Peter Jonatan & Metropole Orkest - Psalms Symphony (2024)

It must be quite a feeling as a composer, getting handed the keys to one of Europe’s finest large ensembles, the Metropole Orkest, founded in 1945, with project credits ranging from Dizzy Gillespie to Bono to Louis Cole. For Jakarta-born, Boston-based Peter Jonatan, who’s long been drawn to hybrid forms of jazz and classical music, the Metropole is the gold standard (and Vince Mendoza, its former director, a major artistic influence). Composing a full-length symphony for a group so highly regarded was no doubt like a dream. In more practical terms, it was also the culmination of years of study at Berklee and an MM and DMA from New England Conservatory (both these famed institutions now employ Dr. Jonatan on faculty).