The Planets

  • This event has passed.
Date
Sunday • September 28 • 3:00 pm
Venue
Woolsey Hall 500 College St
New Haven, CT 06511 United States
Purchase Tickets
Box Office    Season Tickets

 

Several planets in a student shadow box come in and out of focus. They seem to resemble the rings around Saturn and various moons but they are colorful blue, pink and gold and hard to distinguish as actual planets.

Considering tickets to more than one concert this season? Choose 3 concerts and you will save 20% on tickets. Click here to subscribe today. 

On the Program

Gustav Holst The Planets
Gabriella Smith Tumblebird Contrails

Featured Performers

New Haven Symphony Orchestra
Perry So, conductor & music director
Elm City Girls’ Choir
Aaron Jafferis, poet
Yexandra Diaz, poet
Shawn Douglas, poet
Journey Rosa, poet

About this Performance

Holst’s cosmic opus The Planets and Gabriella Smith’s vibrant Tumblebird Contrails launch the season with a journey through space, nature, and imagination. Each planet will be introduced by spoken word performances curated by Hip-hop poet and playwright Aaron Jafferis, and Elm City Girls’ Choir will lend their voices to a mystical finale.

The program opens with Tumblebird Contrails by Gabriella Smith, standing in for the planet Earth, which is notably absent from Holst’s Suite of Planets. Smith is a composer whose work invites listeners to find joy in climate action. Her music comes from a love of play, exploring new instrumental sounds, and creating musical arcs that transport audiences into sonic landscapes inspired by the natural world. An “outright sensation” (LA Times), her music “exudes inventiveness with a welcoming personality, rousing energy and torrents of joy” (NY Times).

Listen to Smith’s introduction of her piece:

The concert will then launch into Holst’s magnificent “Planets” Suite, which stretches the imagination and invites you to explore the sounds and themes of deep cosmic emotions like joy, war, old age, and more. Each planet will start with an invocation by four award-winning Connecticut poets.

Concert Sponsors

SHIPMAN (logo)

  • Ticket Information

    Order Online: Click Here!

    Order by Phone: (203) 693-1486 • Monday-Friday • 12-5pm.

    Order in Person: Tickets are available for purchase starting one hour prior to the concert in the lobby. We strongly recommend buying tickets in advance to avoid limited inventory and long lines.

    Pricing:
    Tickets to this concert start at $15 for adults.
    Kids under 18 go free with the purchase of an adult ticket.

    Save money by attending more concerts!
    Instead of buying a ticket to only this concert, subscribe to 3+ concerts and you will save 20% on your tickets. A 3-concert subscription starts at $36 TOTAL. No hidden fees or ongoing charges. Click here to purchase your tickets to this concert as part of a subscription package.

    Are you already a subscriber? Your 20% discount to this concert will be automatically added at checkout.

    Additional Discounts Available for This Performance:

    • College Students are $10 with ID. College student tickets are available in price sections B, C, and D.
    • Tickets for active military are free. Call us at (203) 693-1486 to learn more.
    • Groups of 10 or more receive a 20% discount. Call us at (203) 693-1486 or email BoxOffice@ElmCityTickets.org to book your group.

    All artists, programs, and venues are subject to change. No refunds.

  • Explore the Music

    Holst’s “Jupiter” from The Planets played by Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (2023)

    The BBC Symphony Orchestra performs Holst’s “Mars” from The Planets

  • Meet the Guest Artists

    The Elm City Girls’ Choir (ECGC) has earned a reputation as one of America’s finest youth choirs. Founded in 1993, ECGC is an elite program, which provides unique performance opportunities and conservatory-level training in vocal technique, musicianship, and conducting for choristers of prodigious talent. ECGC has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Walt Disney World, and has recorded with artists including Yale Schola Cantorum, The Whiffenpoofs of Yale, Peter Eldridge, and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. The group has appeared on live national television with Diana Ross and has completed concert tours of Italy, England, Canada, Mexico, and China.

    Aaron Jafferis is a hip-hop poet and playwright whose musicals The Ones, Trigger, (Be)longing, Stuck Elevator, How to Break, Kingdom, Shakespeare: The Remix, and No Lie have won a Creative Capital Award, Richard Rodgers Award, Sundance Institute / Time Warner Fellowship, NEA Art Works Grant, NEFA National Theatre Project Grant, Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, Barbour Playwright’s Award, NYMF Most Promising New Musical Award, and multiple MacDowell Fellowships. A former Open Rap Slam champion at the National Poetry Slam Championships, Aaron founded The Word poetry-in-the-schools program in New Haven, and teaches hip-hop theatre for liberation in schools, colleges, and organizations nationwide. Learn more at www.aaronjafferis.com.

    Hailing from New Haven by way of Chicago, Yexandra “Yex” Diaz is an award-winning poet, community leader, and nationally recognized social justice advocate whose work lives at the intersection of art, activism, and healing. With a voice rooted in truth and transformation, she has spent over a decade using poetry to amplify lived experiences and spark dialogue that creates awareness. She has graced stages from the historic Shubert Theatre to the August Wilson Cultural Center, touring and opening for icons such as 2x Grammy Award Winner J. Ivy. A Last Poets Legacy Member, multi-regional slam champion and former member who helped lead the Connecticut Slam Team to its recent Championship, Yex’s voice moves with urgency, tenderness, and fire. Offstage, Yex serves as Development Manager at the Arts Council of Greater New Haven and as a Facilitator with the Connecticut Office of the Arts, working to amplify local creative economies. Her commitment to arts education has led her to serve as a visiting instructor at both UConn and Trinity College. In this collaboration with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Yex threads music and movement, body and cosmos, illuminating a celestial experience.

