Nashville Symphony | Ken-David Masur, conductor | Chandler Currier, tuba
You know John Williams from the movies. But there's another side to America's most iconic living composer.
Williams' Tuba Concerto* is a revelation: rollicking, adventurous, and proof that the tuba can do things you never imagined. Nashville Symphony principal tubist Chandler Currier takes the spotlight.
Around that centerpiece, the evening opens with Dobrinka Tabakova's Orpheus' Comet, a brilliant five-minute burst of energy rooted in a 400-year-old melody from Monteverdi's opera, and Smetana's The Moldau, a river journey through the Bohemian countryside written by a composer who was completely deaf.
Smetana’s compatriot Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 8 closes the program in pure sunshine: folk-inspired, bird-call melodies dancing through the orchestra with a festival of trumpet fanfare.
Tabakova: Orpheus’ Comet
Smetana: “The Moldau” from Má vlast
Williams: Tuba Concerto
Dvořák: Symphony No. 8
* A concerto is a piece that features a soloist stepping into the spotlight of a full orchestra, showcasing their virtuosity and prowess in a spellbinding musical conversation with all the other instruments around them. Our 2026/27 season highlights 10 concertos, many of them by American composers, to celebrate the extraordinary musicianship of your Nashville Symphony musicians and guest artists.
Family 4 Pack: Four tickets for $200 available ONLY for November 6 at 7:30 PM and November 8 at 2 PM. Use code HARRY before adding tickets to your cart to activate discount.
Nashville Symphony | Justin Freer, conductor
Relive the magic of your favorite wizard in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ in Concert. Based on the third installment of the classic saga, the thrilling tale is accompanied by the music of a live symphony orchestra as Harry soars across the big screen. Get ready to encounter a Dementor™, ride the Knight Bus™, and discover just who Sirius Black™ really is.
Rated PG.
All characters and elements © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR.
Nashville Symphony | Jason Seber, conductor | Denzal Sinclaire, vocalist
Denzal Sinclaire brings the music of Nat King Cole to life with his superlative voice and engaging rapport. This gorgeous tribute to Nat King Cole includes ten of the biggest hits made famous by one of America’s greatest jazz vocalists. This concert is full of variety and includes fantastic arrangements by Grammy award winner Jeff Tyzik. Denzal Sinclaire has the rare vocal gift to weave all of this music together and create a memorable evening of American song.
Nashville Symphony | Valery Saul, conductor
How America Found Its Sound invites families on a musical journey to discover how the music of many cultures came together to shape the sound of a nation. From the earliest songs of Native American communities to the deep expression of the blues, the creativity of jazz, and the storytelling of American folk music, each tradition has added its own voice to a shared musical story.
At the heart of it all is rhythm and the powerful act of gathering together. Across generations, people in America have used music to connect, celebrate, and tell their stories. As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, this program honors how rhythms, voices, and communities have always come together to create the vibrant and ever-evolving sound of America.
Nashville Symphony | Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor | Yefim Bronfman, piano
Combining their artistic talents, Music Director Laureate Giancarlo Guerrero collaborates with world-renowned pianist Yefim Bronfman. Together, they forge a partnership through Sergei Rachmaninoff’s demanding 3rd Piano Concerto. This will be a performance to savor.
While Rachmaninoff was already fully formed as a composer, another Russian was beginning to show his talents. Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his First Symphony at the age of 19. It was immediately embraced worldwide within a year of its 1926 premiere.
Julia Wolfe's Liberty Bell, co-commissioned by the Nashville Symphony, asks how music can embody the reach for freedom. Wolfe's answer is unambiguous: "Obtaining liberty is not a quiet, tidy process. It is a messy, boisterous, ongoing, interlocking struggle." You'll feel every bit of it.
Wolfe: Liberty Bell
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3
* A concerto is a piece that features a soloist stepping into the spotlight of a full orchestra, showcasing their virtuosity and prowess in a spellbinding musical conversation with all the other instruments around them. Our 2026/27 season highlights 10 concertos, many of them by American composers, to celebrate the extraordinary musicianship of your Nashville Symphony musicians and guest artists.
