The Charleston Symphony announces their 2024-2025 season, featuring eight Masterworks Series concerts and four Pops programs. The star-studded season includes pianists Jeremy Denk and George Li, violinists Anne Akiko Meyers and Tessa Lark, and local guitarist, Mak Grgic. A selection of acclaimed conductors will take the podium such as Andrew Grams, Michael Francis, Hans Graf, and JoAnn Falletta.
The Masterworks Series offers a dynamic range of captivating orchestral repertoire, including Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, Debussy’s La mer, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony.
The orchestra opens its Pops Series with a vibrant celebration of symphonic jazz featuring the legendary Byron Stripling, a throwback to the great movie soundtracks of the 80s with actress Jean Louise Kelly, and an evening of music from decades of iconic James Bond films.
The Charleston Symphony’s artistic partnership with the Gaillard Center continues this fall with Richmond Ballet’s Carmina Burana featuring the orchestra and CSO Chorus on October 18, 2024.
Performance details, including ticket information, will be announced at a later date.
The CSO’s 2024-25 season also marks the organization’s highly anticipated debut at Carnegie Hall, a significant milestone for the nearly 90-year-old institution. Along with the College of Charleston Orchestra and the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra, the CSO will take the world’s most venerated stage on February 26, 2025.
Artistic Director & Concertmaster Yuriy Bekker says, “I am thrilled to share another season of bold programming and exhilarating performances with our community. There is truly something for everyone. We look forward to welcoming audiences of all backgrounds to enjoy what our fantastic orchestra has to offer.”
Subscribers enjoy top benefits such as 15% savings off the cost of individual concert tickets, complimentary exchanges, and more. Visit charlestonsymphony.org/subscribe for details. Tickets for individual concerts will go on sale in August.
MOZART & TCHAIKOVSKY: BEKKER CONDUCTS OPENING WEEKEND Friday, September 20 & Saturday, September 21, 2024
Yuriy Bekker, conductor
Kelly Mozeik, oboe
Joseph Bologne, The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: “Overture” from L’Amant Anonyme (The Anonymous Lover)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concerto for Oboe in C Major
Gioachino Rossini: Overture to La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien, Op. 45
The stars of the Charleston Symphony will shine in the season’s opening weekend. Concertmaster and Artistic Director Yuriy Bekker conducts while Principal Oboe Kelly Mozeik will take center stage with Mozart’s Concerto for Oboe.
POPS: HARLEM RENAISSANCE WITH BYRON STRIPLING
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Byron Stripling, conductor, vocalist, trumpet
The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s influenced the world of music and other arts far beyond the New York City neighborhood where it was born. Celebrating 100 years of the Harlem Renaissance, trumpeter and vocalist Byron Stripling will lead the CSO for a night of symphonic jazz including music from Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Louis Armstrong.
RACH 3: FEATURING PIANIST JEREMY DENK
Thursday, October 10 & Friday, October 11, 2024
Hugh Wolff, conductor
Jeremy Denk, piano
Trevor Weston: Subwaves
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
Celebrating extraordinary creative forces joining together. Of all the great piano concertos ever written, Rachmaninoff’s Third tops the list. Among pianists, Jeremy Denk is regarded as one of the most outstanding; and amid American conductors, Hugh Wolff ranks among the most gifted.
Programming is subject to change.
SANCTUARY ROAD: IN PURSUIT OF FREEDOM
Friday, November 8 & Saturday, November 9, 2024
Andrew Grams, conductor
Laquita Mitchell, soprano
Melody Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Joshua Blue, tenor
Malcolm J. Merriweather, baritone
Benjamin Taylor, bass-baritone
Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Aaron Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man
Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings
Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring Suite
Paul Moravec: Sanctuary Road Oratorio for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra (libretto by Mark Campbell)
Conductor Andrew Grams leads the CSO in an all-American program of music that expresses the pulse of freedom, from Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber to Paul Moravec’s operatic storytelling of history in Sanctuary Road. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec describes his Sanctuary Road as an “American historical oratorio” based on the writings of William Still — an African American abolitionist who aided travelers through the Underground Railroad.
