SHREVEPORT, La. — The Shreveport Symphony Orchestra will open its 2026-27 Willis Knighton Health Signature Series on Sept. 19 with “London Sounds,” featuring Shreveport native and cellist John-Henry Crawford.
The 7:30 p.m. performance at Riverview Theater will feature three works that premiered in London. Crawford will join Music Director Michael Butterman as soloist for Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto.
Crawford began studying cello at age 5 at Shreveport’s Centenary Suzuki School before entering the Curtis Institute of Music at 15. He later earned a Master of Music from The Juilliard School and has developed an international career as a cellist.
Elgar composed his Cello Concerto after World War I. The program also includes Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 104, known as the “London” Symphony, which premiered in 1795 during Haydn’s second visit to the city and was his final symphony.
The orchestra will also perform the orchestral version of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Serenade to Music,” which premiered in London in 1938.
The program spans more than a century of music, with London serving as the connection among the three works.
“London Sounds” is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at Riverview Theater. Tickets start at $29.50, according to the Shreveport Symphony.