Dvořák Project

Group of nine diverse musicians holding string instruments, smiling, in an indoor setting.
“Audience members were visibly moved, many wiping away tears as the music’s beauty and message resonated deeply.”
— Kathy Wallis, Beaches Fine Arts Series

Cultural Crossroads: Dvořák in America

Cultural Crossroads: Dvořák in America is a live concert experience that explores the Black and Indigenous musical influences on Antonín Dvořák during his years in the United States. The program interweaves original Native American melodies, moving African American spirituals, and Dvořák’s most beloved chamber works, enriched with storytelling, video, and imagery to create a powerful multimedia experience. With its stellar cast of musicians, Cultural Crossroads invites deep audience engagement—entertaining, educating, and inspiring, all sparked by the curiosity of a Czech composer more than a century ago.

Musicians playing string instruments during a live performance, with a conductor standing in the center and singers in the background.

Touring Ensemble

Cultural Crossroads: Dvořák in America brings together eight world‑class artists for international touring:

Ciompi Quartet

Duke University's resident string quartet

Choose a Featured Vocalist

Robert Sims

Lyric Baritone

OR

Kenneth Kellogg

Bass

R. Carlos Nakai

Native American flute

Will Clipman

Percussion

Pamela Freund-Striplen

Viola

Now available for international touring.

For booking and scheduling, please contact:
pamela@pfsmusic.org

A new Czech-American collaboration

A group of five people, four men and one woman, posing with musical instruments against a wooden wall. One man holds a drum with a red handprint design, another holds a flute, and the woman is seated with a violin. The people are dressed in traditional and formal attire.
A group of five people, four men and one woman, posing with musical instruments against a wooden wall. One man holds a drum with a red handprint design, another holds a flute, and the woman is seated with a violin. The people are dressed in traditional and formal attire.

This December we travel to Dvořák’s homeland for three concerts—in the Antonín Dvořák Museum and Liechtenstein Palace in Prague, and the Antonín Dvořák Memorial in Vysoká u Příbramě—in a special collaboration with the Stamic Quartet and four of our American musicians. Together we’ll bring the American musical influences that shaped Dvořák back to his country of birth, completing the circle of this transatlantic story.

Four men in tuxedos holding string instruments in a brightly lit room with large windows and empty chairs in the background.

Performances & Media

Cultural Crossroads: Dvořák in America

Media

Upcoming U.S. Performances & Outreach

FEBRUARY 3, 2027
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA

Outreach program, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library

FEBRUARY 4, 2027
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA

Concert, Sinclair Auditorium

FEBRUARY 6, 2027
OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS

Concert, Polsky Theatre, Midwest Trust Center

Selected Past Performances

  • Washington, DC – National Gallery of Art

  • North Carolina – Duke Arts, Baldwin Hall, Raleigh

  • South Carolina – Brooks Center for the Fine Arts, Clemson

  • Illinois – Eastern Illinois University, Dvořák Hall, Charleston

  • Florida – Beaches Fine Arts, Jacksonville

  • Arizona – Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix

  • Arizona – Tempe Center for the Arts, Tempe

  • California – Ohlone Hall, Pleasanton

  • California – Gualala Arts Center, Gualala

  • California – Gold Coast Chamber Players, Lafayette

Illustration of a violin, a vase, and a flute.

Archival video

Cultural Crossroads: Dvorak in America results from decades of research and development. Special thanks to the musicians whose meaningful contributions during the global pandemic and beyond helped to shape the project. We thank Soprano Michele Kennedy, the Alexander String Quartet, and Native flutist Mary Youngblood (featured in the archival video) for their artistry and fundamental discussions.

Archival Projects

Unique programming was a signature of the Gold Coast Chamber Players and earned GCCP awards such as Best East Bay Concert Series and the Arts and Culture Award for Contra Costa County. Take a look back at some of these archival projects developed by Pamela Freund-Striplen.