Johns Creek Symphony launches season with storytelling through Clinton and Elgar | EarRelevant

Holly Mulcahy shines as solo violinist in Clinton’s ‘Rose of Sonora.’

CONCERT REVIEW:

Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra
September 20, 2025
Mt. Pisgah Church
Johns Creek, Georgia – USA
Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra; Henry Cheng, conductor; Holly Mulcahy, violin; George S. Clinton, narrator; men of the Michael O’Neal Singers (Michael O’Neal, director).
George S. CLINTON: The Rose of Sonora
Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations

Howard Wershil | 23 SEP 2025

On Saturday evening, the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra provided a sparkling launch to their 2025-2026 season with newly-appointed music director Henry Cheng introducing us to their current season’s identifier, “Imagine,” an invitation, in maestro Cheng’s own words, to “imagine what an orchestra can be when it listens as deeply as it performs, when it celebrates both tradition and transformation, and when it belongs not just to the stage, but to the city around it.”

This 19th season marks several evolutionary milestones for the symphony, including its Symphony For Every Student initiative, which allows children and students with valid IDs to attend all symphony concerts free of charge. In addition, the JCSO has been invited to Vietnam to perform a mixture of American and Vietnamese music in conjunction with the country’s celebration of its 30th Anniversary of Normalized Diplomatic Relations with the United States. Exciting to see the symphony’s star rising!

JCSO music director Henry Cheng.

We’re also excited to experience the vision and creativity Henry Cheng will bring to the progress of the JCSO. As a superb conductor, accomplished composer, and musician comfortable with a broad spectrum of music genres, we can certainly “Imagine” wonderful events unfolding. Preceding the evening’s events, videos were presented in which Cheng answered various questions about his background and experience.

When asked to share a musical selection he found particularly impactful in his life, his surprising answer was “Yesterday” by The Beatles, and he expounded on the music’s contrasting expressions of loss and hopefulness, as well as their connection to its musicality. Such an unorthodox answer, for me, highlighted the gifts of a musician fully capable of identifying valuable aspects in all forms of musical expression and affording them all their due appreciation. I can assure you that, in future concerts, we have some unexpected treats in store. An evil sense of mischief and anticipation prevents me from providing any reveals. You’ll just have to stay tuned.

This evening featured two musical performances, both of which fit snugly into the evening’s theme of musical storytelling.

George S. Clinton.

Composer George S. Clinton, present for the narration of his work, is best known as a film score composer, having penned music for such popular films as the Austin Powers series, the Santa Clause sequels, Mortal Kombat 1 and 2, and the Emmy Award-winning Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee.

On Saturday, we enjoyed a different side of his compositional talents with the 5-movement violin concerto, The Rose of Sonora, which tells the story of gold-thief Rose, her romantic involvements with criminal Jed, their tragic adventures, and her eventual triumph and loss. Before each movement, the composer provided plot narration, with the succeeding music inviting the audience to create the accompanying movie in their mind’s eye. This concerto came about on the request of violinist Holly Mulcahy for a piece written in the style of a Western epic film.

Mission accomplished!

Talented violinist Holly Mulcahy, currently concertmaster of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, proved to be an excellent conduit for providing the story. Throughout each movement, Holly’s performance offered a strong voice and a substantive sonic narrative. Her efforts were well-supported by the JCSO’s polished performance and Henry Cheng’s spirited conducting. Joining the production was a chorus consisting of the male members of the Michael O’Neal Singers. Their well-timed interjections added greater life to an already vivid musical canvas.

Each movement of the concerto ably displayed contrasting moods and emotions, from action to suspense to romance and more, all contributing to a fulfilling sonic narrative. Here and there, various clever musical techniques were employed: French horn and trumpet joining in the violin’s narrative; odd-length phrases creating suspense and anticipation; a sensitive tremolo-glissando indicating a character’s struggle; strategically placed percussive events emulating deadly gunshots; each one enhancing the effectiveness of an imaginary sonic narrative. Every nuance and detail contributed to making the story of The Rose of Sonora a most enjoyable experience, broad, lighthearted, dramatic, energetic, and well worth the price of admission!

The next and final performance on the concert, Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, is one of those items of classical music that, somehow, I never found the opportunity to hear in its entirety—an enigma in itself, I suppose, for someone with my training and background, but a topic best saved for discussion on another occasion, to be sure. That said, I am grateful for this evening’s opportunity.

The piece consists of 14 movements (13 variations on a main theme presented in the first movement), each of which Elgar connects with various individuals in his life. The JCSO’s use of information projection during a performance, also used in The Rose of Sonora, was a benefit I found to be invaluable. With these projections, accompanying each movement, we learn a bit extra about the piece, allowing us to enjoy and appreciate it even more.

In conductor Henry Cheng’s introduction to the performance, we learn that Elgar, who was known to suffer from depression, composed this piece at a low point in his life, one where he contemplated his very future as a musician; yet chose hope, instead of despair, offering us, with Enigma Variations, a sonic, kaleidoscopic glimpse into his impressions of the lives of his surrounding friends, loves, and supporters.

Each movement of the piece is a new mood, a personal perspective, a different, innovative treatment of a simple and noble theme. The JCSO provided a performance of extreme clarity and great sensitivity. Anyone hearing this piece for the first time experienced the music’s full majesty shining through brilliantly in the hands of Henry Cheng and the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra.

Everyone and everything has a story to tell, and every symphony orchestra has a story to tell as well. I do hope you’ll be joining the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra in their current season to hear the rest of the story! I hear it’s indeed well worth the read. 😉 ■

EXTERNAL LINKS:

Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra: johnscreeksymphony.org
Henry Cheng: henrycheng.com
Holly Mulcahy: hollymulcahy.com
George S Clinton: hollywoodelitecomposers.com/GeorgeClinton.html

About the author:

Howard Wershil is an Atlanta-based contemporary music composer interested in a wide variety of genres from classical to cinematic to new age to pop and rock and roll. You can find his music on Soundcloud and Bandcamp (howardwershil.bandcamp.com), and follow him on Facebook under Howard Wershil, Composer.

Read more by Howard Wershil.