Events

WILLIAM GRANT STILL (1885-1978)
Darker America (1924)

William Grant Still was one of the most significant American composers of the twentieth century. Trained at Wilberforce University, Oberlin Conservatory, and later with Edgard Varèse, Still worked across concert music, film, radio, and popular genres. He is often recognized as the first African American composer to achieve sustained national prominence in orchestral music, though he resisted being defined solely by that distinction and sought to write works that reflected both personal experience and broader American life.

Darker America, composed in 1924, is an early orchestral tone poem and one of Still’s first major works. Rather than following a detailed narrative, the piece outlines a general emotional trajectory. Still described it as a portrayal of the “darker” side of American experience, moving from hardship and tension toward resilience and spiritual affirmation. The music draws on idioms associated with African American musical traditions—blues-inflected melodies, syncopated rhythms, and expressive harmonic language—integrated within a late-Romantic orchestral framework.

The work unfolds in a single movement, with recurring thematic material that evolves over time. Somber opening gestures give way to more lyrical passages, followed by episodes of increased rhythmic energy. The conclusion suggests resolution without being triumphal, emphasizing endurance rather than conquest.

Tonight is the first performance by the Billings Symphony of any William Grant Still work.

SAMUEL BARBER (1910–1981)
Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (1947)

Samuel Barber was an American composer known for his lyrical style and close attention to text and melody. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he trained as both a composer and baritone, and his music quickly gained wide acceptance in the United States and abroad. Barber remained largely independent of mid-century experimental movements, instead developing a personal language grounded in tonal harmony and expressive clarity.

Knoxville: Summer of 1915 was composed in 1947 for soprano and orchestra and sets a prose excerpt by the American writer James Agee. The text recalls a child’s impressions of a summer evening in Knoxville, Tennessee, focusing on family life, ordinary routines, and the gradual onset of night. Barber encountered the passage shortly after the death of his father, and while the work has autobiographical resonance, it avoids overt narrative or dramatic gesture.

The music unfolds in a single, continuous movement. Barber mirrors the conversational rhythm of Agee’s prose through flexible vocal lines and transparent orchestration. Shifts in tempo and texture follow changes in the text, moving between gentle lyricism and moments of quiet unease. The orchestral writing remains restrained, supporting the voice without drawing attention away from the words.

The Billings Symphony’s sole performance of Barber’s musical portrait of childhood was in March 1993 with soprano Irene Gubrud and guest conductor Murray Gross.

EDWARD ELGAR (1857–1899)
Enigma Variations (Variations on an Original Theme) (1898-1899)

Like Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, this work has a familiar title different from the one given by the composer. Elgar began his Variations on an Original Theme in the fall of 1898 and it was completed in February of 1899. It was first performed in June of that year, and in the weeks following the premiere Elgar made some revisions and expanded the finale. As he was preparing to send the manuscript to his publisher so that orchestral parts could be prepared for the first performance, Elgar added the word “Enigma” above the first statement of the theme. That designation soon attached itself to the entire work, eclipsing its true title.

The work consists of a theme, thirteen variations, and a finale. To avoid ending with the unlucky thirteen, Elgar called the finale a fourteenth variation. (Two additional variations had been discarded early in the compositional process.) Most of the variations are headed with the initials or nickname of one of Elgar’s friends; the work as a whole is dedicated to “my friends pictured within.” This was the first enigma the composer set for the concertgoer: to identify the persons pictured. These puzzles were solved relatively easily, although they were not widely published until after the composer’s death in 1934. A second enigma was the meaning of the theme itself. In one of his later choral works Elgar quoted the theme in a passage illustrating the loneliness of the creative artist; this seems to be an acceptable explanation. The third enigma has never been satisfactorily solved. Elgar stated it in his program notes for the first performance:

“The enigma I will not explain—its ‘dark saying’ must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the apparent connection between the Variations and the Theme is often of the slightest texture; further, through and over the whole set another and larger theme ‘goes,’ but is not played… So the principal Theme never appears, even as in some late dramas … the chief character is never on the stage.”

