OPO 2023/2024 Season Brochure

season

23/24

Welcome to the Orlando Philharmonic’s 31st Season and the magnificent Steinmetz Hall at Dr. Phillips Center, one of the world’s most acoustically perfect spaces! As always, our inspiring music celebrates the lively diversity of Orlando, which we have strived to reflect with programming and artists who will bring it to exuberant life, strengthening and enriching the musical bonds that unite us.

It is with great pride that we introduce our 2023-2024 Classics Series, which will feature internationally acclaimed pianists Emanuel Ax and Alexandra Dariescu, violinist Bella Hristova, rising star Sterling Elliott, vocalists Jamie Barton and Sarah Shafer, and our brilliant Concertmaster Rimma Bergeron-Langlois joining Music Director Eric Jacobsen and our fabulous orchestra.

Six concerts this season feature women on the podium: Mei-Ann Chen, Chloé van Soeterstède, Chelsea Gallo, and Georgia Mills, and exciting works by women composers Dai Wei, Katarina Leyman, and former Composer-in-Residence Anna Clyne.

You’ll enjoy a brand-new piano concerto by James Lee III, frequent collaborator with the OPO and Music Director Eric Jacobsen, in addition to the grandest masterpieces in the repertoire, like Pictures at an Exhibition, The Rite of Spring, Brahms’s Third Symphony, and Mahler’s deeply moving “Resurrection” Symphony. Please join us for another season guaranteed to delight, inspire, and send your spirits soaring.

Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra

Eric Jacobsen

All programs and artists are subject to change.

Steinmetz Hall allows the orchestra to really challenge ourselves artistically, challenge the audience, challenge all of us to find a new way to listen to music and new music to listen to.

ERIC JACOBSEN, MUSIC DIRECTOR

Classics Series

All concerts performed at Steinmetz Hall. Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION

September 30 - October 1, 2023

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Bella Hristova, violin

Dai Wei • TheDancingMoonlight

Barber • Violin Concerto

Mussorgsky/Ravel • Pictures at an Exhibition

What a glorious beginning to our 2023-2024 Classics Series! Music Director Eric Jacobsen and the Orlando Philharmonic present the celebratory opening concert featuring Mussorgsky’s “gallery crawl” (in Ravel’s glittering orchestration). Come along as your “mind’s ears” conjure the ten pictures on exhibit—including baby chicks pecking their way out of their shells, eerie Parisian “Catacombs,” and “The Great Gate of Kiev” shaking you with the tumultuous pealing of bells in the grand finale. Bella Hristova (The New York Times praises her “expressive nuance and rich tone”) steps into the spotlight for Barber’s Violin Concerto, exploring its serenity, angularity, and shifting accents that demand formidable virtuosic abilities. Dai Wei’s The Dancing Moonlight dazzles with energetic verve and rhythmic flair to start the concert.

THE RITE OF SPRING AND EMANUEL AX

November 4 - 5, 2023

Anna Clyne • This Moment (Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program)

Mozart • Piano Concerto No. 25, K. 503 Stravinsky • TheRiteofSpring

The remarkable Emanuel Ax (“his touch is amazing. The keys are not so much struck as sighed upon—moved as if by a breath.” – Seattle Times) lavishes his prodigious talents on Mozart’s stately piano concerto, whose trumpets and timpani underscore its classic elegance. Then sparks fly in The Rite of Spring, roaring to life with primeval rhythms and the raw energy of ancient pagan rituals. The violent Russian spring “seemed to begin in an hour and was like the whole earth cracking…,” Stravinsky himself said. Abandon yourself to the electrifying pulses of this magnificent work—a thrilling visceral experience— whether you’re hearing it for the first or 50th time. A new work by GRAMMY-nominated Anna Clyne reveals her bold and vivid voice.

