WELCOME TO THE 2018-2019 SEASON

OF YOUR ORLANDO PHILHARMONIC

Music Director Eric Jacobsen returns for his fourth season with the OPO, conducting concerts on each of the Orchestra’s three main series. Soloists highlighting the FAIRWINDS Classics Series include season-opening performances by violinist and OPO Concertmaster Rimma Bergeron-Langlois and soprano Maria Laetitia, both familiar to Orlando audiences, pianist Harmony Zhu, the 2018 Genius of Youth artist, and award-winning cellist Jan Vogler.

Programming in the 2018-19 season evokes the themes and ideas of The Silk Road Ensemble, founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who concludes the OPO’s 25th Anniversary Season with a special concert on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 at 8 p.m. at Bob Carr Theater. Concerts that blend cultures and styles and the return of Kayhan Kalhor, kamancheh player of The Silk Road Ensemble, emphasize this theme.

Angélica Negrón

Puerto Rican-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón will be featured as Composer-in-Residence for the 2018-2019 season. The OPO will perform her compositions and arrangements, including a world premiere on the Focus Series, on four programs throughout the season. “Having Angélica working with the orchestra this season is a gift to our community,” said Eric Jacobsen, music director. “We look forward to her unique collaboration and contribution during the season with our artistic programming and education programs.

Pines of Rome

Saturday, September 29, 2018 at 8 p.m.

Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Rimma Bergeron-Langlois, violin
Maria Laetitia, soprano

Program

FRANK – Three Latin-American Dances
BRUCH – Scottish Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra
NEGRÓN (Composer-in-Residence) – Puerto Rican Songs
DE FALLA – Ritual Fire Dance from El Amor brujo
RESPIGHI – Pines of Rome

This concert featuring Respighi's Pines of Rome evokes Latin American dances, Scottish traditions, a portrait of Rome and introduces Orlando Philharmonic Composer-in-Residence, Angélica Negrón and soprano Maria Laetitia, both from Puerto Rico.

The Planets

Saturday, November 3, 2018 at 8 p.m.

Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Kayhan Kalhor, kamancheh
Karen Ouzounian, cello
Sandeep Das, tabla
University of Central Florida Women’s Chorus

Program

BARTÓK – Three Village Scenes
KALHOR – Blue as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur
HOLST – The Planets

Kayhan Kalhor returns to Orlando with a work he recorded with the Silk Road Ensemble and Music Director Eric Jacobsen leads the massive forces of the Orlando Philharmonic in Holst’s epic astrological masterpiece, The Planets.

Tango!

Saturday, January 19, 2019 at 8 p.m.

Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Simone Porter, violin

Program

KÄRKI, arr. LJOVA – Finnish Tango
PIAZZOLLA, arr. LJOVA – Libertango
PIAZZOLLA – The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires for Violin and String Orchestra
SIBELIUS – Symphony No. 1

Dynamic, social, playful, romantic, elegant, and fun. Argentina may have invented it, but Finland has its own passion for the tango. Celebrate the great masters of tango along with Jean Sibelius, who is credited with helping Finland develop its national identity. Violinist Simone Porter, an emerging artist of impassioned energy, performs The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.

Beethoven's 7th

Saturday, February 23, 2019 at 8 p.m.

Pablo Rus Broseta, conductor
Harmony Zhu, piano (Genius of Youth artist)

Program

LIGETI – Romanian Concerto
SCHUMANN, R. – Piano Concerto in A minor
BEETHOVEN – Symphony No. 7

Beethoven’s seventh Symphony has enchanted audiences with its joyous energy ever since its first performance. It’s a piece full of dance, celebration, pulse, and joy. Harmony Zhu performs Robert Schumann’s colorful piano concerto as the “Genius of Youth” artist for this season.

French Soirée

Saturday, April 27, 2019 at 8 p.m.

Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Jan Vogler, cello
University of Central Florida Chorus

Program

RAVEL – Daphnis et Chloé: Suite No. 1
SAINT-SAËNS – Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor
SAINT-SAËNS – The Swan from Carnival of the Animals
FAURÉ – Pavane
MESSIAEN, arr. NEGRÓN – Piano Prelude
BIZET – Excerpts from Carmen

Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate France and its renowned composers who created some of the best-loved classical music of today. Well-known as a culture capital for its music, fashion, art, and cuisine, join us for an evening of sophisticated and diverse styles as we soak up the culture of Belle Époque France and its enduring and international appeal.

The Pops Series brings together the best of American popular music and live entertainment for Orlando Philharmonic patrons.

Highlights include a season-opening performance by Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Rhiannon Giddens, also known for her starring role on the CMT drama Nashville, audience-favorite trumpeter and conductor Byron Stripling leading a program of New Orleans jazz greats in celebration of Mardi Gras, and The Second City Guide to the Symphony, featuring celebrity host, comedian, and star of television’s Whose Line is it Anyway?, Colin Mochrie.

American Blues featuring Rhiannon Giddens

Saturday, October 13, 2018 at 2 & 8 p.m.

Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Rhiannon Giddens, vocalist & banjo

Celebrate classics from American composers including Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story and others, as well as selections from her solo albums with Rhiannon Giddens, co-founder of the Grammy award-winning band Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Rhiannon stole the show at the T Bone Burnett–produced Another Day, Another Time concert at New York City’s Town Hall in 2013. The elegant bearing, prodigious voice, and fierce spirit that brought the audience to its feet that night is also abundantly evident on Giddens’ critically acclaimed solo debut, the Grammy-nominated album Tomorrow Is My Turn, which masterfully blends American musical genres like gospel, jazz, blues, and country, showcasing her extraordinary emotional range and dazzling vocal prowess. She won the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Bluegrass and Banjo in 2016. In February of 2017, Giddens' follow-up album Freedom Highway was released.

Home for the Holidays!

Saturday, November 24, 2018 at 2 & 8 p.m.

Albert George Schram, conductor

Join us for a musical celebration of community and capture the spirit of the season at Central Florida’s most popular holiday concert. A perennial audience-favorite, Albert George Schram leads the orchestra, choirs, and guest artists through musical traditions and delightful surprises. Ring in the season with family and friends – there’s no place like home for the holidays!

The Second City Guide to the Symphony with Colin Mochrie

Saturday, February 2, 2019 at 2 & 8 p.m.

Albert George Schram, conductor

“The Second City Guide to the Symphony” is a blend of original sketch comedy, new music, and songs by Matthew Reid, and orchestral works by the great masters – including Mozart, Mahler, and Glinka. The show is a humorous celebration of the symphony orchestra, taking a satirical but loving look at the players, the repertoire, the composers, the personalities, and even the audience. 

The Second City is the world’s premier comedy theater and school of improvisation, specializing in sketch comedy and improvisation and has been delighting audiences for over 50 years with permanent theaters in Chicago and Toronto as well as an International Touring Company. The Second City is well known as the incubator of some of the best-known comedic talent in North America, including Martin Short, Tina Fey, John Candy, Stephen Colbert, Catherine O’Hara, Mike Myers, Andrea Martin – too many to list!

Mardi Gras in New Orleans with Byron Stripling

Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 2 & 8 p.m.

Byron Stripling, conductor

Get caught up in the spirit of Mardi Gras with a night of hot, steamy, New Orleans jazz. The good times roll with music from New Orleans natives like Fats Domino, Mahalia Jackson, and Louis Armstrong. From street parades in the French Quarter to late night jams in the city’s famed clubs, this party transforms into an unforgettable Mardi Gras Celebration with Byron Stripling leading the parade!

A powerhouse trumpeter, gifted with a soulful voice and a charismatic onstage swagger, Byron Stripling has delighted audiences internationally. As a soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Stripling has performed frequently under the baton of Keith Lockhart, as well as being a featured soloist on the PBS television special, “Evening at Pops,” with conductors John Williams and Lockhart.

Star Wars and More: The Music of John Williams

Saturday, April 13, 2019 at 2 & 8 p.m.

Michael Krajewski, Music Director of The Philly Pops and Principal Pops Conductor of the Atlanta and Jacksonville Symphonies, leads this concert, featuring the best of John Williams’ legendary film scores, including pieces from Jaws, Schindler’s List, Harry Potter, and the Star Wars series. In a career that spans five decades, composer and conductor John Williams has become one of America’s most accomplished and successful composers for film and for the concert stage.

Schumann and Schumann

Monday, October 8, 2018 at 7 p.m.

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Gabriela Martinez, piano

PÄRT – Silouan’s Song (My Soul Yearns after the Lord…)
SCHUMANN, C. – Piano Concerto in A minor
MESSIAEN, arr. NEGRÓN (Composer-in-Residence) – Piano Prelude
SCHUMANN, R. – Symphony No. 4 

Tchaikovsky & Mozart

Monday, November 19, 2018 at 7 p.m.

Laura Jackson, conductor

Jamie Strefeler, oboe

CLYNE – Within Her Arms

MOZART – Oboe Concerto in C Major

TCHAIKOVSKY – Serenade for Strings 

Mahler's Song of the Earth

Monday, January 14, 2019 at 7 p.m.

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Rachel Calloway, alto

Alex Richardson, tenor

CHEN YI – Shuo

MAHLER – The Song of the Earth

Mozart's Symphony No. 33

Monday, March 18, 2019 at 7 p.m.

Ruth Reinhardt, conductor

Rimma Bergeron-Langlois, violin

JANÁČEK – Suite for String Orchestra

ZWILICH – Romance for Violin and Chamber Orchestra

MYSLIVEČEK – Overture No. 2

MOZART – Symphony No. 33

Mendelssohn's Italian

Monday, April 8, 2019 at 7 p.m.

Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Robert Carpenter, tuba

GLAZER – Tuba Concerto
NEGRÓN (Composer-in-Residence) – World Premiere
MENDELSSOHN – Symphony No. 4, ‘Italian’

Please visit our website for more information about the upcoming 2018-2019 season.

Subscription renewals for current subscribers begin this month and new subscriptions for the 2018-2019 season will go on-sale in April.

For more information, please contact the Box Office at 407-770-0071 or Boxoffice@orlandophil.org.

CLASSICS SERIES SPONSOR

GENEROUS SUPPORT PROVIDED BY

“The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra is supported by United Arts of Central Florida, host of OrlandoAtPlay.com and UAArtsEd.com. This project is funded in part by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program, and sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and the State of Florida.”