    Shawn Douglas is a New Haven high school student, who most recently competed at the 2025 CT Youth Slam and 2025 Brave New Voices, an annual international poetry festival and competition.

    Journey Rosa is an award-winning poet, actor, and student from New Haven. They are the 2025 Connecticut Youth Grand Slam Champion and a three-time statewide poetry award winner, with work recognized for its urgency, emotional depth, and bold voice. Currently a student at the Sound School in New Haven, Journey has performed for audiences ranging from slam stages to state officials, where their spoken word highlights issues of equity, identity, and resilience. Beyond poetry, Journey is also dedicated to theater and performance, continually exploring the intersection of storytelling and activism.

  • Accessibility

    Ramp & Door Access

    There is a ramp on the Grove Street side entrance to the Schwarzman Center, equipped with push-button access for the door. There is also a wheelchair accessible entrance at the back of the building if entering from Hewitt Triangle, which also has push-button access. The doors to Woolsey Hall are kept open until showtime.

    Seating Options

    Wheelchair accessible seating is available on the first floor of Woolsey Hall. These seats have space considerations for wheelchairs or service animals. There is also companion seating available. If you are in need of mobility considerations with regard to seating, inquire about these options when contacting the box office or email boxoffice@elmcitytickets.org.

    Street Parking

    Woolsey Hall is surrounded by metered street parking. Paid street parking in the Woolsey Hall area is available on Grove, College, and Wall Streets, and is free after 9:00 pm. We recommend that you download the GoNewHaven parking app for easy meter pay – no quarters necessary! Directly outside of Woolsey, there is one (1) ADA spot on Grove Street, three (3) ADA spots on College Street, and one (1) space on Wall Street.

    Garage Parking

    Information about Garage Parking is available in a separate section on this event page. The NHSO provides a free shuttle with a wheelchair lift for the Grove Street Garage (65 Grove Street) and a discount for pre-purchased reservations to that garage.

    Public Transportation

    There are several bus lines that service the Schwarzman Center and the downtown New Haven area. The 224, 234, and 278 have a stop on College Street right outside of the Schwarzman Center. The 212, 213, 215, 224, 228, 229, and 234 service the stop at Temple Street and Grove Street, one block from the venue. Riders on lines 237, 238, 241, 243, 246, 254, 255, and 261 can deboard at the top of the New Haven Green at Temple Street and Elm Street. The 204, 206, 223, and 274 stop at Elm Street and Church Street.

    Click here to see a comprehensive map of the bus lines that service downtown New Haven.

    Restrooms

    There are bathrooms in the basement of the Schwarzman Center as well as on Floor and 3. Each floor that has a bathroom has two multi-stall restrooms and a single-user restroom. Each multi-stall restroom has an ADA compliant stall, and each single–user restroom is also ADA compliant. The multi-stall restrooms are labeled according to gender. We invite patrons to use whichever restroom best corresponds with their gender identity.

    Sensory Related Accommodations

    Sensory kits and earplugs are available at all of our concerts. Patrons can also request to borrow ear defenders for the duration of the concert. To obtain a pair, see a staff member or visit the welcome table.

    Large Print Programs

    Large print programs are available at all of our concerts and can be acquired from a staff member or visit the welcome table.

    Elevators

    Elevators are located on the outer rotunda on the first floor of the Schwarzman Center. You can use the elevator to reach any floor of Woolsey Hall; however, please note that only the first floor offers wheelchair accessible seating.

    Social Story

  • Parking at Woolsey Hall

    Grove Street Garage
    Located at 65 Grove Street, the Grove Street Garage is the recommended parking option for NHSO concerts at Woolsey Hall. It is located 2 blocks southeast of Woolsey Hall.

    • Advance spot reservation online: $10
      –> Click Here to Book Your Parking in Advance. <–
    • Parking cost at the concert without advance reservation: $4 per hour
    • The NHSO provides a FREE, wheelchair accessible shuttle bus that runs on a continuous loop between Woolsey Hall and the Garage beginning 90 minutes before the performance.

    Free Parking for Members (Donors)
    Members who donate $50 or more annually receive complimentary parking at the Grove Street Garage for all NHSO concerts this season. Members will be emailed a special reservation code and instructions on how to get their free parking the week before the performance. Click here to become a member and email Giving@newhavensymphony.org with questions.

    Street Parking
    Street parking can be found in the downtown area surrounding Woolsey Hall. Parking rates and rules apply. Visit our friends at Park New Haven to learn more. 

    Drop-Off
    Passengers can be dropped off directly in front of the entrance to Woolsey Hall but parking is prohibited in this area.

    Public Transportation
    Woolsey Hall is accessible from bus lines 224, 234, and 278. Click here to plan your trip with CT Transit. 

    Do you have questions about parking and accessibility? Please call the box office at (203) 693-1486 or email our box office partners at BoxOffice@elmcitytickets.org.