Eric Jacobsen, conductor Emanuel Ax, piano

Eric Jacobsen

Bella Hristova

Emanuel Ax

RACHMANINOFF & RAVEL

January 13 - 14, 2024

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Sterling Elliott, cello

Ravel • La valse

John Corigliano • Phantasmagoria, Suite from The Ghost of Versailles, arranged for cello and orchestra by the composer for Sterling Elliott (commissioned by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra; world premiere)

Rachmaninoff • Symphonic Dances

Ravel’s homage-with-a-twist to Johann Strauss, Jr. imagines a mid-19th century imperial court with couples dancing and whirling in a voluptuous waltz that ends in a wild, shattering climax. Cellist Sterling Elliott–whose stellar stage presence and joy in music-making—solos in John Corigliano’s Phantasmagoria, a sort of “phantasy” on his opera Ghosts of Versailles, arranged for him by the composer. Rachmaninoff’s kaleidoscopic Symphonic Dances, his last—and many say his greatest—work, includes a haunting alto saxophone, mysterious tubular bells, allusions to Russian Orthodox chants, a thundering Dies irae from the Mass for the Dead, and a shadowy, eerie waltz that seems to echo the darker harmonies of La valse that opens our concert.

BRAHMS THIRD SYMPHONY

February 24 - 25, 2024

Mei-Ann Chen, guest conductor

Alexandra Dariescu, piano

Mayer • Faust Overture

James Lee III • Piano Concerto (co-commissioned by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra; Florida premiere)

Brahms • Symphony No. 3

Conductor Mei-Ann Chen, praised for her passionate conducting style, leads the Orchestra in the Florida premiere of the new Piano Concerto by Orlando favorite James Lee III. Bookending the Concerto is Emilie Mayer’s Overture, whose romantic vocabulary explores Faust’s searching, questing soul and leads into the beautiful conclusion of our concert, Brahms’s Third, often called his most personal symphony. “Like a rainbow after a thunderstorm,” as the composer’s biographer Karl Geiringer describes it, with an emotional palette that paints in colors of yearning, reflection, and serene acceptance.

Sterling Elliott

Mei-Ann Chen

Alexandra Dariescu

RIMMA, SIBELIUS & THE “ORGAN SYMPHONY”

March 16 - 17, 2024

Chloé van Soeterstède, guest conductor Rimma Bergeron-Langlois, violin

Katarina Leyman • RollerCoaster:Super8

Sibelius • Violin Concerto

Saint-Saëns • Symphony No. 3 - “Organ Symphony”

Intended to be a “free comment” on Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony, Katarina Leyman’s wild roller coaster ride gets us rolling in this crowd-pleasing concert. When the soloist enters over oscillating strings, it’s as though the violin were emerging from some pristine Nordic landscape in Sibelius concerto. The second movement spins a melody that embraces you with exquisite radiance, and the final Allegro, beginning with galloping timpani rhythms, is a breathless, non-stop showcase for Concertmaster Rimma Bergeron-Langlois’ virtuosity. Saint-Saëns’ beloved “Organ Symphony” propels you ever forward to the blazing C Major chord that shows off the power and majesty of “the queen of instruments.”

MAHLER’S “RESURRECTION” SYMPHONY

May 11 - 12, 2024

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Sarah Shafer, soprano

Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano

University of Central Florida Chorus, Dr. Jeffery Redding, director

Stetson University Concert Choir, Dr. Timothy Peter, director

Mahler • Symphony No. 2 - “Resurrection”

Whatever your concept of heaven, when hearing Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony you’ll feel as though you were standing at the portals of paradise, welcomed by music that stirs your heart and soul. It encompasses memories of happiness, thunderous surges and brass fanfares, a serene, childlike song of faith, drum rolls, the last trumpet, and then—out of nowhere—a whispered chorus intones the ecstatic resurrection ode. Voices soar, singing of forgiveness, divine compassion, and eternal life: you have not lived in vain; what you have suffered, yearned and struggled for, and loved is not lost; it is yours. Do not quake; death is conquered; prepare yourself to live. You shall rise again, my heart, in an instant. Wings that you have won, shall carry you to God!

orlandophil.org

Chloé van Soeterstède

Jamie Barton

Rimma Bergeron-Langlois

Sarah Shafer

Our City, Your Orchestra.

