Acclaimed Cellist Joshua Roman

The concert features his composition, “Awakening,” Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, and more.

The Asheville Symphony presents “Masterworks 6: Fate” on Saturday, April 12, 2025, featuring performances at 2 and 8 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Asheville. Under the baton of Music Director Darko Butorac, this program delves into the themes of fate, destiny, and inevitability through works by Verdi, Tchaikovsky, and soloist Joshua Roman.

The concert opens with Verdi’s “Overture from La forza del destino,” a dramatic introduction to an opera that explores destiny’s unyielding power. The program continues with “Awakening,” a cello concerto composed and performed by celebrated cellist Joshua Roman. This deeply personal work reflects on a journey from darkness and anger to renewal and affirmation, mirroring Roman’s own transformation through music and connection.

Roman has been hailed for his “effortlessly expressive tone…and playful zest for exploration” (New York Times), as well as his “extraordinary technical and musical gifts” and “blend of precision and almost improvisatory freedom… that goes straight to the heart” (San Francisco Chronicle). His genre-bending programs have grown out of an “enthusiasm for musical evolution that is as contagious as his love for the classics” (Seattle Times).

Roman has collaborated with such artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, DJ Spooky, Tony-winner/MacArthur Genius Bill T. Jones, Grammy Award-winning East African vocalist Somi, and Tony Award-nominated actor Anna Deavere Smith.

The program concludes with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, a work imbued with emotional intensity and introspective depth. The symphony’s recurring theme is often interpreted as the call of fate itself, woven throughout each movement in a powerful journey.

Leading up to the performances, the Asheville Symphony will host a Symphony Talk with Joshua Roman and Darko Butorac on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at 3 p.m. in the Chapel at the First Baptist Church of Asheville. This free event offers audiences insight into the program and the artistic process behind “Awakening.”

Tickets for “Masterworks 6: Fate” start at $25 for adults and $15 for youth. To purchase, visit ashevillesymphony.org/event/masterworks-6-fate, call the Asheville Symphony box office at (828) 254-7046, or stop by the box office at 27 College St., Suite 100, Asheville, NC. Box office hours are Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.AshevilleSymphony.org.

“Masterworks 6: Fate” is made possible through the generous support of Concert Sponsors David and Pamela Lane and Guest Artist Sponsors Phil and Kate Osborn.