The 20 local students in the Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando music education initiative performed for more than 125 attendees during their annual year-end recital on the evening of Monday, May 20, at Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville.

Nashville Symphony Director of Education and Community Engagement Walter Bitner opened the event by welcoming guests, which included students’ families and instructors, as well as Symphony president and CEO Alan D. Valentine and COO Steve Brosvik. The recital featured 16 solo performances and two duets, with the students showcasing works by Bach, Brahms, Haydn, Copland and more. A reception for students and guests, sponsored and hosted by Kathy Olsen, followed the recital.

Launched in 2015, with lead funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Accelerando seeks to shape the future of American orchestras by providing opportunities for students of diverse ethnic backgrounds to pursue serious music study. The students currently in the program were selected from an extensive pool of applicants, and each receives intensive instruction from Nashville Symphony musicians, along with other educational resources, including the opportunity to participate in master classes and performance juries.

Many of the students enrolled in Acclerando will be participating in festivals and camps this summer, including Blair School of Music Summer Orchestral Institute, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Curtis Summer Institute, Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts and Youth Orchestras of LA Take a Stand Festival.

The fourth class of Accelerando will be announced this August.

The full recital program, bios for all students and performance photos are available on Dropbox here. All photos should be credited to LeXander Bryant/Nashville Symphony.