Pops Series

All concerts performed at Steinmetz Hall. Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

November 25, 2023

Mauricio Céspedes-Rivero, conductor

Experience a reimagined and lively Home for the Holidays under the baton of Assistant Conductor Mauricio Céspedes-Rivero. A perfect way to ring in your holiday season with friends and family with holiday favorites, singers, and a few new holiday surprises.

PROHIBITION

January 20, 2024

Chelsea Gallo, conductor

Imagine time-traveling one night through the dark cabarets and speakeasies of New York, Paris, Berlin, London and Atlantic City, reliving the 1920s in all its decadence – Prohibition, Gangsters, Ingenues and Intrigue. PROHIBITION takes you on a journey through the era, from Rudy Vallée to Josephine Baker, from Kurt Weill to King Oliver, featuring the top hits of the decade authentically arranged for orchestra by GRAMMY-winner Jeff Tyzik, accompanied by vintage imagery and video from the period.

BATMAN™ (1989) FILM WITH ORCHESTRA

March 9, 2024

Mark Watters, conductor

The Dark Knight of Gotham City™ begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes a clownishly homicidal villain known as The Joker. Enjoy Tim Burton’s classic 1989 take on the comic book hero, featuring a brilliant score by Danny Elfman.

SYMPHONY OF ILLUSIONS WITH MAGICIAN MICHAEL GRANDINETTI

April 27, 2024

Chelsea Gallo, conductor

Michael Grandinetti has made a name for himself around the world as a talented and innovative illusionist. Over the past 20 years, Michael has been driven to make magic contemporary and to give it a wide, mainstream appeal. Through his work, Michael is making the art of magic modern, innovative, charismatic, and exciting while showing audiences around the world that nothing is impossible.

Mauricio Céspedes-Rivero

Chelsea Gallo

Focus Series

All concerts performed at The Plaza Live.

Monday at 7 p.m.

The very first piece on our 2023-24 Focus Series—The Unanswered Question suggests that, while humankind has been looking for explanations of life’s most profound mysteries, more often than not, those answers have been elusive. But then there’s music. “Music, of all the arts, stands in a special region, unlit by any star but its own, and utterly without meaning except its own. Music … can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable” (-Leonard Bernstein). We hope that the music on this series—by just BEING its own magnificent self—will work this miracle while delighting your ears and filling you with joy.

SEEKING ANSWERS

October 16, 2023

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

The Westerlies

Riley Mulherkar, trumpet

Chloe Rowlands, trumpet

Andy Clausen, trombone

Willem de Koch, trombone

Ives • TheUnansweredQuestion

Conrad Tao • Westerlies Concerto (commissioned by and for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and The Westerlies; world premiere)

Traditional • “Saro” (arr. Sam Amidon/Nico Muhly; adapted by The Westerlies)

Westerlies selections • arranged for orchestra

Dvořák • String Quartet No. 12, “American,” for brass quartet and orchestra (arr. Curtis Stewart)

The opening work on this program immerses us in Ives’ haunting mini-philosophy-lesson about the universe and man’s eternal search for meaning in it. Three groups of players (a string orchestra, a solo trumpet, and a group of flutes) make their arguments with the inevitable conclusion. The Westerlies, an “arty quartet … mixing ideas from jazz, new classical, and Appalachian folk” (- The New York Times) with a ferociously unique vision of brass—and yes, named for the prevailing west to east winds—blow in to play Conrad Tao’s Westerlies Concerto. And in a classy-brassy pivot, an ear-stretching take on Dvořák’s exuberant string quartet, especially arranged for the OPO and The Westerlies, is bound to please!

