Symphonic Serenades PSO Presents 2024 Performances

by Darien Hardy

The Pensacola Symphony Orchestra continues the 2023-24 season ready to present a brand new lineup of performances to the Pensacola community. The Orchestra has already played from a wide repertoire, including popular symphonies by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, as well as some delightful and unfamiliar gems by Piazolla, Strauss, Bates and many others, according to music director Peter Rubardt.

“People can expect an array of A-List guest artists and polished, committed performances from the orchestra,” Rubardt said.

Still to come in the latter part of the season are a pair of big symphonies by Prokofiev and Vaugh Williams, an achingly beautiful set of songs by Mahler, Mozart’s famous G-Minor Symphony, and a rollicking, jazzy piano concerto by Gershwin.

According to executive director Bret Barrow, the PSO is on a mission to promote and advance the well-being of our community through live symphonic music and engaging musical activities that serve people for a lifetime. The Orchestra’s community programming, “Beyond the Stage,” allows PSO to serve people not only where they live, where they learn and where they go for entertainment, but also in their critical moments like pediatric care, homeless shelters, or in hospice.

PSO networks with partners across the community to provide musicians who teach, perform and engage with the community. To serve the mission and ensure they can provide these services for free, PSO actively solicits monetary donations from the public. “Beyond the Stage” has been well-supported and well-received, and the Orchestra plans to grow the program as resources allow.

“It makes me feel good that we can be stewards of community resources to truly serve our neighbors through music,” Barrow said. “I invite everyone to come hear a ‘Beyond the Stage’ program and consider supporting it themselves in whatever ways possible. The impact you can have by bringing [music] to others is powerful.”

For more information about the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, its community programs and details on the season performances, visit pensacolasymphony.com.

Mozart Madness

February 3 at 7:30 pm | First United Methodist Church, Pensacola

The soaring stained-glass windows of First United Methodist Church provide a beautiful setting for the Orchestra’s annual celebration of Mozart. This concert features the composer’s merry and vivacious Fourth Horn Concerto with Jacquelyn Adams as soloist on horn. Also on the program are Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, Prague and the overture to Mozart’s Don Giovanni

General admission tickets are $20 and may be purchased online at pensacolasymphony.com, by phone at 850.435.2533 or in person at the Pensacola Symphony Box Office at 205 East Zaragoza St.

Queens of Soul

February 17 at 7:30 pm | Pensacola Saenger Theatre

Celebrate the iconic soul and R&B music of Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys and Adele in a symphonic tribute that spans six decades. Featuring vocalists Shayna Steele, Kelly Levesque and Ashley Jayy, this concert includes favorites such as Proud Mary, Rolling in the Deep, I Wanna Dance with Somebody and more.

Tickets start at $24 and may be purchased online at pensacolasymphony. com, by phone at 850.435.2533 or in person at the Pensacola Symphony Box Office at 205 East Zaragoza St., or the Saenger Theatre Box Office at 22 East Intendencia St..

Mozart, Mahler & Mendelssohn

March 2 at 7:30 pm | Pensacola Saenger Theatre

Join PSO for an exploration of metaphorical light and darkness through the works of musical giants. This program features Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, one of his few major works in a minor key, and Felix Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, inspired by the poetry of Johan Wolfgang von Goethe. Mezzo-soprano Susan Platts joins the orchestra for Gustav Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, which sets to music the poetry of Friedrich Rückert stemming from an outpouring of grief as he processed the deaths of his two children. Heartrendingly beautiful, this intimate song cycle explores our shared humanity with the message that while death is powerful, love is stronger.

In-person tickets start at $24 and may be purchased online at pensacolasymphony.com, by phone at 850.435.2533 or in person at the Pensacola Symphony Box Office at 205 East Zaragoza St., or the Saenger Theatre Box Office at 22 East Intendencia St.. Virtual tickets are also available for $20 at pensacolasymphony.com.

Symphonic Spectacular

March 23 at 7:30 pm | Pensacola Saenger Theatre

Join PSO for a spectacular evening, featuring Sergei Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony, conceived by the composer as “glorifying the grandeur of the human spirit, praising the free and happy man—his strength, his generosity, and the purity of his soul.” The program also includes Dmitri Shostakovich’s reorchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s overture to Khovantchina and soloist William Hagen performing Max Bruch’s perennially fresh First Violin Concerto

In-person tickets start at $24 and may be purchased online at pensacolasymphony.com, by phone at 850.435.2533 or in person at the Pensacola Symphony Box Office at 205 East Zaragoza St., or the Saenger Theatre Box Office at 22 East Intendencia St. Virtual tickets are also available for $20 at pensacolasymphony.com.

Season Finale

April 20 at 7:30 pm | Pensacola Saenger Theatre

The PSO season closes in a riot of rhythms as the orchestra performs George Gershwin’s Concerto in F, with pianist Orion Weiss, and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ A London Symphony. Composer Wang Lu joins the Orchestra from the stage to share her work, Surge, commissioned by the League of American Orchestras with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

In-person tickets start at $24 and may be purchased online at pensacolasymphony.com, by phone at 850.435.2533 or in person at the Pensacola Symphony Box Office at 205 East Zaragoza St., or the Saenger Theatre Box Office at 22 East Intendencia St. Virtual tickets are available for $20 at pensacolasymphony.com.

Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage

April 27 at 10 am | Pensacola Saenger Theatre

Join PSO for this fun family event featuring a theatrical concert designed especially for young audiences and their grownups followed by a series of hands-on musical activities. Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage features the story of the composer’s young son, Karl, who longs to be taken from his boarding school to spend more time with his famous father. An old traveling trunk serves as a magic chest that reveals an incredible journey back in time to Mozart’s childhood and into the fantastic world of Mozart’s great opera, The Magic Flute. Along the way, Karl comes to understand Mozart’s extraordinary life as a traveling prodigy, his passion for composing, the pressures of family and fame, and the common bonds they both share.

Woven into the drama are two dozen excerpts from some of Mozart’s most famous pieces, including themes from The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, selections from The Magic Flute and some of his most important and engaging works such as Ave Verum, Symphony No. 1, Clarinet Quintet and Eine kleine Nachtmusik. After the concert, PSO will host an instrument petting zoo with the musicians and a variety of other hands-on activities.

General admission tickets are $10 and may be purchased online at pensacolasymphony.com, by phone at 850.435.2533 or in person at the Pensacola Symphony Box Office at 205 East Zaragoza St..