The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra & Roof Above Bring
Community Voices to the State in Gabriel Kahane's
emergency shelter intake form
The Classical Series Finale Features a Chorus of Community Members Directly Affected by Homelessness or Housing Instability
May 15 & 16, 2026 | Knight Theater
May 5, 2026 | Charlotte, NC – The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO), in partnership with Roof Above, will present Gabriel Kahane’s emergency shelter intake form as the centerpiece of its season finale concert, Copland & Kahane, on May 15 & 16 at Knight Theater. Conducted by Music Director Kwamé Ryan, the performances mark the culmination of both the Charlotte Symphony’s season-long exploration of the meaning of “home” and Kahane’s tenure as the 2025–26 Spotlight Artist.
Commissioned by the Oregon Symphony in response to the growing housing crisis facing cities across the United States, emergency shelter intake form examines homelessness, displacement, and economic precarity through an oratorio-style work for voices and orchestra. Drawing on language from the shelter intake process, personal reflection, and poetry, the piece builds toward a final movement featuring a chorus of individuals directly affected by homelessness or housing instability.
In collaboration with Roof Above, the Charlotte Symphony has assembled a local chorus whose participation grounds the performance in lived experience. This partnership builds on an ongoing relationship between the two organizations, with CSO musicians regularly performing for neighbors, guests, and tenants at Roof Above’s ten housing, shelter, and service locations.
“Gabriel Kahane’s emergency shelter intake form is an extraordinarily powerful work that asks us to confront the realities of housing insecurity with empathy and humanity,” said Music Director Kwamé Ryan. “Those ideas become deeply personal through the voices of those in our community who have experienced these challenges firsthand.”
The performances will feature soloists Gabriel Kahane, Alicia Hall Moran, Holland Andrews, and Holcombe Waller alongside the Charlotte Symphony and community chorus. The program also includes Jennifer Higdon’s “SkyLine” from City Scape, written as a tribute to Atlanta's urban landscape, and Aaron Copland’s Suite from Appalachian Spring, which follows a young couple as they establish a homestead in rural Pennsylvania. Together the two works offer contrasting musical portraits of home.
The Saturday performance will be broadcast live on WDAV 89.9 and streamed at wdav.org. Radio host Fred Child — formally of American Public Media’s Performance Today — will host the broadcast live from the Knight Theater.
Pre-concert Talk
Fred Child will moderate a pre-concert talk with Music Director Kwamé Ryan, Gabriel Kahane, Roof Above CEO Liz Clasen-Kelly, and Roof Above volunteer and former shelter guest Harrison Ervin. The discussion will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Pre-Function Space at Knight Theater. Pre-concert talks are free and open to all ticket holders.
Tickets
Tickets start at $30 and are on sale now at charlottesymphony.org. For press tickets, contact Deirdre Roddin at droddin@charlottesymphony.org.
About the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is one of the premier music organizations in the Southeastern United States and the oldest continuously operating symphony orchestra in the Carolinas. As Charlotte's most active performing arts group, the CSO presents around 175 concerts each season, reaching more than 160,000 music lovers. The CSO is committed to its mission of igniting the human spirit through the passion and unifying power of live symphonic music. Led by Grammy Award-winning Music Director Kwamé Ryan, the CSO employs 65 professional full-time orchestra musicians, fosters four youth orchestras, and offers significant educational support aimed at serving the under-resourced areas of our community. Founded in 1932, the Charlotte Symphony plays a leading cultural role in the Charlotte area and serves the community as a civic leader, reflecting and uniting our region through the transformative power of live music.
Event Listing
Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
Copland & Kahane
Knight Theater
Friday, May 15, 2026, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 7:30 p.m.
Kwamé Ryan, conductor
Alicia Hall Moran, mezzo-soprano
Chorus of Inconvenient Statistics:
Gabriel Kahane
Holland Andrews
Holcombe Waller
Community Chorus:
Roof Above
The Charlotte Interdenominational Mass Choir
Jennifer HIGDON “SkyLine” from City Scape
Aaron COPLAND Suite from Appalachian Spring
Gabriel KAHANE emergency shelter intake form
All Programs and Artists are Subject to Change
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The Classical Series is presented by Bank of America.
Hi-res photography is available in the Charlotte Symphony’s photo gallery or by contacting Deirdre Roddin at droddin@charlottesymphony.org
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