Letter from the Music Director

MUSIC DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

Get ready to dance! Dance is a universal artistic expression. It tells stories, can express both exultation and angst, and it is an essential part of celebrations and social gatherings the world over. Humans seem to instinctively move to music. We tap our toes when we hear a catchy beat, we can dance almost as soon as we learn to walk, and we sway to rhythms even sitting in our seats watching a concert or driving in our cars. We’re wired to move to music, and this year we’re cranking up the tunes for our audiences with the best of dance music for orchestra.

The orchestral repertoire is full of wonderful dance music. There is music written specifically for dance performances like the great ballets of Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky and the musicals of Broadway. Then there is music written for us all to dance to, such as waltzes and polkas, and in a more stately era, sarabandes and minuets. There is also music inspired by dance, when composers turn to their country’s dance traditions and bring them alive in the concert hall. We’ll be playing all of these this year, in a season full of energetic, eclectic, and upbeat dance music. We know it’s going to have us all tapping our toes and dancing along. We’re so glad to have you here dancing with us! Kyle Wiley Pickett Kyle Wiley Pickett

Music Director and Conductor, Springfi eld Symphony Orchestra

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