Joshua Roman is a cello soloist and composer, hailed for his “effortlessly expressive tone… and playful zest for exploration” (New York Times), as well as his “extraordinary technical and musical gifts” and “blend of precision and almost improvisatory freedom… that goes straight to the heart” (San Francisco Chronicle). His genre-bending programs and wide-ranging collaborations have grown out of an “enthusiasm for musical evolution that is as contagious as his love for the classics” (Seattle Times).

Committed to bringing Classical music to new audiences, Roman opened the acclaimed 2017 TED Conference, and his performance of the complete Bach Solo Cello Suites was the most-viewed event in the history of TED’s social channels, with nearly a million live viewers. Roman has collaborated with world-class artists across genres and disciplines, including Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, DJ Spooky, Tony-winner/MacArthur Genius Bill T. Jones, Grammy Award-winning East African vocalist Somi, and Tony Award-nominated actor Anna Deavere Smith.

Roman will join Asheville Symphony to play his original piece, Awakening, on the Masterworks 6: Fate program.

Roman writes of Awakening:

As I began to write my first cello concerto, I found myself asking one question over and over: What is the nature of the relationship between the cello and the orchestra? There are so many ways to deal with this question, and plenty of great answers from composers who have gone before. I wanted to find an answer that had a personal and honest meaning, so I began to look to my own relationships for inspiration. I quickly became attached to the idea that the cello could embody a protagonist who goes through the ups and downs of a finite relationship.

After sketching an outline and discovering a few moments in the piece, it became clear that there was one moment in particular that was driving the musical relationships in the work, and was bigger than the ascribed narrative. A moment of letting go, of getting out of the way and allowing something bigger to happen, then joining that movement with a renewed sense of purpose. As I realized this was an occurrence not only in the piece, but in my compositional process, I decided to embrace the new layer of metaphor and center my efforts around creating a space for this moment to bloom.

Within the piece, this happens by casting the voice of the cello as a force determined to create something unique. Not quite sure what this is, the cello is never entirely successful in its efforts to convince the orchestra to join in. All is not lost, though. There is the potential for harmony as beauty appears and the cello is enamored with romance. It is short-lived, and the passion of love is overtaken by the force of conflict, as the cello and orchestra battle to determine the direction of their energy. The inevitable and dramatic loss of companionship leaves the cello alone, and despairing even when joined by other instruments from the ensemble. It is only when the cello ceases its efforts entirely that the orchestra has room to blossom. At last, the cello recognizes the pulse that has been there all along, and joins in, scarred but with a new resolve to stay cognizant of the larger forces at play, and align with the flow.

Join us on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at the First Baptist Church of Asheville. Performances at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Click here for tickets or give our box office a call at (828) 254-7046.