LATIN EXPLORATIONS BY MAGOS

November 13, 2023

Geoffrey Robson, guest conductor

Magos Herrera, vocalist

Piazzolla • Tangazo (Variations on Buenos Aires)

Gabriela Lena Frank • Leyendas (excerpts)

Magos Herrera • Selections

Mexican-born songstress Magos Herrera has a vibrant vibe that will dazzle you. The Latin Jazz Network raves: “You can now declare Magos Herrera to be one of the greatest contemporary interpreters of song.” Possessing one of the most expressive, spellbinding voices on today’s music scene, she is a force in the jazz world. Her eloquent vocal improvisations and bold style connect elements of contemporary jazz and Latin American melodies, blending genre and language boundaries. Personally, Magos is a champion of women’s causes, and on a recent recording she explored the question of finding communion in a time of isolation. Join guest conductor Geoffrey Robson and the OPO to experience this spellbinding night!

Eric Jacobsen

Magos Herrera

Geoffrey Robson

MUSIC FROM & FOR THE HEART

February 12, 2024

Georgia Mills, guest conductor

Colleen Blagov, flute

Lisa Nardi • InThisHeart(AnElegyforStrings)

Mozart • Flute Concerto No. 1

Stravinsky • Octet

Copland • Suite from AppalachianSpring

The ethereal In This Heart is your embarkation point for the works that encompass music from Lisa Nardi’s elegy for victims of violence to the Suite from Copland’s 1940s ballet about hope and dreaming and searching for the place that is just right (you’ll recognize the beloved “Simple Gifts,” based on a Shaker hymn). In between, Georgia Mills, one of our female conductors on the Focus Series, also leads Mozart’s graceful—and virtuosic—Flute Concerto with plenty of opportunities for OPO’s Principal Flute Colleen Blagov to display her abundant talents. Plus, Stravinsky’s spirited Octet for winds and brass.

MINOR MATTERS

March 25, 2024

Chelsea Gallo, guest conductor

Washington Garcia, piano

Mendelssohn • The Hebrides, a.k.a. Fingal’sCave

Mozart • Piano Concerto No. 20

Bruckner • Overture

Schubert • Symphony No. 8, “Unfinished”

The works on this program may all be in the Minor mode, but they are not minor matters! OPO Principal Guest Conductor Chelsea Gallo leads the Philharmonic in captivating musical offerings. To wit, acclaimed Pianist Washington Garcia solos in Mozart’s Concerto, whose turbulent mood engages with dark beauty and intensity. Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony presents us with a possibly unanswerable question: if its two movements are so beautifully imagined and brilliantly executed, leading to the final satisfying measures, how can it be considered anything but gloriously “finished”? Opening the concert, Mendelssohn sets waves a-rollin’ in Fingal’s Cave, the eerie concert overture inspired by his visit to Scotland.

RIMMA PRESENTS MENDELSSOHN & TCHAIKOVSKY

May 20, 2024

Rimma Bergeron-Langlois, leader and violin

Arvo Pärt • Fratres

Mendelssohn • Concerto for Violin & String Orchestra

Tchaikovsky • Souvenir de Florence, for String Orchestra

This concert has Rimma’s fingerprints—and fingers!—all over it! Not only did she curate it, she also leads the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and performs on all three works. First up is Arvo Pärt’s shimmering classical music “hit,” Fratres (Latin: Brethren), revealed through his tintinnabuli technique that immerses you in a meditative soundworld. Then it’s Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto—no, not THAT one. The wunderkind wrote another one at age 12! Across borders and decades, its manuscript was “rediscovered” and premiered by the legendary Yehudi Menuhin. And now you’re the first OPO audience to hear it. Finally, Rimma and the Philharmonic’s strings crown this evening with enriched memories of Tchaikovsky’s beloved sunny-blue-skies-Florence.

Colleen Blagov

Rimma Bergeron-Langlois

Georgia Mills

Washington Garcia

Symphony Storytime Series

All concerts performed at The Plaza Live. Saturday at 10:00 a.m. & 11:30 a.m., Sunday at 11:00 a.m. & 12:30 p.m.

