RPO ANNOUNCES 24/25 SEASON
Pianist Emanuel Ax, a 25th-anniversary Nutcracker celebration, monumental masterworks, and world premieres kick off a second century of music for the entire community.
PLUS:
~SUBSCRIPTION RENEWALS NOW ON SALE~
Rochester, NY – Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Music Director Andreas Delfs and Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik have announced the RPO’s 24/25 Season.
“Building on the exciting momentum of our breathtaking 100th-anniversary year, we have once again created a Philharmonics season that will showcase the artistic prowess of this great American orchestra,” Delfs said. “It is our continuing mission to perform your favorite music with the utmost skill and passion, introduce new compositions that will enrich your concert experience, and collaborate with some of the world’s finest artists in performances that will move, inspire, and entertain.”
Delfs selected two towering blockbusters to bookend the 101st season’s Philharmonics Series in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, opening with Tchaikovsky’s passionate Fifth Symphony, 8 PM Sat. Sept. 21 and 2 PM Sun. Sept. 22; and closing with Stravinsky’s first masterpiece The Firebird, 8 PM Sat. May 31 and 2 PM Sun. June 1.
Longtime RPO subscribers and patrons will notice something new about the orchestra’s concert schedule. For the first time in 100 years, audiences can experience part of the RPO’s Philharmonics Series concerts in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre on Sunday afternoons. Our traditional full-season, Thursday-night Philharmonics Series A subscription will now feature seven Thursday-night concerts at our usual start time of 7:30 PM, and seven Sunday-afternoon concerts, starting at 2 PM. Our full-season, Saturday-night Phils Series A subscription schedule remains unchanged, with 14 Saturday performances starting at 8 PM.
The Philharmonics Series offerings also include Beethoven’s Pastoral (7:30 PM Thurs. Oct. 10 and 8 PM Sat. Oct. 12), Fountains of Rome (7:30 PM Thurs. Oct. 24 and 8 PM Sat. Oct. 26), Zarathustra! (8 PM Sat. Nov. 9 and 2 PM Sun. Nov. 10), Peter & the Wolf (8 PM Sat. Nov. 23 and 2 PM Sun. Nov. 24), Bruch’s Romantic Violin Concerto (8 PM Sat. Jan. 11 and 2 PM Sun. Jan. 12), Elgar’s Enigma (7:30 PM Thurs. Jan. 23 and 8 PM Sat. Jan. 25), Ravishing Rachmaninov (7:30 PM Thurs. Feb. 6 and 8 PM Sat. Feb. 8), Emanuel Ax Plays Beethoven (8 PM Sat. March 1 and 2 PM Sun. March 2), Mozart & Brahms (7:30 PM Thurs. March 20 and 8 PM Sat. March 22), Dvořák in Love (7:30 PM Thurs. April 10 and 8 PM Sat. April 12), An American in Paris (8 PM Sat. May 3 and 2 PM Sun. May 4), and Mozart’s Requiem (7:30 PM Thurs. May 8 and 8 PM Sat. May 10).
Maestro Delfs conducts eight of the 14 Phils programs this season. And we welcome guest conductors JoAnn Falletta, Maximiano Valdes, Peter Oundjian, Vinay Parameswaran, Lidiya Yankovskaya, and Yaniv Dinur, who will each lead Philharmonics concerts. (A full schedule with program details may be accessed at the assets links in the final paragraph of this release.)
The 24/25 Philharmonics Season boasts a bounty of notable guest performers, including the world-renowned pianist Emanuel Ax. The A-list of guest artists continues with Grammy- and Emmy-award winning ensemble Time for Three; pianists Joyce Yang, Stewart Goodyear, Simon Trpčeski, Natasha Paremski, and The Naughtons; violinists Nikki Chooi, Timothy Chooi, and Tessa Lark, and cellist Zlatomir Fung.
Next season’s Philharmonics Series also features world-premiere compositions commissioned by the RPO for its Voices of Today initiative: RPO soloists take center stage for the unveiling of esteemed composer and former Cornell professor Roberto Sierra’s Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe, Bassoon, Violin, Cello, and Orchestra. And The Naughtons join the RPO to introduce composer James Lee III’s Sensational Dynamism: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra.
