Mysterious Landscapes
Every journey starts with a single step. Or in Doreen Carwithen’s case, One Damn Thing After Another. Her exhilarating concert overture ODTAA opens our season at full stride, all momentum and mischief. Then the spotlight turns to the newest voice on our stage: Caroline Su, the winner of CCS’s Novik Competition, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto in B-flat Major, No. 15, K. 450 with Capital City Symphony, under the baton of Maestra Gau.
From there, we climb. New Zealand composer Maria Grenfell’s River Mountain Sky paints the natural world in shimmering orchestral color, and Alan Hovhaness’s beloved Symphony No. 2, Mysterious Mountain, closes the evening in radiant stillness, as Hovhaness says, “reaching toward something higher than ourselves.”
Date & Time
Sunday, October 4, 2026 | 5:00–7:15 PM (15-minute intermission)
Location
Atlas Performing Arts Center - Lang Theatre (View map)
Tickets
General Admission $35 | Ages 16 and under FREE | All Ages
Program
Doreen Carwithen, ODTAA (One Damn Thing After Another)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 15 in B-flat major, K. 450
Maria Grenfell, River Mountain Sky
Alan Hovhaness, Symphony No. 2, “Mysterious Mountain”
Conductor & Artistic Director
Victoria Gau
Now in her 29th season leading Capital City Symphony, conductor Victoria Gau has been praised for her “strong sense of style and drama” by The Washington Post. She is also Artistic Director of Cantate, where she conducts the Cantate Chamber Singers and Concert Choir, and previously served for nine years as Associate Conductor of National Philharmonic.
A passionate advocate for American composers, particularly female and BIPOC composers, Gau is equally committed to supporting emerging artists. She founded Cantate’s Young Artists of Color program, now expanded as Lift Every Voice, and continues to champion young composers and performers through Cantate and CCS partnerships.
Her guest-conducting work includes the Alexandria and Akron Symphonies, Columbia Symphony, Friday Morning Music Club Orchestra, Open Page Ensemble, and the Kennedy Center Messiah Sing-Along. In 2025, she led performances of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms in Paris, and in May 2026 she made her Carnegie Hall debut conducting Brahms’ Schicksalslied. She holds degrees in Viola Performance and Conducting from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Featured Soloist
Caroline Su
Caroline Su, 17, is a senior at McLean High School in McLean, Virginia. She studies with Dr. Martin Labazevitch. Previously, she studied with Lisa Emenheiser Sarratt. She is a 2026 Davidson Fellow in Music and a 2025-26 National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellow enrolled in the chamber music program. Caroline was the alternate winner of the 2026 MTNA Southern Division Senior Piano Competition and first-place winner of the MTNA VA state competitions in 2022, 2023, and 2025. She won first prize and the Betty Sekhri Special Award at the 2026 WMTA Ylda Novik Memorial Concerto Competition. Other recent accolades include second prize and the Carnegie Hall Performance Award at the 2026 Thomas Hulbert International Young Artist Competition, third prize at the 2025 MostArts Festival Young Pianist Competition, first prize at the 2025 Lichtenberg Competition, first prize at the 2025 Enkor International Piano Competition, and first prize at the NVMTA Achievement Awards four times.
Caroline made her concerto debut in July 2025 with the MostArts Festival Orchestra in Alfred, New York, and gave a solo recital at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C., in June 2026. Caroline has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Hungarian Embassy, the National Institutes of Health, and the 2024 PYPA Soirée Series. She has attended the Southeastern Piano Festival, the Berkshire Piano Academy, the Philadelphia Young Pianists' Academy, and the Indiana University Piano Academy. Outside of music, Caroline enjoys volunteering and serves as Editor-in-Chief of her school magazine.
Venue
Atlas Performing Arts Center - Lang Theatre
This performance takes place at Atlas Performing Arts Center - Lang Theatre, an inviting venue where creativity meets community.
Filled with energy, imagination, and heroism, this lively program invites all to experience the joy of music together.