Symphony Storytime Series at The Plaza Live is specially designed with your family in mind. Enjoy live music for young children, ages three to seven, along with narration and beautiful handdrawn illustrations that bring favorite children’s classics to life. 3-performance and 4-performance subscription packages are available for the Symphony Storytime Series. Tickets are just $10 and children ages 2 & under are free. Group rates are available.

SPOOKY SERENADES

October 21 - 22, 2023

HOLLY JOLLY SOUNDS OF THE SEASON

December 9 - 10, 2023

THE CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS

March 2 - 3, 2024

AESOP’S FABLES

April 20 - 21, 2024

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Summer Serenades

All concerts performed at The Plaza Live Palmer Room.

Sunday at 1:00 p.m., brunch at Noon.

OPO WOODWINDS

July 23, 2023

RIMMA AND FRIENDS PART 2

Aug 20, 2023

OPO BRASS

July 9, 2023

RIMMA AND FRIENDS PART 1

Aug 13, 2023

Resonate Festival

All concerts performed at The Plaza Live.

February 1 – Night One

February 3 – Night Two

February 5 – Night Three

Welcome to the 2024 Resonate Festival

with Artist-in-Residence Pianist Aaron Diehl and his Jazz Trio

For the third year, Music Director Eric Jacobsen has imagined and created a multi-faceted Resonate Festival that is sure to resonate with you—our audience—in these complex times for our country. And he has invited critically acclaimed Pianist Aaron Diehl to be our Artist-in-Residence for a lineup of captivating repertoire for the orchestral and Late Night concerts of the series.

So what’s on?

The outstanding musicians of your Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Music Director Eric Jacobsen.

Works featuring Aaron: Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and Harpsichord Concerto No. 1; and Mary Lou Williams Zodiac.

Three nights of music, six different concerts—February 1, 3, and 5, 2024; performances at 7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. each evening.

Engaging orchestral works by Bach, Mozart, and Weill.

Time Out after the orchestra concerts to mix, mingle, sip, and chat with friends old and new (bar service available). Then, off to the Palmer Room for some fantastic music of diverse “flavors”: from a symphony, a double concerto, and Irish folk music to compositions for violin, clarinet, and Aaron Diehl’s jazz trio.

Post-Late Night on February 5 you might want to say hello to Aaron and his Jazz Trio and celebrate the successful conclusion of Resonate Festival 2024.

A Prelude Concert with the world premiere of Ron Ramin and Portia Kamons’ Seventeen.

Introducing Artist-in-Residence

Aaron Diehl

Pianist and composer Aaron Diehl has appeared at historic venues from Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Village Vanguard to the New York Philharmonic and the Philharmonie de Paris. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Aaron traveled to New York in 2003, following his success as a finalist in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington competition and a subsequent European tour with Wynton Marsalis. For some years he immersed himself in distinctive repertoire from Monk and Ravel to Gershwin and William Grant Still. Among other towering figures, Still in particular inspires Aaron’s ongoing curation of Black American composers in his own performance programming. He has enjoyed artistic associations with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Philip Glass, and multi-GRAMMY-Award-winning artist Cécile McLorin Salvant. He recently appeared with the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra as featured soloist. He holds a bachelor of music degree in Jazz Studies from the Juilliard School. As a licensed pilot, when he’s not at the studio or the concert hall, he’s likely in the air.

What’s the deal with Diehl?

“Diehl’s manner immediately resonated with great masters of the past. His long fingers arced gracefully over the keys, suspended for a time before actually touching them. When they did finally touch, they called forth a sound that was pure silk, light, delicate, as if from another age, or perhaps a breath of wind on a clear day.”

Boston Musical Intelligencer

“Diehl has developed an organic, sophisticated approach”

DownBeat

“There’s an entire world of jazz in Aaron Diehl’s playing … Diehl has a freedom and playfulness that make you hear the piece anew … With a highly improvisatory approach, he makes the case that jazz is not one style or genre but many, gliding gorgeously among decades of artistic influences.”

