Concert honors veterans, features Copland's Symphony No. 3
WEST BARNSTABLE, MA—October 27, 2025
The Cape Symphony Orchestra will present “A Salute to Service” on November 15 and 16 at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center. Guest conductor Guillaume Pirard will lead a program of music by Dudley Buck, Morton Gould, Maurice Ravel, Samuel Barber, and Aaron Copland.
The concert is a tribute to veterans. “It’s about remembrance,” says Concertmaster Jae Cosmos Lee, “and about honoring those who’ve served, taking care of the person to the left of them, and to the right of them.”
The performance will open with Buck’s Festival Overture on the American National Air, “The Star Spangled Banner,” followed by Gould’s An American Salute, Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, and Barber’s Adagio for Strings. After an intermission, the Orchestra will perform Copland’s beloved Symphony No. 3. “When people talk of American sound in classical music, it is Copland’s sound they imagine,” says Guillaume Pirard. “In his music there are bustling streets, rumbas danced in a cafe, the immense sky, and the prairie. He really captured America like no others before or since.”
Pirard is a highly respected artist and educator with a deep belief in the power and essentiality of collaborative music making. He has conducted the New York University and Cornell University Orchestras, Ensemble X, Opus Ithaca, the Philharmonic of Moravia, the Metamorphosis Chamber Orchestra, the Lviv Philharmonic, the Mannes School of Music Opera, and the Mannes Orchestra, and served as Assistant Conductor for the Buffalo Philharmonic and Ensemble 21. He is currently Music Director of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra in Ithaca, New York. Born in Belgium, Pirard studied at the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music and at Juilliard, and earned a Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting from The New School. He has served on the faculties of New York University, San Diego State University, Ithaca College, and Cornell University.
Donations are sought to give concert tickets to local veterans. Each $50 gift provides a ticket to be given to local vets through Cape & Islands Veterans Outreach Center; Vet Center of Hyannis; Nicholas G. Xiarhos Foundation; Heroes in Transition; and 22Mohawks Veteran Suicide Prevention. Donate online at https://capesymphony.org/donations under “A Salute to Service.”
“A Salute to Service” will be presented Saturday, November 15 at 4:00 PM and Sunday, November 16 at 3:00 PM at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center, 744 West Main Street, Hyannis. Ticketholders are invited to a talk about the concert program by former Cape Symphony trombonist George Scharr one hour before each performance.
For tickets, visit www.capesymphony.org, call the Cape Symphony Box Office at 508.362.1111, email
The Cape Symphony Orchestra’s Masterpiece series concerts are sponsored by Cape Cod 5.
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About Cape Arts & Entertainment
Cape Arts & Entertainment, also known as Cape Symphony, is one of the largest professional cultural organizations in Massachusetts. We inspire, educate, and connect our community through exceptional music and inclusive outreach programs. The Cape Symphony Orchestra presents a diverse classical and Pops repertoire, while Cape Symphony Presents brings world-class artists of a variety of genres to venues across Cape Cod. Cape Symphony Conservatory and Preschool offers private lessons, group classes, ensembles, dance, and art to students of all ages at our West Barnstable and Falmouth campuses, and an acclaimed arts-infused curriculum for preschoolers in West Barnstable. Rooted in creativity, excellence, community, and lifelong learning, all three branches of CA&E enrich lives through the power of music and the arts. Visit www.capesymphony.org for more information.
