Her Voice
Friday, March 20, 2026
Over the years, the WSO has championed many American composers’ work. Among those have been our performances of music by Angélica Negrón,Caroline Shaw, and Sarah Kirkland Snider.
The piece at the center of this program, Blue Hour, is a combined effort by those three composers, plus librettist Carolyn Forché, composer Rachel Grimes, and vocalist/composer Shara Nova. This unique endeavor utilized the talents of these six artists to tell the story of a life as it inches closer to its final moments. We are deeply excited that Shara Nova, one of the composers and the original vocalist for the piece and its recording, will be with us in Wheeling for the entire week.
To complement the strings-only instrumentation of the Blue Hour, the WSO strings will be featured in Tchaikovsky’s iconic Serenade for Strings. The lush harmonies, waltzing melodies, and deep songfulness will delight our audiences whether the work is an old favorite, or brand-new to your ears.
Single tickets go on sale June 27 at 10 am. Subscriptions go on sale May 15.
For more information, contact the Wheeling Symphony Box Office at 304-232-6191 or boxoffice@wheelingsymphony.com.
Featuring
Shara Nova, vocalist
Shara Nova has released six chamber-pop albums under the moniker My Brightest Diamond; her newest album releases Sept. 2024 entitled “Fight The Real Terror.” Shara was an original member of the Broadway show “Illinoise” directed by Tony Award Winner (‘24) Justin Peck & co-written by Jackie Sibblies Drury. Composing works for choirs such as The Crossing, Conspirare, Roomful of Teeth, Detroit Women’s Chorus, as well as The Detroit Opera’s educational touring company, yMusic chamber ensemble, Oregon Symphony, Aarhus Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, American Composers Orchestra and the BBC Concert orchestra among others, her album “The Blue Hour” was released on Nonesuch records in the fall of 2022 and was listed in NPR’s top 10 albums of the year. Nova is a 3x Grammy nominee (‘23), an Opera America Discovery Grant awardee (‘24), a Kresge Arts fellow (‘12), a Carolina Performing Arts Creative Futures fellow (‘18-’21), a United States Artists fellow (‘15) and a Knights Grant recipient (‘18, ‘24).
John Devlin, conductor
Conductor John Gennaro Devlin, is an ardent champion of American music, an innovator of concert design, and a thought leader in the field of classical music. In his seventh season as Music Director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Devlin is only the ninth conductor in its 90-year history to hold that title. He was recently named a recipient of the 2023 Georg Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award. Devlin’s artistry and versatility make him a frequent guest conductor with major orchestras across the nation. His engagements include performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, and the American Repertory Ballet. Of his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra and violin soloist Joshua Bell, Anne Midgette of The Washington Post wrote that Devlin “led the evening with flair … and was visibly in his element.” A strong advocate for American music, Devlin has made it a programmatic focus and has premiered over 40 new American works. Committed to serving the wider arts community beyond the podium, Devlin is part of the six-member Conductor Constituency Leadership Team of the League of American Orchestras, advocating for conductors nationally. Previously, he served on the Conductors Guild’s Board of Directors and was a featured speaker at the organization’s annual conference, discussing the future of orchestras with the Executive Directors of the National and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras. He also delivered the keynote TED talk on “Innovation in Crowded Marketplaces” at a TEDx symposium. Devlin completed his master’s and doctoral degrees in orchestral conducting under the tutelage of James Ross at the University of Maryland. His undergraduate degree is from Emory University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a double major in Clarinet Performance and Latin.
