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88 1. Enter, maestro! Fabio Luisi, the DSO's music director designate, takes command for the first time inside the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center (Thursday and Friday, April 18 and 19) to conduct Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, plus works from 20th-century Swiss composer Frank Martin and William Grant Still, known as "the Dean" of African-American composers. Luisi officially becomes the DSO's music director for the 2020/2021 season, so consider this a rarified preview of things to come. 2. Weighty topics. In an examination of racism and social justice in America, Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard (you may know him as the Academy Award- nominated composer for BlacKkKlansman) collaborates with Dallas visual artist Andrew Scott and choreographer Rennie Harris on a new work blending music, visual art, and dance set for Tuesday, April 9, at The Majestic Theatre. Prior to the performance of Caravan: A Revolution on the Road, Soluna, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, and the South Dallas Cultural Center will host a panel on art's role in affecting societal and political issues. 3. Two man-eating trolls. No, this isn't a fairy tale. Wednesday, April 10, ahead of the opening of the Dallas Art Fair, a pair of trolls will come to life at River Bend. They're the creation of Berlin conceptual artist Egill Saebjörnsson, whose man- eating trolls first made their appearance at the Icelandic pavilion during the 2017 Venice Biennale. When The Trolls Go Rolling In blends sculpture, painting, and video production in an imaginative live production. 4. The Pulitzer. We finally meet the DSO's new composer in residence, Pulitzer Prize-winning Julia Wolfe, at Moody Performance Hall Monday, April 15, when she debuts her oratorio, Anthracite Fields, a powerful composition that tells the history of the Northeastern Pennsylvania coal region. 5. A self-taught artist. Few artists in Soluna's lineup fascinate us more than Lonnie Holley. The self-taught artist was born in Birmingham, Alabama, during the Jim Crow era and has worked as a gravedigger, cotton picker, and short-order cook at Disney World. His totemic sculptures made of found objects have been on view at the White House, United Nations, and MASS MoCA. On Friday, April 19, Holley improvises a performance piece at the Dallas Museum of Art, incorporating the cello, piano, and percussion instruments as a method to directly converse with the DMA's exhibition "American Landscapes." 6. A dreamgirl. Saturday, April 20, Oscar- and Grammy- winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson performs with the DSO at the Meyerson in a soulful performance with guest conductor Sarah Hicks. Soluna has a history of pairing with contemporary superstars — from St. Vincent in 2015 to Pharrell in 2016 and Nas last year — so Hudson's appearance is the perfect moment of pop culture. A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT IN ITS FIFTH YEAR, SOLUNA REACHES NEW HEIGHTS, WITH A SOCIALLY CHARGED, BOUNDARY-BREAKING SCHEDULE THAT MIXES THE DYNAMIC WORLD OF MUSIC AND THE EXPANSIVE REALM OF VISUAL AND PERFORMANCE ARTS. HERE ARE SIX OF THE MOST ATTENTION-GRABBING PREMIERES FROM THE DSO'S MONTH-LONG MUSIC FESTIVAL. BY CHRISTINA GEYER Julia Wolfe Lonnie Holley