Simple Gifts: Living Inside The American Story

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - On June 6, 2026, the Toledo Symphony will perform Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring and other landmark works of American music at the Toledo Museum of Art's Peristyle. The concert is co-sponsored by Miller Diversified and the Bowling Green State University College of Musical Arts in celebration of America's 250th anniversary.

The partnership reflects a shared and deep-rooted sense of place in the unfolding of American history, as each organization has witnessed so much of the American story:

Together, these institutions have witnessed much of Northwest Ohio’s modern story and have seen nearly half of the nation’s entire lifetime.

Live Arts Toledo is promoting the June 6 event as “a layered portrait of the American sound,” and attendees will be treated to a melody that they most likely already know.

“Copland’s Appalachian Spring is centered around the old Shaker song ‘Simple Gifts,’ and that song has always resonated with me,” said Jerry Miller, Vice President of Miller Diversified. “The simple gifts are the ones that mean the most, and one of those simple gifts is enjoying fellowship through the shared experience of music.”

“We are excited to be sponsoring this program because it asks a very American question," said Miller Diversified’s Director of Business Development, Chris Murphy, who earned his Doctorate in Musical Arts at the Bowling Green State University College of Musical Arts, and is on the board at Live Arts Toledo. "What does it sound like to feel the challenges of our American story and to also find hope at the same time? We hope guests will come to explore this question with us. The pieces you’ll hear at this event really describe what it has felt like to be living inside the American story."

“This story is so much bigger than we are,” Miller said. “We’re small threads that are woven throughout the tapestry of history, and the music you will hear at this event is very much the embodiment of that sentiment.”

What makes the June 6 event more than a concert is the weight of history behind every name on the marquee: A ballet composed for the incomparable dancer Martha Graham in the shadow of World War II, when devastated Americans needed to hear it most. An orchestra born from the same cultural hunger that Copland's music was written to feed. A university planted in a newly drained swamp to educate a growing region. A family greenhouse operation that diversified and expanded to meet community needs across the course of its 100+ years in business.

On June 6, 2026 at 8:00 PM, these parallel threads converge at the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle, reflecting a piece of living history within the American tapestry.