HOLIDAY POPS! A SPECTACULAR CELEBRATION
Wednesday, December 19, Thursday, December 20, & Friday, December 21, 2024
Yuriy Bekker, Conductor
Special guests to be announced
Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Charleston’s favorite holiday tradition continues. With special guests — the CSO Chorus, beloved soloists, and surprises along the way — Holiday Pops will feature seasonal holiday classics from around the world. This spectacular celebration of joy and holiday cheer is guaranteed to entertain and delight audiences of all ages.
SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE: WITH VIOLINIST ANNE AKIKO MEYERS Friday, January 10 & Saturday, January 11, 2025
Hans Graf, conductor
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
Maurice Ravel: Ma Mère l'Oye (Mother Goose)
Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto, Op. 14
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Programming is subject to change.
A once-in-a-lifetime, meaningful musical experience with the extraordinary violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and revered Austrian conductor Hans Graf. Featuring the epic orchestral masterpiece that is Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique.
POPS: MUSIC OF THE MOVIES - TOTALLY 80S
Friday, January 24, 2025
Yuriy Bekker, conductor
Jean Luisa Kelly, vocals
The orchestra will perform selections from favorite 80s movie soundtracks. Jean Louisa Kelly actress, singer, and dancer on Broadway, television, and film, joins the CSO. Kelly is best known for roles in Uncle Buck, Mr. Holland's Opus, and Top Gun: Maverick. Take a trip down memory lane with music from films like Beetlejuice, Beverly Hills Cop, E.T., Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Rocky, and more.
TCHAIKOVSKY’S VIOLIN CONCERTO: AND DEBUSSY’S LA MER
Friday, February 7 & Saturday, February 8, 2025
Michael Francis, conductor
Tessa Lark, violin
Jessie Montgomery: Strum for string orchestra
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major
Jean Sibelius: The Oceanides, Op. 73
Claude Debussy: La mer (The Sea)
Montgomery’s rhythmic Strum, Tchaikovsky’s remarkable Violin Concerto, and Debussy’s inspired La mer will leave you in with internationally renowned conductor Michael Francis and violinist Tessa Lark.
BEETHOVEN’S 5TH SYMPHONY: WITH CONDUCTOR JOANN FALLETTA Friday, March 7 & Saturday, March 8, 2025
JoAnn Falletta, conductor
George Li, piano
Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestras (CSYO & CSYS)
Florence Price: Ethiopia's Shadow in America
Franz Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 5
Programming is subject to change.
Beethoven’s famously cherished Fifth Symphony will take center stage with incredible prize-winning pianist Geoge Li. The highly accomplished JoAnn Falletta, acclaimed by American Public Media as “a mighty figure on the global music scene,” returns.
POPS: BOND AND BEYOND
Saturday, March 22, 2025
Yuriy Bekker, conductor
Chloe Lowery, vocals
The final performance of the CSO’s 2024-2025 Pops series celebrates iconic James Bond films. From the classic opening notes of the James Bond theme to heart-pumping action sequences, the CSO will perform decades of beloved music.
MAHLER 2: THE RESURRECTION SYMPHONY
Friday, March 28 & Saturday, March 29, 2025
Mikhail Agrest, conductor
Soloists will be announced
Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection”
An unforgettable program, “The Resurrection Symphony” is prominently featured in the 2023 Oscar nominated film Maestro with actor Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein famously conducting Mahler’s brilliant masterpiece.
BRAHMS’ SYMPHONY NO. 2: WITH CONDUCTOR JOSÉ LUIS GOMEZ Thursday, April 10 & Friday, April 11, 2025
José Luis Gomez, conductor
Mak Grgic, guitar
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol
Joaquín Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 2
The CSO’s final Masterworks concert of the 2024-2025 season features lush Spanish musical themes via Rimsky-Korsakov and Joaquín Rodrigo, with a detour to Austria for Brahms’ inviting and intricate Symphony No. 2. Conductor José Luis Gomez returns to the podium with Grammy nominated guitarist Mak Grgic.
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