Centering voices of resistance and cultural continuity, this program explores the act of dreaming as a form of defiance.  

Leilehua Lanzilotti‘s of light and stone (West Coast premiere) draws on the legacy of Nā Lani ʻEhā—the “Heavenly Four” of Hawaiian royalty—to honor Indigenous Hawaiian identity, gathering, and the enduring power of cultural lineage. 

James Lee III‘s Shades of Unbroken Dreams (West Coast premiere), featuring pianist Alexandra Dariescu, channels the cadence and moral force of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, reflecting on justice, equality, and perseverance. 

Sarah Hennies‘s Festival Creative Lab Commission (world premiere) will use the large-scale forces of the orchestra to evoke the complexities of human brain activity, drawing on psychological and musical studies related to existence, identity, and memory. The Creative Lab, now in its third year, empowers composers to reimagine the orchestral experience with wide curatorial latitude.