{"id":229,"date":"2016-02-27T10:00:35","date_gmt":"2016-02-27T15:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.courtneylewis.com\/blog\/?p=229"},"modified":"2016-03-08T17:21:06","modified_gmt":"2016-03-08T22:21:06","slug":"into-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.courtneylewis.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/into-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Into the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week at the Jacksonville Symphony we announced our programs for next season. Of course all of the music has been planned for some months, but I\u2019m always delighted and relieved to tell everyone what\u2019s in store. It can be a little like waiting for Christmas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This current season\u2019s programs have outlined an artistic vision that I\u2019ve spoken about before: a great orchestra should be at home in as wide a range of repertoire as possible, from the Baroque music of the eighteenth century, all the way up to music being written by living composers. A great orchestra should also reach as many people in our community as possible, through Masterworks concerts, but also through Pops presentations and education programs. I\u2019m very proud of what we\u2019ve achieved in all these areas so far. But next season, there is more of everything.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with our Masterworks concerts. Presenting passionate and brilliant concerts of classical music is the most important part of our profession: it\u2019s what we do. To reflect that, the Masterworks season grows from ten weekend programs to twelve. You\u2019ll notice the rising calibre of our guest conductors and artists. Our season opens with Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan, currently Artist in Association with the New York Philharmonic, performing Rachmaninoff\u2019s electrifying Second Piano Concerto. Later in the season we welcome established maestro Hugh Wolff and rising star conductor Karina Canellakis. In October, we will present \u201cBachoberfest\u201d, conducted by the acclaimed music director of Apollo\u2019s Fire<\/em> (the Baroque orchestra based in Cleveland), Jeannette Sorrell. I know many of you will be delighted to hear Handel, Vivaldi and Bach return to our stage. These concerts will feature violin solo performances from our concertmaster, Philip Pan, and our newly-appointed principal second violin, Aurelia Duca.<\/p>\n

The masterpieces of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries lie at the heart of everything we play. Hugh Wolff will conduct Brahms\u2019s autumnal Second Symphony, and I\u2019m especially looking forward to conducting Beethoven\u2019s Second, Tchaikovsky\u2019s Pathetique <\/em>and Sibelius\u2019s Seventh. This is the music we know and love above all else, and it\u2019s centre-stage next season.<\/p>\n

I believe performing the music of today is vital. It\u2019s fresh, it\u2019s shocking, it tells us about who we are today, it reaches younger audiences, and it ensures the future of our art form. None of us would dream of visiting an art gallery that had stopped acquiring paintings in 1900, so why should we think any differently about an orchestra? Next season is peppered with new adventures, from established masterpieces of the late last century, like Gy\u00f6rgy Ligeti\u2019s fierce Piano Concerto (1988) and Henri Dutilleux\u2019s sensuous M\u00e9taboles <\/em>(1964) to recent compositions by living composers such as Julian Anderson\u2019s folkloric Imagin\u2019d Corners <\/em>(2002), Marty Schiff\u2019s bombastic Stomp <\/em>(1990), and young American composer Andrew Norman\u2019s thrilling Unstuck<\/em>, premiered in 2008. Let the Jacksonville Symphony be your guide on this exciting expedition.<\/p>\n

To begin and end the season, we will perform two towering masterpieces that have been long absent from Jacksonville. We open with The Rite of Spring<\/em> by Stravinsky. Probably the greatest music of the entire twentieth century, this ballet caused a riot at its premiere in Paris in 1913. Let\u2019s see what happens in Jacksonville in 2016. And we end with Mahler\u2019s colossal and rejuvenating Second Symphony.<\/p>\n

This year we launched a new trio of concerts, Symphony in 60. Complete with cocktails and HD video projections, these informal sixty-minute performances on Thursday evenings at 6 have been a great success. Next year we expand the series to four. Our pops programs also increase from ten to twelve. Join us for Ella and Louis, a celebration of Ella Fitzgerald\u2019s 100th<\/sup> birthday, and on New Year\u2019s Eve for a celebration of Frank Sinatra with Steve Reineke. We\u2019ll also be presenting the movies West Side Story<\/em> and Bugs Bunny at the Symphony<\/em>, complete with live music from the Jacksonville Symphony.<\/p>\n

Last year saw an incredible amount of change at the Jacksonville Symphony. We welcomed many new staff members, launched a new brand, logo and website, changed our programming and even saw seven new musicians join the orchestra. We are focussed on being a vital and integrated part of our community, and we are striving to lead Jacksonville into a future where great music is accessible to everyone. Next season builds on those aims, presenting a bold vision of what a 21st<\/sup> century orchestra can be.<\/p>\n

Reprinted with the kind permission of The Florida Times-Union.<\/p>\n

Original article:\u00a0http:\/\/jacksonville.com\/entertainment\/music\/2016-02-27\/story\/conducting-electricity-jacksonville-symphony-will-look-past-and<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week at the Jacksonville Symphony we announced our programs for next season. Of course all of the music has been planned for some months, but I\u2019m always delighted and relieved to tell everyone what\u2019s in store. It can be a little like waiting for Christmas. This current season\u2019s programs have outlined an artistic vision that I\u2019ve spoken about before: a great orchestra should be at home in as wide a range of repertoire as possible, from the Baroque music of the eighteenth century, all the way up to music being written by living composers. A great orchestra should also reach as many people in our community as possible, through Masterworks concerts, but also through Pops presentations and education programs. I\u2019m very proud of what<\/p>\n

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