"Marin Leads Rachmaninoff and Schumann" March 20 - 22 in Marian Anderson Hall

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- As we celebrate Women's History Month, we take you to the Philadelphia Orchestra, set to perform this month under the baton of Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop, who's on a mission to mentor and support other women in music.

"I'm really looking forward to this program. It's got something for everyone," says Alsop.

"Marin Leads Rachmaninoff and Schumann" will be at the Kimmel's Marian Anderson Hall March 20 - 22.

The ensemble will perform three works, starting with a Philadelphia premiere by a Ukrainian female composer named Iryna Aleksiychuk, who Alsop says, "had to flee her country."

"The name of the work is 'Go Where the Wind Takes You,'" says Aleksiychuk, also a professor at the National Academy of Music of Ukraine. "This piece is deeply autobiographical."

She says she left Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, in March of 2022.

The piece was commissioned by Classical Movements and the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, an organization Alsop co-created in 2002, along with her nonmusical mentor, Tomio Taki.

"The idea was to create opportunities for women," says Alsop. "Today we have well over 60 women in this fellowship."

Aleksiychuk says it "creates immense emotional weight for me."

"It represents solidarity. It represents cultural support," she says.

"Go Where the Wind Takes You" starts with a poem by Olena Stepanenko, a Ukrainian woman poet and friend of Aleksiychuk.

"It speaks about resilience, memory, sisterhood and the ability to endure," says Aleksiychuk.

The work is followed by a concerto, featuring pianist Haochen Zhang.

"He's playing Rachmaninoff's Paganini Variations," says Alsop. "It's extremely virtuosic, extremely varied."

The program finishes with a bang with Robert Schumann's Second Symphony.

"It's the story of triumph over adversity and absolutely beautiful symphony," says Alsop. "I can't wait to share these three fantastic works with the audiences in Philadelphia."

"Marin Leads Rachmaninoff and Schumann" will take place March 20 - 22 in the Kimmel's Marian Anderson Hall.

For more information:
Philadelphia Orchestra - "Marin Leads Rachmaninoff and Schumann"
Link to Tickets at Marian Anderson Hall

Marian Anderson Hall (located inside the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts)
300 S. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102