Presented by No Small Endeavor. This is a rental event; the Nashville Symphony will not appear on this concert.
Please note that this concert cannot be purchased with on account credit or in a Compose-Your-Own subscription package.
Nashville Symphony | Norman Huynh, conductor
Experience your favorite Christmas film transformed with the music of a live symphony orchestra in Elf™ in Concert! Audiences can rediscover the magic of this holiday classic while your Nashville Symphony performs John Debney’s wonderful score and Santa Claus soars across the big screen in high-definition.
Rated PG.
Nashville Symphony | Jason Seber, conductor | Vanderbilt Youth Choirs
A Music City holiday favorite, this beloved comedy classic features renowned composer John Williams' charming and delightful score performed live to picture by the Nashville Symphony. Macaulay Culkin stars as Kevin McCallister, an 8-year-old boy who is accidentally left behind when his family leaves for Christmas vacation, and who must defend his home against two bungling thieves. Hilarious and heart-warming, Home Alone is holiday fun for the entire family and a Nashville Symphony yearly holiday tradition!
Rated PG.
Members of the Nashville Symphony | Chris Norton, conductor
Join members of your Nashville Symphony brass, percussion, and organ sections for a festive and joyful holiday concert. Audiences of all ages will rejoice in beautiful, seasonal selections like "The Suite" from The Nutcracker, March of the Toys from Babes in Toyland, “Joy to the World,” and “Sleigh Ride.” Our musicians can’t wait to share our classical Christmas celebration with you, your family, and friends in the splendor of Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
Nashville Symphony | Charles Esten, songwriter
For the third year in a row, this one-of-a-kind experience comes back to Schermerhorn Symphony Center, where the Nashville Symphony joins forces with The Bluebird Cafe to bring you Bluebird at the Symphony. This time we've added a special Christmas edition with CMT's NASHVILLE star, Charles "Chip" Esten. In this artistic collaboration, celebrated songwriters will perform their familiar favorites reimagined with magnificent orchestrations performed live by the GRAMMY®-winning Nashville Symphony.
Since 1982, Nashville’s iconic Bluebird Cafe has celebrated the craft of songwriting, offering an intimate environment that pulls back the curtain on the “Heroes Behind the Hits.” Over four decades, countless artists and songwriters have launched their careers at The Bluebird, giving audiences a front-row seat to the creative process.
Bluebird at the Symphony offers an only-in-Nashville fusion of our community's rich songwriting tradition with the unparalleled talent of the Nashville Symphony. Discover the songwriting soul of Music City in a new way as you hear timeless favorites transported from the Cafe to the Symphony stage.
Nashville Symphony | Leonard Slatkin, conductor | Teller, narrator | Hilá Plitmann, soprano
You know him as one half of the legendary Emmy-winning illusionist duo Penn & Teller. But beyond his career as a magician, he's also an author, director, and classical music aficionado. This January, you'll hear the debut of Teller's original narration for Camille Saint-Saëns' suite The Carnival of the Animals.
Composers have long looked to the animal world for inspiration in expressing human emotions and experiences, from humor and grace to pathos and even love. It's no wonder that the Carnival, along with Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee and Gershwin's Promenade (Walking the Dog), have become favorites of audiences around the globe.
That's why Music Director Leonard Slatkin has paired them with Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan. Dylan's lyrics, in songs like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "All Along the Watchtower," speak timelessly to the complexities—and the joys—of the human condition. Set to new music by John Corigliano and performed by Israeli-American soprano Hila Plitmann, the playfulness of Dylan's poetry here becomes a fitting companion to the animal-inspired symphonic world of Teller and Saint-Saëns.
Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture
Corigliano: Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan
Rimsky-Korskaov: Flight of the Bumblebee
Gershwin: Promenade (Walking the Dog)
Anderson: The Waltzing Cat
Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals
Nashville Symphony | Caitlyn Smith, songwriter | Gordie Sampson, songwriter| Troy Verges, songwriter
For the third year in a row, this one-of-a-kind experience comes back to Schermerhorn Symphony Center, where the musicians of the Nashville Symphony join forces with The Bluebird Cafe to bring you Bluebird at the Symphony. In this artistic collaboration, celebrated songwriters will perform their familiar favorites, made famous by superstars like Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Luke Bryan, Dan + Shay, Carrie Underwood, and more—reimagined with magnificent orchestrations performed live by musicians of the GRAMMY®-winning Nashville Symphony.
Since 1982, Nashville’s iconic Bluebird Cafe has celebrated the craft of songwriting, offering an intimate environment that pulls back the curtain on the “Heroes Behind the Hits.” Over four decades, countless artists and songwriters have launched their careers at The Bluebird, giving audiences a front-row seat to the creative process.
Bluebird at the Symphony offers an only-in-Nashville fusion of our community's rich songwriting tradition with the unparalleled talent of the musicians of the Nashville Symphony. Discover the songwriting soul of Music City in a new way as you hear timeless favorites transported from the Cafe to the Symphony stage.
Nashville Symphony | conductor to be announced
Young Tony Stradivarius has found a book of spells—what will Tony and the orchestra discover when they open it? Learn all about the instruments of the orchestra, the conductor, and the musical magic they create in this interactive and exciting concert!
Nashville Symphony | Wilbur Lin, conductor
"Once you've met someone you never really forget them" - Spirited Away
Journey through the sound world created by celebrated composer Joe Hisaishi for Studio Ghibli. Featuring music from My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Kiki's Delivery Service, your Nashville Symphony presents the music of legendary Studio Ghibli favorites. Experience the emotion, adventure, and imagination of these iconic films through music that has inspired generations around the world.
Please note, these performances do not include film projections. Joe Hisaishi will not appear live at this event.
Nashville Symphony | Eric Jacobsen, conductor | Joshua Kováč, cello
“When I started learning the cello, I fell in love with the instrument because it seemed like a voice—my voice.”
That's how Mstislav Rostropovich, the greatest cellist of the 20th century, described his relationship with this storied instrument. Tonight, you'll know why.
Joshua Kováč (born 2007) is a Tennessee native who won the Nashville Symphony’s own Curb Concerto Competition. Tonight, he steps into the spotlight as a soloist in his own right to perform Victor Herbert’s Cello Concerto No 2. Known for Broadway hits like Babes in Toyland and Naughty Marietta, Herbert was also a virtuoso cellist, and this piece is the work of a composer who knew the instrument from the inside out.
Conductor Eric Jacobsen, himself a Juilliard-trained cellist who founded one of this country’s most innovative ensembles, The Knights, frames the evening with Rossini's irresistible Barber of Seville Overture and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4: fate-haunted, fierce, and electrifying to the very end.
Rossini: Overture to Barber of Seville
Herbert: Cello Concerto No. 2
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
The Lawrence S. Levine Memorial Concert
* A concerto is a piece that features a soloist stepping into the spotlight of a full orchestra, showcasing their virtuosity and prowess in a spellbinding musical conversation with all the other instruments around them. Our 2026/27 season highlights 10 concertos, many of them by American composers, to celebrate the extraordinary musicianship of your Nashville Symphony musicians and guest artists.
Nashville Symphony | David Newman, conductor
One of the most beloved films of all time, The Wizard of Oz, can now be seen and heard in a magical new production. John Goberman, Emmy-Award winning producer of Live from Lincoln Center, and the creator of the acclaimed A Symphonic Night at the Movies, presents Oz with Orchestra.
The Wizard of Oz was a technical marvel for the MGM studio in the late 1930s. Today, MGM has stunningly re-mastered this timeless classic. The brilliantly restored images are accompanied by full symphony orchestra playing entirely new transcriptions of Harold Arlen’s brilliant lost scores. Hearing Judy Garland’s original 1939 studio recordings, backed by lush, live orchestration, will transport children and adults alike. With this version of The Wizard of Oz on the big screen, moviegoers will be treated to the Oscar-winning film as it has never been seen before.
