhere – In a dream ballet, the gangs live together in peace.
Scherzo – They escape the city streets and find a playful world of light and possibility.
Mambo – Back in reality, the rivals face off in a competitive dance.
Cha-cha – Tony and Maria see one another for the first time and dance together.
Meeting Scene – The music heightens the romance of their first encounter.
Cool Fugue – The Jets attempt to control their anger.
Rumble – The rivalry erupts into fatal violence.
Finale – Love music becomes a procession, recalling the vision of "Somewhere."

Fans of the musical will confirm: The original drama comes through in Symphonic Dances even without a single actor on stage. Bernstein's orchestration supplies the characters, the setting, the conflict, and the emotional stakes. The suite also highlights his ability to bring seemingly disparate musical languages together. Classical counterpoint, jazz syncopation, Latin dance rhythms, and Broadway melody are not competing elements, but parts of a single musical conversation.

If Symphonic Dances presents the dramatic and rhythmic side of West Side Story, Concert Suite No. 1 offers the romance at its heart. Arranged for soprano, tenor, and orchestra in 1992, the suite brings together four musical numbers associated with Tony and Maria, tracing their relationship from the first rush of attraction to their dreams of a life together. Guest vocalists Wesley Carman and Cynthia López Olaya will take the stage for these beloved songs:

Maria
Tony's exuberant reaction to meeting Maria at the dance is captured in one of Bernstein's most recognizable melodies. He is so overwhelmed that Maria's name becomes his entire vocabulary. It is an extraordinary moment of infatuation, and a melody that has long since escaped the confines of the theater.

One Hand, One Heart
In this tender duet, Tony and Maria imagine themselves joined in marriage. Their circumstances make such a future seem almost impossible, but for a moment they create a world of their own, expressed through a simple, hymn-like melody. The song's quiet sincerity stands in sharp contrast to the hostility surrounding them.

Somewhere
Perhaps the most moving number in the entire musical, "Somewhere" expresses the lovers' hope for a place where they can live in peace, free from hatred and violence. It is both a romantic aspiration and a larger plea for human understanding.

Balcony Scene
The final selection develops the music of Tony and Maria's meeting. Shakespeare's famous balcony encounter is reimagined for a young couple whose love is caught between the rivalries of their own world.

Symphonic Dances distills West Side Story into an orchestral drama of passion, conflict, and loss. Concert Suite No. 1 gives voice to the lovers themselves. Heard together, they reveal the remarkable breadth of Bernstein's achievement. These melodies have become part of America's musical vocabulary, expressing the universal longing for a world in which love might have a chance.

Thank you for attending today’s concert.
We hope you enjoyed it and that we’ll see you again soon. 

BEHIND THE SCENES

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director of Concert Operations
Patrick Gallagher

Stage Manager
Kimberly Monteiro

Assistant Stage Manager
Brendan Gallagher

Stage Crew
Jay Ivanof
John Bishop

Audio Engineer
Jay Sheehan

Lighting Designer
Kendra Murphy

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
Joseph Marchio

BOX OFFICE
Rebeka Broitman, Supervisor
Eleanor Fothergill

HOSPITALITY COORDINATOR
Charlotte Baxter

LIBRARIAN
Victoria Bullock

PERSONNEL MANAGER
Wesley Hopper

USHER SUPERVISOR
Betty Morse

Cape Arts & Entertainment Staff and Board of Trustees

The Cape Symphony Orchestra’s Classical series concerts are sponsored by Cape Cod 5.
 

SUPPORT YOUR CAPE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Ticket sales cover only part of the cost to maintain a professional orchestra on Cape Cod. Generous donations and community support make the difference.

Donating is easy, online at www.capesymphony.org/donations or by mail to Cape Symphony, 2235 Iyannough Road, West Barnstable, MA 02668. For more information about ways to support Cape Symphony, please contact Director of Development This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Thank you!

Program Notes by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., ©Cape Arts & Entertainment. References include: glfcam.com; leonardbernstein.com; tanialeon.com.

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