Philadelphia Inquirer

Aaron Diehl

PRELUDE PROGRAM: ART IN THE TIME OF WAR

Tuesday, January 30, 2024, 7 p.m.

TBD Venue

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Mahler • Adagietto from Symphony No. 5

Ron Ramin and Portia Kamons • Seventeen (world premiere)

Shostakovich • Chamber Symphony Op. 110a (after String Quartet No. 8)

Three generations ago, following JFK’s assassination, Leonard Bernstein said: “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” At this concert, Seventeen, created by Portia Kamons and Ron Ramin, explores how a younger generation is responding to violence and seeking a more peaceful and equitable world. And so it is with the other elegiac works on the program that lend themselves to contemplative, memorial occasions: Mahler’s ethereal Adagietto, for example, played at RFK’s funeral, and Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, “In memory of the victims of fascism and war,” written after having seen the total destruction of Dresden by Allied bombardment in World War II.

BLUES ON BACH

Thursday, February 1, 2024 - Night One, 7 p.m.

Main Hall of The Plaza Live

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Aaron Diehl, piano

Patrick Flanaghan, oboe

John Lewis • Blues on Bach

Bach • Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F Major, BWV 1046

Bach • Harpsichord Concerto D Minor, BWV 1052

Music Director Eric Jacobsen leads off our Resonate Series with Bach—both the “original” and John Lewis’ take on Johann Sebastian tunes. Then it’s the exuberant first Brandenburg Concerto that grants a star turn to critically acclaimed Patrick Flanaghan (principal English horn of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) playing in the exquisite Adagio. Bach, like other composers of his time, liked to “borrow” from the best. So that meant borrowing from himself, of course! We don’t know what work(s) inspired the BWV 1052 harpsichord concerto, but we do know that it is his best-loved, performed by our Artist-inResidence. But be warned: the non-stop driving rhythms and virtuosic cadenzas may leave you a little breathless.

Aaron Diehl

Eric Jacobsen

BACH & IRISH FUN

Thursday, February 1, 2024 - Night One, 8:45 p.m.

The Palmer Room of The Plaza Live

Aoife Ní Bhriain, fiddle

Patrick Flanaghan, oboe

OPO String Quartet

J.S. Bach • Concerto in D Minor for Oboe & Violin, BWV 1060

Irish folk music

Dublin-born fiddle player Aoife Ní Bhriain’s musical pedigree embraces both classical music training and a rich family heritage of Irish folk music. This concert is a case in point, as she and renowned oboist Patrick Flanaghan—plus the OPO String Quartet—get together for some lively Irish tunes that, without warning, might morph into other sound environments. Starting the Late Night festivities, and also featuring Patrick and Aoife, it’s Bach’s Concerto in D Minor for Oboe & Violin, probably written for one of Bach’s Zimmermann Coffeehouse events in Leipzig. Special moments to savor: in the Adagio movement the solo instruments seem to intertwine while the orchestral strings play a simple pizzicato (plucked) accompaniment. Gorgeous!

CELEBRATING AMERICAN MUSIC

Saturday, February 3, 2024 - Night Two, 8:45 p.m.

The Palmer Room of The Plaza Live

Rimma Bergeron-Langlois, violin

Sarah Williams, violin

Gabriel Preisser, baritone

Gershwin • Works for violin and piano

Jessie Montgomery • Rhapsody

Prokofiev • Sonata for Two Violins

Weill • “Lost in the Stars”, “Mack the Knife”, “September Song”

Our Concertmaster Rimma shines in works by Americans of different eras: Gershwin and young superstar-composer

Jessie Montgomery’s virtuosic Rhapsody. OPO Principal Clarinet Nikolay Blagov is center stage for Copland’s Sonata, which, like our country’s vast horizons, spans a wide range of pitches and emotions. Kurt Weill embraced his adopted country, creating legendary Broadway musicals and unforgettable songs that are now part of the beloved American Songbook. You’ll be treated to some iconic favorites, irresistibly performed by GRAMMY-Awardwinner Gabriel Preisser (“impossibly charming ... Whenever he’s on stage, the energy sizzles.” - Tampa Bay Times).

