Symphoria is announcing its new season on the heels of a successful year which saw attendance jump more than 20 percent in single ticket sales. Some highlights of the new season reflect how the orchestra is attracting audiences.
What seems to be working for Symphoria is finding all sorts of ways and places to meet audiences. Next year’s schedule adds to that many recognizable works to go along with classics for the most fervent music fans. One highlight for Music Director Lawrence Loh will be to conduct Mahler’s First Symphony.
“Love that piece, love conducting it, and the fact that we’re doing a Mahler Symphony. We did the fifth last season, but I didn’t do the fifth last year, so I was very excited personally to get to conduct with this orchestra. I hope to have Mahler Symphonies often. I think that it’s a real testament to the level of the orchestra that we perform Mahler Symphonies.”
Other Masterworks Series concerts include Carmina Burana, another program From Beethoven to Brahms, and guest Pianist Garrick Ohlsson joining the orchestra for Rachmaninoff’s third piano concerto. One of the Casual Classics concerts, Loh says, will feature Wolfgang Mozart works right out of the film Amadeus.
“Music from magic Flute and his 25th Symphony, and perhaps something from Requiem, and maybe even music by (Antonio) Salieri. We just bring all this to full performances of segments of music that appeared in that film.”
The Pops lineup features an evening with Ann Hampton Callaway celebrating music of Barbara Streisand. And one event on the Sparks series will bring people to the Hotel Syracuse for music of Downton Abbey.
Executive Director Catherine Underhill is finding success mixing up the music and the venues.
“Swinging open the door as wide as we can to the community, to engage them, to invite them, to make the music as accessible and compelling as we can. We’re trying to create opportunities for families to come out whether it’s coming downtown r going to one of the other venues and enjoy this great music together.”
Symphoria still has 4 concerts left this season…followed by a summer slate of 10 performances. The new schedule starts this fall.
The full schedule for next season is at: ExperienceSymphoria.org