Tune detectives immediately set to work to find a melody that would fit as a counterpoint to Elgar’s theme. Tunes from Wagner, Mozart, Chopin, and Leoncavallo were tried with varying levels of success; familiar songs like “God Save the Queen,” “Pop Goes the Weasel,” “Rule, Britannia,” and “Auld Lang Syne” were proposed. Others suggested that Elgar had not meant a musical theme, but rather a theme in the literary or philosophical sense: a central idea—Friendship, perhaps, or Bach, or St. Paul. It has even been suggested that since Elgar was fond of puzzles and practical jokes, perhaps the answer is that there never was a hidden theme at all! It makes for entertaining speculation but has little ultimate effect on the listener’s enjoyment of the music.

While Variation X (“Nimrod”) has been often been used as a memorial, the complete Variations have only been performed twice by the Billings Symphony—in March 1994, under the baton of Maestro Uri Barnea, and in January 2012, under the baton of Maestra Anne Harrigan.

The concert will showcase 80 minutes of music and will include a 20-minute intermission.

Whenever you want! Seriously, the tradition of clapping only at the end of pieces was only for a short time in the history of music. Typically, people like to clap after a great solo in a jazz tune, an impressive dance move, or after a great movement (section) in a symphony. If you really like a piece, clap at the end of the movement and yell "encore" if you want to hear more. (We love playing encores!)

Reserved Seating:

Tier 1 ticket - $80
Tier 2 ticket - $73
Tier 3 ticket - $64
Tier 4 ticket $48

Under 30/Student:

Tier 2 ticket - $42
Tier 3 ticket - $37
Tier 4 ticket - $27

*all ticket prices do not include box office fees

Tickets start at $48 for adults and go up to $80 based on the seat location. The least expensive seats are in the back of the balcony and the front row closest to the stage.

Here are some other helpful tips you should keep in mind:

• New this year, we've introduced the Young Friends Program to eliminate barriers for younger audience members.
• Interested in additional savings? Buy a subscription! Contact us at 406-252-3610 or visit our offices at 2820 2nd Avenue North and we'd be more than happy to find the best deal for you. Subscriptions for our 2026–2027 season are available!
• If you’re a student, veteran, or active duty military, be sure to bring your student/VA/Military ID for great discounts!

Third-party tickets are not accepted. All tickets must be purchased through the Alberta Bair Theater Box Office.

More than anything, we want you to have fun and express your own style when you come to the Billings Symphony, so dress in a way that works for you. Some people love dressing up and going out—if that’s you, do it and you won’t be the only one, we promise. If you prefer to be more casual, then you probably won’t be the only one dressed casually, either. In short, you do you, and we’re just glad you’re joining us.

On-Street Parking

On City streets, there is both metered parking and posted parking. Metered parking times range from 2 hours to 10 hours and is free after 5 pm and on weekends.

There are two free handicap parking spots on the corner of North Broadway in front of U.S. Bank.

Garages

Park 1
Credit/Debit Cards Only. Located at 2912 Third Avenue North and is open to the public 24-hours per day – the office is open Monday through Friday, from 10:30am-6:30pm. There is free parking on Sundays.

Park 2
Credit/Debit Cards Only. Located at 2651 First Avenue North, Park 2 is open to patrons 24-hours per day – the office is open from 7:15am – 11:00pm, Monday through Saturday.

Park 3
Accepts Cash. Located adjacent to City Hall at 210 North 27th Street and is open 7am-11pm – the office is open Monday through Friday from 10:30am – 6:30pm. There is free parking on Sundays.

Park 4
Located at 515 North 31st Street. The garage and office are open only Monday through Friday from 5:30am – 9:30pm. After 9:30pm, parkers are unable to remove their vehicles from the garage.