On Saturday, September 15, 2018, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) will present a dazzling program of Broadway hits and orchestral favorites for its 2018 Gala Concert.
The Orchestra will perform Strauss’s “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks” and selections from Gershwin’s “An American in Paris.” But perhaps just as exciting, the gala will feature a performance by Cynthia Erivo, who has gained global acclaim for her role in the hit Broadway revival of “The Color Purple.”
Among the numbers the Tony and Grammy award winner will perform are popular hits like “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
“I’ve never performed in Baltimore before,” Erivo said. “[However], the audiences can expect to enjoy themselves and I’ve picked a couple of different numbers that you probably wouldn’t expect me to do. I hope they can connect with me and have some fun and I think they will have a lot of fun and I want them to not just feel good but I want to sound good.”
Currently, Erivo is playing the female lead in the Fox television feature film, “Bad Times at The El Royale,” starring opposite of Jeff Bridges and Chris Hemsworth.
She recently wrapped up filming the Lionsgate feature, “Chaos Walking,” with a cast featuring Mads Mikkelsen, Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley and David Oyelowo.
In 2017, she filmed her feature debut in Steve McQueen’s “Widows,” with Oscar winner Viola Davis.
“It’s been busy. Many things are happening that are surprising and wonderfully exciting, and it’s been kind of crazy in between, because I have had different performances in Los Angeles and at the Kennedy Center,” Erivo said.
When asked where she draws her inspiration, she answered from her mother.
“My mom inspires me the way she raised me and the way that she’s one of those women who works really hard and seems to be able to achieve whatever she wants,” Erivo said. “She has the kindest heart and always makes me feel that I’m doing work that I’m meant to be.”
Erivo says she also uses Viola Davis and superstar Barbra Streisand as “templates of what she wants to achieve in life.”
She is looking forward to the gala and performing with BSO, which is internationally recognized as having achieved a preeminent place among the world’s most important orchestras.
Acclaimed for its enduring pursuit of artistic excellence, the BSO has attracted a devoted national and international following while maintaining deep bonds throughout Maryland with innovative education and community outreach initiatives.
The BSO made musical history in September 2007, when Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s 12th music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.
“It’ll be lots of fun!” she said.
For more about the BSO or for gala tickets, visit https://www.bsomusic.org/.