Ellington, Strayhorn & Gershwin

November 6 – 8, 2026

Friday
November 06, 2026
7:30pm

Saturday
November 07, 2026
7:30pm

Sunday
November 08, 2026
2:00pm

Join the DSO and pianist Lara Downes for a celebration of Duke Ellington’s and Billy Strayhorn’s virtuosic compositions and enduring legacy.

William Eddins Conducts 
Lara Downes Piano

Beginning with an impromptu backstage audition, the 30-year collaboration between Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn bore some of the best jazz music of all time and helped shape the sound and spirit of modern jazz as we know it today. Experience the brilliance of symphonic jazz classics with trail-blazing pianist Lara Downes in a celebration of Ellington’s and Strayhorn’s virtuosic compositions. Featuring renditions of “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing,” “Strange Feeling,” “Night Creature” and “Something to Live For,” plus some favorite Gershwin overtures, this concert will leave you brimming with the vitality of the 1940s Harlem jazz scene.

The DSO Pops Series is generously sponsored by


Featuring

William Eddins

Conductor

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Lara Downes

Piano

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