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a note from the senior director of programming
Welcome to Symphony Center!
October 4, 2022, marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening of Symphony Center. The gala concert on that night in 1997 celebrated the completion of a threeyear restoration and renovation of Orchestra Hall. The New York Times touted, “it sounded altogether new, with a depth and spaciousness never before heard here.”
That same year, our long-standing presentation series, first established as Allied Arts in 1930, was renamed Symphony Center Presents to align with the facility’s new name. Symphony Center Presents offered an opening festival with star-studded performances in its inaugural season that included over seventy concerts by more than ninety artists and ensembles who came to perform in the self-proclaimed “Musical Heart of Chicago.”
It was my pleasure to have been a part of that first season, and it is my hope that we have been able to continue the tremendous legacy that brings the world’s finest musical artists to Orchestra Hall’s Armour Stage for all Chicagoans. Our 2023 programs continue that tradition by featuring a Symphony Center Presents Jazz series concert by the Maria Schneider Orchestra, returning to our stage for the first time since 2002, as well as an evening of music from Chicago-favorite Panamanian pianist and composer Danilo Pérez. We’ll also present recitals by two piano legends, Marc-André Hamelin and Emanuel Ax, the series debut of pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, an all-Bach solo violin recital by CSO Composerin-Residence, Hilary Hahn, and an exciting duo of violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Daniil Trifonov. We’re delighted to present special performances by Pink Martini with China Forbes, Kodo, and Zakir Hussain’s Masters of Percussion. All of these programs are examples of the extraordinary musical offerings that we have planned throughout this special season.
I look forward to seeing you at this season’s concerts, and thank you for your support of Symphony Center.
James M. Fahey Senior Director of Programming Symphony Center Presents