ZORA NEALE HURSTON

premiere)

Saturday, February 3, 2024 - Night Two, 7 p.m.

Main Hall of The Plaza Live

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Aaron Diehl, piano

Aaron Diehl Jazz Trio

John Lewis • ADayinDubrovnik

Weill • Symphony No. 1

Kaia Kater • Zora Neale Hurston

Internationally known and honored with awards and prizes, Grenadian-Canadian singer, songwriter, and banjo artist Kaia Kater pays homage to the great Zora Neale Hurston, whose novels, short stories, and plays focus on racial struggles in the South in the early 1900s. The First Symphony by Weill (you know his macabre song “Mack the Knife”—watch for it later this evening on the Late Night concert) reflects the troubled times after World War I—sometimes meditatively, sometimes with martial cadences. In the opening number, jazzy tourists visit an Old World town.

ZODIAC

Monday, February 5, 2024 - Night Three, 7 p.m.

Main Hall of The Plaza Live

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Aaron Diehl, piano

Aaron Diehl Jazz Trio

Mozart • Symphony No. 31, “Paris”

Williams • Zodiac Suite

Dying to get away from his despised Salzburg employer, Mozart was on a job-hunting trip when he composed his 31st Symphony, for the Paris Orchestra (which happened to have a great clarinet section). He loved the instrument and—spoiler alert—this is his first symphony to use clarinets. Now, turn your eyes heavenward for illuminating impressions of musicians’ respective star signs by the legendary pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams. She masterfully combines jazz and classical idioms to depict the personalities of Ben Webster and Billie Holiday in “Aries”; Duke Ellington in “Taurus”; Art Tatum in “Libra”; Eartha Kitt in “Aquarius,” and more!

ALL THAT JAZZ

Monday, February 5, 2024, 8:45 p.m.

The Palmer Room of The Plaza Live Jazz Cabaret with local artists

Community Performances & Events

Concerts performed through the Central Florida community that are perfect family-friendly events to experience live music all year long!

LIBERTY WEEKEND

June 24, 2023

at Orlando International Airport

CLASSICAL STORYTIME FOR KIDS: CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS

June 3, 2023

9:30 a.m. & 11:30 a.m. at Bok Tower

CLASSICAL STORYTIME FOR KIDS: THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT

June 10, 2023

9:30 a.m. & 11:30 a.m. at Bok Tower

CLASSICALLY SUMMER BRASS

July 8, 2023 at Bok Tower

CLASSICALLY SUMMER WOODWINDS

July 22, 2023 at Bok Tower

CLASSICAL STORYTIME FOR KIDS: THE EMPEROR AND THE NIGHTINGALE

August 5, 2023

9:30 a.m. & 11:30 a.m. at Bok Tower

CLASSICALLY SUMMER RIMMA AND FRIENDS

August 19, 2023 at Bok Tower

THE CARNIVAL, IN COLLABORATION WITH CREATIVE CITY PROJECT

August 25, 26, 27, 2023

HOLIDAY POPS

December 2, 2023 at Bok Tower

December 3, 2023 at Winter Park

December 9, 2023 at Apopka

SPRING POPS

March 1, 2024 at St. Lukes

March 2, 2024 at Apopka

March 3, 2024 at Winter Park

Save the date and join us for a gala fundraiser to benefit your Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra

RHAPSODY 2024

February 17, 2024

Robert McDuffie

featuring Robert McDuffie, violin soloist

Arts

A Friends’ Foundation Trust

The Martin Andersen – Gracia Andersen Foundation

John & Lee Benz

City of Orlando Mayor’s Matching Grant

J. Laurence & Susan K. Costin

Alice M. Ditson Fund

Charlotte Julia Hollander Trust

Larry Kellogg & Cathy Roth

Chesley G. Magruder Foundation

Dr. Mary J. Palmer