On April 26, the Frost Symphony Orchestra will take the stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center for An Evening of Masterpieces and a Piano Concerto featuring the U.S. premiere of Jorge Mejia’s “If These Walls Could Talk”.
The Frost alum and Latin Grammy-nominated composer will also perform the piece under the direction of acclaimed conductor Gerard Schwarz, who has spent decades leading orchestras and premiering new works.
Mejia’s return to the stage with the Frost School of Music is more than just another performance. As a former student performing his own work alongside the university’s orchestra on a major stage, it is a full-circle moment.
After Mejia played the work internationally in countries like Spain, Uruguay and Colombia, he brings it back to the city that inspired it.
“I’ve played this piece all over, and now the U.S. premiere is here in Miami with my alma mater,” he said.
The piece itself is deeply rooted in Miami.
Mejia said the inspiration came from a 1920s apartment building on Collins Avenue where he once lived. Sitting in his apartment, he wondered about the lives that passed through the space, from the devastation of the Great Miami Hurricane to the area’s transformation over decades.
That curiosity became the foundation for the concerto.
“I wondered about all the people who would have lived there, what their stories would be,” Mejia said.
The result is a three-movement work that blends history, imagination and personal reflection, turning a single building into a larger story about Miami itself.
Mejia’s approach to composing is as intuitive as the idea behind the piece. Rather than with a strict structure, he begins at the piano.
“I think of an idea in my head and then I start improvising, and it flows into the next part,” he said.
That process allows the music to evolve organically, something Mejia hopes audiences can feel when they listen.
More than anything, he wants the music to emotionally connect with people, even to those who may not typically listen to classical music.
The upcoming performance also highlights the Frost School of Music’s broader mission of blending tradition with innovation.
Schwarz said the piece reflects a shift in how classical music is being approached today.
“This is something we at the school do, bringing together classical and more popular forms,” Schwarz said.
He emphasized that modern musicians must go beyond technical skill, learning how to engage audiences and adapt to a changing industry.
“Playing great isn’t necessarily enough anymore,” Schwarz said.
As the orchestra prepares for the performance, both Mejia and Schwarz point to one constant amid changes in the music industry: the power of live performance.
Schwarz said that while new technology once led people to believe audiences would stop attending concerts, the opposite has happened.
“There’s no substitute for hearing great music in a concert hall, the immediacy, the thrill, the way it can touch you,” he said.
For Mejia, that connection between performer, music and audience is exactly what he hopes people take away from the night.
The release of “If These Walls Could Talk” will extend beyond the stage. A recording of the orchestral version, featuring the London Symphony Orchestra, is set to be released on Apple Music Classical on April 24, just days before the concert.