Join the Sydney University Symphony Orchestra for The Great and the Grand, conducted by Luke Spicer.

Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 2 draws on the Cuban dance tradition as it developed in Veracruz, Mexico. Inspired by a visit to a local dance hall, the piece builds through changing rhythms and dynamic contrasts, with a series of instrumental solos leading to a grand, driving close.

Ferdinand David’s Trombone Concertino is one of the few works by the composer still regularly performed. A colleague of Mendelssohn and concertmaster of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, David wrote the piece in a similar style, balancing lyrical passages with technical display. The solo will be performed by SUSO’s Principal Trombone, Alex Caban.

The concert concludes with Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 9, “The Great”. The title distinguishes it from another symphony in the same key, the “Little C”, though Schubert himself described it as ‘a grand symphony’ in a March 1824 letter. From the opening horn call to the final movement, the symphony unfolds with extended melodies, recurring rhythms, and a strong sense of momentum.

Saturday, 30 May 2026 | 7:00PM
Marrickville Town Hall
Luke Spicer - Conductor
Alex Caban - Trombone