SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Symphoria, the professional symphony orchestra serving Central New York, announced that season tickets are on sale for its 2019-20 season. Symphoria’s seventh full season is “Music for You” with entertainment for everyone in 26 concerts, spread over five performance series: Masterworks, Casual, Pops, Spark and Kids, plus a special holiday “Messiah” concert. The season features stars such as pianists Orion Weiss and Natasha Paremski, violinist William Hagen and Cellist Julian Schwarz, along with the music of Hollywood classics such as “Back to the Future,” a tribute to Frank Sinatra, collaborations with local singing and dancing groups and more.
“Audiences can expect special things this season: diversity in the selections, many women composers, and many almost forgotten composers.”said Lawrence Loh, music director of Symphoria. New Symphoria executive director Pamela Murchison said, “Music is a great way to bring people together, and there is something in this season for everyone.”
The 2019-20 season opens Sept. 21 with the first of eight Masterworks concerts, performed at the Crouse-Hinds Theater, and will feature pianist Orion Weiss performing Brahms First Piano concerto in “All Brahms”. The series will showcase a number of notable performances including a Rachmaninoff Festival in November featuring virtuoso Russian pianist Natasha Paremski performing all four Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos over 2 nights. In February, “Ellis Island: The Dream of America.” A new work by Peter Boyer featuring the stories of immigrants will be performed and presented in collaboration with Syracuse Stage. The Masterworks series will conclude on May 14 with “Last Four Songs,” featuring music of soprano Sari Gruber in Strauss’ “Last Four Songs” and Copland’s triumphant “Symphony No. 3,” including the well-known “Fanfare for the Common Man”.
The Pops Series will include sevent concerts led by Principal Pops Conductor Sean O’Loughlin. O’Loughlin is considered a rising star in the music industry, having worked with artists such as Adele, Kelly Clarkson and Pentatonix. The series will feature exciting performances including Tony DeSare’s tribute to Frank Sinatra in October. A magical Holiday Pops performance returns with three performances Dec. 13 and 14. The orchestra will be joined by rising Broadway star and local talent vocalist Lizzie Klemperer, multipler choruses, dancers from local dance groups and more.
In February, Symphoria will performs a tribute to the music of the James Bond film franchise featuring vocalist David Curry. Violinist Lisa Dondlinger performs “Movies and the Masters” in March, with music from her new album that showcases some of the most well known movie themes with great classical melodies. To conclude the Pops series, Symphoria will performs the film score with the 1985 blockbuster movie, “Back to the Future.” The orchestra will perform the film score live with the movie projected live on a big screen.
The Casual Series to the intimate St. Paul’s Syracuse for four Sunday afternoon concerts. The first concert, “Baroque and Neo-Baroque,” features Symphoria trumpeters John Raschella and Roy Smith in “Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Trumpets” In January, “Our Favorite Things,” features selected favorites of the orchestra members. Concertmaster Peter Rovit Symphoria violist Arvilla Wendland perform Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in February’s “Mozart & Beethoven” concert. The Casual series concludes with “Around Mendelssohn,” with pianist Steven Heyman performing Mendelssohn’s “Piano Concerto No. 1”. All of the Casual Concerts are conducted by music director Lawrence Loh this year, and begin at 3 p.m.
Moving out of the concert hall and into the community, the Spark Series offers three venue-specific concerts. The first concert hosted at RedHouse Arts Center on Oct. 31 features Halloweeen for adults, with music under the influence o Edgar Allan Poe. Symphoria commemorates 100th anniversary of the start of Prohibition in February. The final Spark series concert, “Amadeus” will be at the Syracuse Stage, featuring a collaboration with the Syracuse Stage production of Amadeus.
Symphoria’s Kids Series is fun for the whole family with three musical performances: a costume parade for “Halloween Spell and Magic” on Oct. 26; “Bernstein’s World,” which explores the instruments of the orchestra through the music of Leonard Bernstein and friends. “Super-T,” featuring violinist Lisa Dondlinger, is a sensory friendly performance featuring the fusion of movie themes and classical melodies. As always, children age 18 and younger are admitted free to all regular season Symphoria performances.
First-time season subscribers save up to 50 percent off single-ticket prices. In addition, subscription FlexPacks are available to offer more options to patrons who prefer to select their own mix of four, five or six concert programs. If patrons buy tickets to four or more concerts, they will receive up to 25 percent off each ticket. A 20 percent group discount is also available for parties over eight attending one concert.
Single tickets and season subscriptions can be purchased at the Symphoria box office 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 234 Harrison St., Syracuse, or by calling 315-299-5598 ext. 201, or by visiting ExperienceSymphoria.org.
Single tickets for the 2019-20 concerts range from $20 to $90. Admission is free for kids 18 and younger and only $5 for college students with a valid student ID.
For a full list of 2019-20 concerts and details, visit ExperienceSymphoria.org.
About Symphoria:
Symphoria is a fully professional orchestra serving Syracuse and Central New York. It is one of only two co-op orchestras in the U.S., founded by nearly 50 members of the former Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, which was considered one of America’s top 50 orchestras. Symphoria is passionately committed to serving its community with inspiring orchestra and ensemble performances, and innovative education programs for kids of all ages. SymphoriaCNY is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Visit youtube.com/ExperienceSymphoria for videos. For more information about Symphoria or to purchase tickets, visit ExperienceSymphoria.org or call the Symphoria Box Office at 315-299-5598 ext. 201.