Maestro Delfs also conducts all four programs in the Sunday Matinees at Naz Series performed at Nazareth University in Beston Hall at Glazer Music Performance Center: Bach & Beethoven (2 PM Sun. Sept. 15), Bach & Schubert (2 PM Sun. Dec. 15), Bach & Mendelssohn (2 PM Sun. March 16), and Bach & Debussy (2 PM Sun. May 25). The Sunday Matinees at Naz Series has become so popular that next season marks its switch from general admission to reserved seating. That means no more standing in long lines worrying whether you’ll get a seat.
The 24/25 Pops Series finds Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik swinging into his 31st year with the RPO. “I’m looking forward to yet another incredibly diverse and exciting season. We will be premiering three new concerts that cover a wide range of musical tastes and genres.” Those are a tribute to Donna Summer, Diana Ross, and other divine Disco Divas (8 PM Fri. Oct. 4 and 8 PM Sat, Oct. 5), a trip back to the early ‘80s heyday of Blondie, Eurythmics, and Soft Cell with Tainted Love: The New Wave (8 PM Fri. Nov. 15 and 8 PM Sat. Nov. 16), and tribute to ‘50s Vegas Strip legends such as Frank Sinatra and The Rat Pack, Come Swing With Me! (8 PM Fri. May 23 and 8 PM Sat. May 24).
The remaining Pops Season programs are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 – In Concert (with family-friendly start times of 7 PM on Fri. Oct. 18 and Sat, Oct. 19; Gala Holiday Pops (8 PM Fri. Dec. 20, 2 & 8 PM Sat. Dec. 21 and 2 PM Sun. Dec. 22), All That Satchmo: Smooth Sounds of New Orleans (8 PM Fri. Jan. 17 and 8 PM Sat. Jan. 18), Happy Birthday, John Williams! (ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY: 8 PM Sat. Feb. 15), Broadway Tonight! (8 PM Fri. March 7 and 8 PM Sat, March 8), and ‘Swonderful: A Tribute to George Gershwin (8 PM Fri. April 25 and 8 PM Sat. April 26).
Special-guest artists for the Pops Season include vocalists Ashley Jayy, Carmen Bradford, Shayna Steele, Kelly LeVesque, Paul Loren, Lisa Vroman, conductor William Waldrop, and conductor/vocalist/trumpeter Byron Stripling.
The 24/25 Holiday Specials include a celebration of the 25-year collaboration of the RPO and Rochester City Ballet for The Nutcracker (7 PM Wed. Nov. 27, 2 & 7 PM Fri. Nov. 29, 2 & 7 PM Sat. Nov. 30, 2 PM Sun. Dec. 1). There’s also a reunion of the RPO with the Rochester Oratorio Society for Handel’s Messiah (ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY: 7:30 PM Thu, Dec. 12), as well as a live-to-film performance of The Wizard of Oz (ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY at West Herr Auditorium Theatre, 7 PM Wed. Jan. 15).
Subscription renewals are on sale starting today: online anytime at rpo.org, by phone at 585-454-2100, and in person at RPO Patron Services, 255 East Ave. (10 AM-5 PM Mon.-Fri.). Our Patron Services Center is in the rear of the Farash Building with free parking available. Packages start at $125, with Specials and single ticket add-on savings of up to 15% as well as pre-sale access, a free 23/24 season concert, and free parking with some subscription packages. New subscription sales will begin March 11 and include the same incentives; single tickets go on sale July 29.
Tickets for all current 2023-24 Season Kodak Hall shows start at $24/$12 for children through age 17 and are available online anytime at rpo.org, by phone at 585-454-2100, and in person at RPO Patron Services, 225 East Ave. (10 AM-5 PM Mon.-Fri.) and one hour prior to curtain at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main St.
ABOUT THE RPO: The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has been committed to enriching and inspiring our community through the art of music since its origins in 1922. The RPO presents approximately 150 concerts and broadcasts a year, serving up to 170,000 through ticketed events, education and community-engagement activities, and concerts in schools and community centers throughout the region. Andreas Delfs was named music director in 2020 following notable RPO music directors Erich Leinsdorf, David Zinman, Mark Elder, and Conductor Laureate Christopher Seaman. Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik, now in his 30th season, has earned a national reputation for excellence in pops programming during his tenure with the RPO. The RPO reaches more than 15,000 youths through its specific education programs.
