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Nashville Symphony Announces 2023/24 Season

Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero Presents Seminal Works Showcasing the Virtuosity and Versatility of the Nashville Symphony Musicians and Signaling a Full Return Following COVID-19

Season Features Beloved Classics from the Traditional Repertoire; Discoveries from Composers Grażyna Bacewicz, Anna Clyne, William Dawson, Tania León, Jessie Montgomery, Julia Perry, and Florence Price; Live Recordings of Works by Chick Corea, John Corigliano, and Antonio Estévez

Guest Artists Include Conductors Wayne Marshall and Ruth Rhinehardt; Violinists Jennifer Koh and Gil Shaham; Cellist Zuill Bailey; Pianists Janice Carissa, Garrick Ohlsson, Awadagin Pratt, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet; Saxophonist Timothy McAllister; Trombonist Joseph Alessi; Vocalists Sasha Cooke, Aquiles Machado, Juan Tomás Martinez, and Sidney Outlaw

Special 23/24 Highlights Include Opening Night with Béla Fleck; a Season-Long Celebration of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue; and One-Night-Only with Yo-Yo Ma

Pops Series with Principal Pops Conductor Enrico Lopez Yañez Welcomes Trisha Yearwood, Jefferson Starship, Patti LaBelle, Amos Lee, Byron Stripling and Tony DeSare, Frankie Moreno, and Tituss Burgess Family Series Presents Pirates: The Quest for Blackbeard’s Treasure, Sleepover at the Museum, Philharmonia Fantastique, and The Unicorn’s Birthday; Live Orchestra-to-Film Presentations Include
Encanto, Home Alone, Hocus Pocus, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, and E.T.

Holiday Concerts Include Handel’s Messiah, A Very Dave Barnes Christmas, Joss Stone, and Boyz II Men’s First Holiday Concert; Jazz Series Presents Esperanza Spalding, Kenny Barron Trio, The Duke Ellington Orchestra and Marcus Miller

NASHVILLE, TN—March 23, 2023 Featuring more than 85 performances covering a range of genres and styles, the Nashville Symphony has announced its 2023/24 season. Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero will conduct 11 of 14 Classical Series programs, offering seminal works to showcase the virtuosity and versatility of the Orchestra’s musicians, including Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet Suite, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Gustav Mahler’s Tenth Symphony. In addition to beloved staples of the classical repertoire, he will also give voice to underrepresented composers, with works including Julia Perry’s Short Piece for Orchestra, William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony, Florence Price’s Dances in the Canebreaks (arranged by William Grant Still), Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds for Piano and String Orchestra, Antonio Estevez’s Cantata Criolla, and Anna Clyne’s In the Midnight Hour.

“Here in Music City, the Nashville Symphony audience is among the most adventurous in the world. This means we can put our own Nashville stamp on every program by elevating under-represented voices and championing the American composers of our time,” said Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero. “Placing these works in the context of well-known repertoire refreshes the classics and helps us hear them in a whole new light.”

Guest artists include pianist and longtime Symphony collaborator Garrick Ohlsson performing Brahms’ First Piano Concerto (Sep. 14 to 16), Janice Carissa performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 (Feb. 2 & 3), Jennifer Koh performing Barber’s Violin Concerto (Feb. 22 to 24), Zuill Bailey performing Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 (Apr. 5 & 6), and Gil Shaham performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto (May 2 to 4).

The Classical Series culminates with two profound performances: Guerrero conducts Mahler’s Symphony No. 10 (May 16 to 18), completing his multi-year survey of all ten Mahler symphonies. And the centerpiece of the final concert in the Classical Series is Carmina burana with the Nashville Symphony Chorus, and Blair Children’s Chorus (May 30 to Jun. 2).

“Over the past few years, the world around us has changed in profound ways, and the Nashville Symphony has created a new strategic framework to address the challenges and opportunities ahead,” said Chief Operating Officer Tonya Robles.  “The Symphony is now, more than ever, committed to serving the entirety of Nashville and Middle Tennessee both onstage and off, and we’re confident that the 23/24 season will inspire and engage our diverse community with extraordinary live orchestral music.”

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