The Rochester Philharmonic’s Dynamic 2021-22 Season Begins September 12th
RPO’s 98th Season is the first for Andreas Delfs as Music Director. M & T Bank and Rochester Regional Health are Season Co-Sponsors. COVID-19 safety protocols for the first part of the season.
August 31, 2021. Rochester, NY – The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) presents the first concerts of its 98th Season. This season is the first under the baton of Maestro Andreas Delfs as Music Director and is one of the most diverse in the history of the orchestra.
Since the 2020-2021 Season, M & T Bank has sponsored the Philharmonic and Pops Series, and continues its commitment as a Co-Sponsor for the 2021-22 Season. They are joined by CoSponsor Rochester Regional Health, now in its fourth year as a season sponsor.
Nazareth College’s Beston Hall at the Glazer Music Performance Center hosts the first Sunday Matinee Concert of the season on September 12th with Baroque and Beyond 1 – a program featuring works of J.S. Bach, Theofanidis, Handel, Tansman, and Telemann. Conducted by Matthew Kraemer, with harp soloist Grace Browning, this program is a sparkling opener to the season.
The 2021-22 Pops Series, sponsored by Wegmans and Canandaigua National Bank and Trust, begins at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre on September 17th and 18th with Legends: The Paul Simon Songbook. Conducted by Principal Pops Conductor, Jeff Tyzik, the concert features Simon’s most beloved hits arranged by Tyzik.
The RPO officially opens its season with Andreas Conducts Brahms 1 on September 23rd and 25th at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. The program, conducted by Andreas Delfs in his first concert as the RPO’s Music Director, features Richard Wagner’s Dawn and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey; Jennifer Higdon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Violin Concerto, with guest artist Benjamin Bielman, presented with support from Deborah Ronnen; and Brahms’ moving Symphony No. 1.
The safety of patrons, musicians, and staff is of the utmost importance and, following CDC, state, county, and venue-specific safety measures, and guided by a recent survey of its patrons, the RPO announces its policies and protocols for concerts from September 12 through November 13. Patrons at Kodak Hall, Beston Hall at Nazareth Arts Center, and Hochstein Performance Hall aged 12 and up will be required to show proof of vaccination. Children aged 11 and under must be accompanied by a vaccinated adult. All patrons, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear masks at all venues. The RPO will designate socially distanced areas of Kodak Hall for those with unvaccinated children or those who would feel more comfortable with social distancing. Capacities will be limited at both Hochstein Performance Hall and Beston Hall at Nazareth College to allow for social distancing. The RPO will continue to monitor CDC, state and local guidelines. Protocols and policies are subject to change.
Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.RPO.org or calling 585.454.2100. For information on the 2021-22 Season, visit www.RPO.org. All concerts, artists, and schedules are subject to change.
For photos, or to arrange interviews, please contact Dawn Kellogg, Interim VP of Marketing and Communications, (585) 330-2363 or email: dkellogg@rpo.org.
2021-2022 RPO Season
September Concerts
Sponsored by M & T Bank and Rochester Regional Health
SUNDAY MATINEE: Baroque and Beyond I
September 12, 2021, 2PM Nazareth College, Beston Hall at Glazer Music Performance Center
Matthew Kraemer, conductor
Grace Browning, harp (Principal, the Eileen Malone Chair)
J.S. BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 4
THEOFANIDIS Muse HANDEL Concerto for Harp, Op. 4, No. 6
TANSMAN Variations on a Theme of Frescobaldi
TELEMANN Overture in D Major
The RPO’s Sunday Matinee Series begins with a musical feast! In J.S. Bach’s sparkling Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, the composer keeps us guessing about who the real soloists are. Muse, by American composer Christopher Theofanidis was written in 2007 as part of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra’s series “The New Brandenburgs,” which commissioned six composers to write new works based on the instrumentation of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti. Handel’s Concerto for Harp is one of the jewels in the crown of baroque music and features soloist Grace Browning. Composed in 1937, the Variations on a Theme of Frescobaldi by Aleksander Tansman features gorgeous writing for strings. Telemann intended his Overture in D Major, not only to be music suitable for entertaining, but also to demonstrate his superiority as a composer.
Legends: the Paul Simon Songbook
September 17 & 18, 2021 Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
Jeff Tyzik, conductor
Daniel Berryman, vocals
Rick Brantley, vocals
Emily Drennan, vocals
Join your RPO and Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik for an evening of music from the legendary Paul Simon. Explore his unique artistry as a songwriter from his years with Simon and Garfunkel through his solo albums Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints. Orchestrated by Jeff Tyzik, you’ll enjoy songs including “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” “The Sound of Silence,” and “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.”
Andreas Conducts Brahms 1
September 23 & 25, 2021 Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
Andreas Delfs, conductor
Benjamin Beilman, violin
WAGNER Dawn & Siegfried’s Rhine Journey
JENNIFER HIGDON Violin Concerto
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1
Music Director Andreas Delfs opens the program with Richard Wagner’s Dawn & Siegfried’s Rhine Journey. Jennifer Higdon’s award-winning Violin Concerto, praised as “an attractive, colourful work, scored most imaginatively and with great finesse” (Gramophone), features soloist Benjamin Beilman and is presented with support from Deborah Ronnen. Despite taking the composer over a decade to complete, Johann Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 was worth the wait – a melodic triumph worthy of his musical predecessors.
All concerts, artists, and schedules are subject to change.
ABOUT THE RPO: The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has been committed to enriching and inspiring our community through the art of music since its founding in 1922. The RPO presents approximately 150 concerts and broadcasts a year, serving up to 170,000 people through ticketed events, education and community engagement activities, and concerts in schools and community centers throughout the region. Music Director Andreas Delfs joins the ranks of former notable RPO music directors, including Erich Leinsdorf, David Zinman, Mark Elder, and Conductor Laureate Christopher Seaman. Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik, now in his 28th season, has earned a national reputation for excellence in pops programming during his tenure with the RPO. The RPO reaches more than 15,000 youth through its specific education programs.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
