Under the baton of David Neely, the UMD Symphony Orchestra opens its season with Valerie Coleman’s Umoja, Pavel Haas’ Study for String Orchestra and Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5. “Umoja” means unity in Swahili, and is one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra and performed at Carnegie Hall in 2019, Coleman’s composition is ethereal while also beautifully simple. A call for peace, it advocates for unity through social justice in the face of racism and hatred. “Now more than ever, Umoja has to ring as a strong and beautiful anthem for the world we live in today,” said Coleman.

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