New World Chorale joins the Lexington Symphony, under the direction of Jonathan McPhee, in a concert titled “Vivid Images.” Three brilliant depictions that fire the imagination: Richard Strauss’s tone poem about prankster Till Eulenspiegel, Debussy’s stunning portrayal of the sea, and a passage to the land of the dead across the River Styx in Giya Kancheli’s Styx, featuring Lexington Symphony’s Principal Violist, Emily Rideout, and the New World Chorale.

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is one of music’s great declarations of human aspiration. Completed in 1824, when Beethoven was almost completely deaf, it expands the symphony into a vast journey from darkness toward joy. The first movement emerges from mystery and struggle; the scherzo drives forward with fierce rhythmic energy; and the slow movemnet offers luminous serenity. In the finale, voices enter a symphony for the first time on this scale, proclaiming Schiller’s “Ode to Joy.” Beethoven does not present joy as simple happiness, but as fellowship wrested from suffering, doubt, and chaos through courage, art, and shared humanity.

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is one of music’s great declarations of human aspiration. Completed in 1824, when Beethoven was almost completely deaf, it expands the symphony into a vast journey from darkness toward joy. The first movement emerges from mystery and struggle; the scherzo drives forward with fierce rhythmic energy; and the slow movemnet offers luminous serenity. In the finale, voices enter a symphony for the first time on this scale, proclaiming Schiller’s “Ode to Joy.” Beethoven does not present joy as simple happiness, but as fellowship wrested from suffering, doubt, and chaos through courage, art, and shared humanity.

New World Chorale returns to join forces with CHSO for a monumental, transcendent program of spiritual and celebratory masterpieces! The afternoon opens with the brilliant fanfare of Handel’s Royal Fireworks Music, originally commissioned by England’s King George, II. Next, experience the profound power of Bach’s towering cantata, “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott,” a definitive work from his historic residency in Leipzig.

For the grand finale, guest soloists and the combined forces of chorus and orchestra bring you Igor Stravinsky’s inspired Symphony of Psalms. Written to honor the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, this deeply moving work serves as the ultimate crown on a season of unmatched symphonic glory.