New Haven, CT (June 27, 2013) New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) Music Director William Boughton is delighted to announce the 2013-2014 concert season. The NHSO is celebrating its 120th season, and Maestro Boughton has created a program rich in diversity, combining the familiar with the unfamiliar alongside the new.
“Live music unites us emotionally and intellectually in sublime moments that give meaning and purpose to our lives,” says Boughton, “music releases us from the petty and mundane, ennobles us with its humanity, and touches us in a profound way. Music releases the senses.”
Maestro Boughton invites you to join the NHSO for a season celebrating great composers of the past and present, and promising to delight with surprises throughout!
Classics Series
The season opens on October 3 with Tchaikovsky Triumphant. Audiences will thrill to Woolsey Hall’s awe-inspiring organ, enjoy a virtuosic performance by 19-year old violinist Chad Hoopes, and leave the hall breathless from the shocking climaxes of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. A repeat performance of this program will take place on October 5 at the Norwalk Concert Hall.
The Classics Series continues with Lyricism & Longing, a program traversing emotional heights and depths through works such as Concertmaster Ani Kavafian’s soaring Lark Ascending and Barber’s aching Adagio, on November 7; The Princess & The Firebird, an evening of ballet music bringing Stravinsky’s Firebird and Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty to life, on November 23-24; Wind on the Water, celebrating the world premiere of Augusta Read Thomas’ Saxophone Concerto, on February 27; The Huntsmen of Wagner, Strauss & Beethoven on March 27 and 30; the sweeping and emotional Brahms Requiem on April 24; and a blockbuster finale on May 15 and 17 featuring Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and pianist Ilya Yakushev performing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2.
Pops Series
The Pops Series kicks off October 19-20 with The Great American Songbook, transporting audiences from Tin Pan Alley to today’s Great White Way with Tony Award-winner Debbie Gravitte and conductor Todd Ellison. Conductor Michael Barrett leads the NHSO in a Holiday Extravaganza – A Mensch’s Christmas on December 13-15. Saint Patrick’s Day brings tunes and talents of the old sod, with Sarah Ioannides conducting The Emerald Isle on March 15-16. We round out the season with a new spirited cabaret saluting our armed forces, Jerry’s Cabaret – A Veteran’s Salute on May 3-4.
Family Series
This year’s Family Series begins with the timeless tale of Peter and the Wolf on January 11-12, music and stories from around the world in the Tales and Tunes program on February 8-9, and plucky tunes telling the story of the violin, viola and cello in Simply Strings on March 1-2.
Special Concerts
The NHSO will also put on special summer and winter concerts: Dueling Divas – a free concert showcasing the vocal virtuosity of two opera divas on July 20, and St. Nicholas – a glorious cantata by Benjamin Britten celebrating the life and legend of the man who inspired Santa Claus on December 5 (with the annual New Haven tree lighting before the concert!) 6 and 7.
Tickets
With subscriptions starting as low as $80, the NHSO is making it even easier to experience live music this season. Choose from a 7-concert Classics Series at Woolsey Hall or a 4-concert Pops Series in Hamden or Shelton.
This season the NHSO will be continuing the KidTix program, which allows children (ages 6-17) to attend concerts free of charge with the purchase of an adult ticket, as well as the Blue Star tickets program, which provides free tickets for active military personnel and their immediate families, thanks to the generosity of Sikorsky.
Subscription tickets are on sale now and single tickets go on sale August 15. For more information or to receive a brochure, contact the NHSO Box Office at 203.865.0831 x10 or visit www.NewHavenSymphony.org.
