The University Heights Symphonic Band will bring stories of history, power and human experience to life during its 2026 Spring Concert, “Tales of Power and Legacy,” set for Sunday, April 19 at 3:30 p.m. in the Dolan Center Atrium at John Carroll University.
Blending music with narrative, the concert is designed to guide audiences through themes of triumph and tragedy, heritage and honor, using a program that spans symphonic works, cinematic scores and traditional marches. The performance highlights music’s enduring ability to reflect the past while shaping how it is remembered.
For Devlin Pope, musical artistic director of the University Heights Symphonic Band, the program began not with a theme, but with the ensemble itself.
“To be honest, every season when I go to plan the repertoire for our musicians, it always starts with just a couple pieces that I think will really highlight the ensemble’s strengths,” Pope said. “This time around I chose Othello by Alfred Reed, Xerxes by John Mackey, the main theme from Downton Abbey, and the Sesquicentennial Exposition March by John Philip Sousa.”
From those initial selections, a larger idea began to emerge. Pope identified recurring elements across the works, dramatic and historical power, social influence and cultural legacy, which ultimately shaped the concert’s title.
“After deciding what these pieces had in common… there were some recurring themes,” Pope said. “So I decided to title the concert, ‘Tales of Power and Legacy.’”
The program features Reed’s Othello, a dramatic and emotionally charged interpretation of Shakespeare’s tragedy, alongside Mackey’s Xerxes, which draws listeners into a world of ancient legend. Sousa’s Sesquicentennial Exposition March adds a sense of grandeur and tradition, while the Downton Abbey theme offers a familiar, elegant connection to modern storytelling.
Additional selections expand the program’s narrative reach. Erik Morales’ Fable brings vivid, imaginative storytelling to the stage, while David Shaffer’s Miami Valley Anthology highlights regional identity and pride. The concert also includes Pavel Chesnokov’s Salvation Is Created, a piece known for its spiritual depth and reflective beauty.
After establishing the core works, Pope said the rest of the program came together by focusing on storytelling and shared human experience.
“Music often stems from the experiences we have as individuals and as a culture,” he said. “Many art forms and literature are based around heritage, culture, power and so on. After selecting the first pieces… I then went to find pieces that were more broad in the idea of storytelling and sharing different cultural or emotional experiences.”
The result is a program that moves seamlessly between powerful, regal moments and quieter, introspective passages. Yet Pope emphasized that the meaning of the concert ultimately lies with the audience.
“What’s amazing about art and music is that audiences can sit and listen to the same thing and all leave with something different,” he said. “I’m hoping that the audience experiences and leaves with a series of perspectives on how power is gained, expressed, challenged and remembered.”
Emotionally, Pope aims for the performance to take listeners on a wide-ranging journey.
“By the end of the concert, the audience should feel like they’ve experienced a range of human weight—awe and grandeur, tension and tragedy, reverence and stillness, nostalgia and reflection, and curiosity and introspection,” he said.
More than a traditional concert, “Tales of Power and Legacy” is intended as an immersive experience—one that encourages audiences to explore the stories behind the music long after the final note.
“Hopefully listening to these pieces inspires the listener to explore some of the stories attached,” Pope said. “If they do, they should learn and recognize one core message: power shapes the moment, but legacy shapes the memory.”
The performance is free and open to the public, offering the community an opportunity to experience an afternoon of meaningful and thought-provoking music.
