Johns Creek Symphony closes season with American works, LA Phil’s Tom Hooten as soloist

Mark Gresham | 13 MAY 2025

This past Saturday, the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra closed its 2024–25 season with a vibrant all-American program titled “A Kaleidoscope of American Music” at Johns Creek United Methodist Church. Conductor Paul Bhasin, one of three finalists in the orchestra’s concluding music director search, led the JCSO in a program that showcased music by George Gershwin, John Williams, Michael Kurth, and Bernard Herrmann.

The concert opened with George Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, a vibrant blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and sumptuous orchestration inspired by the composer’s 1932 visit to Havana. Bursting with bold energy, the piece featured driving syncopations, colorful percussion, and a buoyant spirit that set an exuberant tone for the evening.

Next, guest soloist Thomas Hooten, principal trumpet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, took center stage for John Williams’ Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra. Hooten, who has worked directly with Williams, brought a commanding blend of technical brilliance and lyrical sensitivity to the concerto. Originally composed in 1996 and later revised in 2003, the work moves far beyond cinematic conventions into a more abstract and personal musical language for the composer. Hooten navigated its angular passages and soaring lines with characteristic polish, delivering a performance that was both virtuosic and introspective.

In 2019, Hooten released a notable recording of Williams’ Concerto. This project, titled Hooten Plays Williams, was independently produced. The recording sessions took place in September 2018 at the Sony Pictures soundstage in California, with John Williams himself conducting a studio orchestra composed of members from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and seasoned Hollywood session musicians.

★ Read Mark Gresham’s interview with Tom Hooten here.

Thomas Hooten solos with the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra, May 10, 2025. (credit: Lisa Chapman)

Three contemporary works by Atlanta-based composer Michael Kurth opened the program’s second half. Kurth describes his music as “generally pretty accessible, melodic, and rhythmically exciting; you’ll probably hear the influence of pop music, especially in the drum grooves.” His works are almost always creatively titled.

Kurth composed Tempestuosity while staying on the Gulf Coast of Florida. As the title suggests, it describes a storm. The piece surged with kinetic energy. Nostalgicipation (a word Kurth made up that means looking forward to looking backward wistfully) was composed specifically for this concert, offering an elegiac contrast evoking a sense of yearning and reflection. Cautiously, We Emerged from Our Bunkers and, Squinting, Beheld the World We Once Knew, composed in the wake of the pandemic, traced a slow build from introspection to quiet triumph. “If I had to describe the music in one word,” says Kurth, “I’d probably say ‘hopeful.’”

Kurth fans should take note: his Violin Concerto will be premiered this coming Saturday afternoon (May 17) at Symphony Hall by the Georgia Philharmonic, led by Tamara Dworetz, with violinist Helen Hwaya Kim as soloist.

The evening concluded with a suite of Bernard Herrmann’s music from his iconic collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock. The sinister dissonances of Psycho, the swirling tension of Vertigo, and the propulsive brass and strings of North by Northwest reminded listeners of Herrmann’s status as one of the 20th century’s most influential film composers. Stripped of visuals, the suites stood on their own as tightly crafted and emotionally charged concert works.

As the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra looks toward a new chapter in its leadership, this season finale served as the final “audition” for Bhasin as one of the candidates vying for the post of Music Director along with Howard Hsu and Henry Cheng. JSCO will soon reveal its selection, and EarRelevant will be there to report the outcome when the orchestra reveals its selection. ■

EXTERNAL LINKS:

• Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra: johnscreeksymphony.org
• Paul Bhasin: music.emory.edu/people/biography/bhasin-paul.html
• Thomas Hooten: tomhooten.com

About the author:

Mark Gresham is publisher and principal writer of EarRelevant. He began writing as a music journalist over 30 years ago, but has been a composer of music much longer than that. He was the winner of an ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award for music journalism in 2003.

Read more by Mark Gresham.

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