Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia Some concert programs make sense before you hear a note played, their symmetries and affinities evident at a glance. With others you scratch your head and wonder what prompted a given combination. The concert played by the Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia at the school's John C. Borden Auditorium on Thursday evening fell into the second category, though not objectionably so. Karsten Moran for The New York Times Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia, conducted by George Manahan, played Virgil Thomson's score, "The Plow That Broke the Plains," with a screening of the film at the school's Borden Auditorium. You could perhaps argue that all the pieces shared a certain theatrical quality. Mozart evoked his operatic style in his "Prague" Symphony. "Come Up From the Fields Father," by Richard Danielpour, has a distinctly operatic feel. Stravinsky's Divertimento from "Le Baiser de la Fée" is parboiled ballet, and Virgil Thomson's film score "The Plow That Broke the Plains" has its cinematic grandeur. Whatever you made of the combination, the conductor George Manahan was the right man for the job: a seasoned leader with a flair for coordinating dramatic works, not least from his New York City Opera tenure. In the "Prague" Symphony he drew an appropriately weighty introduction from his young players; pert, springy outer movements framed a lissome Andante. Mr. Danielpour's work, inspired by photographs of soldiers recently killed in Iraq, affectingly set a Walt Whitman poem about a family informed of a son's death in the Civil War. Originally written for baritone, viola and piano, it was presented here in a version for baritone, cello and chamber orchestra. Mr. Danielpour has a knack for writing new music with old soul, and this was no exception. Punctuated with haunting cello solos played here by David Geber, the school's vice president for instrumental performance, the work aptly conveys the optimistic denial and racked realization of Whitman's text. Early in the 15-minute work repeated E flats evoke funereal drum taps; tension mounts to an anguished outburst, followed by a pensive conclusion. The baritone Thomas Hampson was an admirable advocate: his comportment dignified, his tone handsome and true into its higher reaches. The orchestra radiated assurance and passion, with Mr. Manahan maintaining a keen balance among the soloists and their accompaniment. Stravinsky's Tchaikovskian soufflé benefited from bubbly winds and sumptuous strings. The horns struggled mightily with treacherous parts during the Waltz but glowed in a finale that also featured brilliant work from Tobin Low, the principal cellist, and Christopher James, a flutist. The Thomson score, played with a screening of the 1936 Pare Lorentz film and narrated by Mr. Hampson, brought playful work from all corners of the ensemble, in particular Isaac Sharp on guitar and a bustling percussion section. But the clear star was Mr. Manahan, who kept the players tightly in sync with the film.