In summer of 2005, the program premiered to sold out crowds at Wolf Trap and the Ravinia Festival. Claire Marie Blaustein of The Washington Post declared, “It was an exciting evening, and the grander message of this event was truly something I found in my own back yard – the five children sitting next to me…who had never seen the movie before. There were as enraptured at their first sights of the Emerald City as I was seeing it with new eyes.”
Rated G.
Nashville Symphony | Lucas Waldin, conductor | Capathia Jenkins, vocalist | Ryan Shaw, vocalist
A tribute to the Queen of Soul, this program features symphony favorite Capathia Jenkins and three-time Grammy Award nominee Ryan Shaw performing iconic hits, such as Respect, Think, A Natural Woman, Chain of Fools, Amazing Grace, and many others.
Nashville Symphony | The Love Junkies: Liz Rose, Lori McKenna, and Hillary Lindsey, songwriters
For the third year in a row, this one-of-a-kind experience comes back to Schermerhorn Symphony Center, where the musicians of the Nashville Symphony join forces with The Bluebird Cafe to bring you Bluebird at the Symphony. In this artistic collaboration, celebrated songwriters will perform their familiar favorites, made famous by superstars like Taylor Swift, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Lady Gaga, Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, and more—reimagined with magnificent orchestrations performed live by musicians of the GRAMMY®-winning Nashville Symphony.
Since 1982, Nashville’s iconic Bluebird Cafe has celebrated the craft of songwriting, offering an intimate environment that pulls back the curtain on the “Heroes Behind the Hits.” Over four decades, countless artists and songwriters have launched their careers at The Bluebird, giving audiences a front-row seat to the creative process.
Bluebird at the Symphony offers an only-in-Nashville fusion of our community's rich songwriting tradition with the unparalleled talent of the musicians of the Nashville Symphony. Discover the songwriting soul of Music City in a new way as you hear timeless favorites transported from the Cafe to the Symphony stage.
Nashville Symphony & Chorus | Leonard Slatkin, conductor | Tucker Biddlecombe, chorus director | Érik Gratton, flute | Diana Newman, soprano | Theo Hoffman, baritone
Leonard Slatkin leads the orchestra and chorus in Johannes Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, an unexpected expression of grace likely prompted by the death of the composer’s mother. The sheer beauty of this work has endeared it to audiences since its premiere. Brahms here offers something rare: music that sits with grief and transposes it into consolation, confidence, and even hope.
The program features Nashville Symphony principal flutist Érik Gratton stepping into the spotlight for Ibert's Flute Concerto*, one of the most demanding works ever written for the instrument—so ferociously difficult it became an exam piece at the Paris Conservatoire.
The evening opens in a French vein with Paul Dukas' 8-minute masterpiece The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a marvel of imagination and orchestration.
Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Ibert: Concerto for Flute and Orchestra
Brahms: A German Requiem
* A concerto is a piece that features a soloist stepping into the spotlight of a full orchestra, showcasing their virtuosity and prowess in a spellbinding musical conversation with all the other instruments around them. Our 2026/27 season highlights 10 concertos, many of them by American composers, to celebrate the extraordinary musicianship of your Nashville Symphony musicians and guest artists.
Nashville Symphony | Anna Rakitina, conductor | Karen Slack, soprano
Guest conductor Anna Rakitina and soprano Karen Slack combine for a program that celebrates women’s voices in music.
African Queens, co-commissioned by the Nashville Symphony, features new music by seven of today's most acclaimed composers, each painting a portrait of historic African queens largely unknown to Western audiences.
Opening the concert, another strong female figure from music history appears in the form of Carmen. Georges Bizet’s masterpiece, and the Suite drawn from it,give orchestra and audience a flavor of Spain of yesteryear.
The program concludes with one of the most popular works of the orchestral repertoire: Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. The work was written as an act of devotion for his friend Viktor Hartmann, a painter who died suddenly at 39, and whose images might have vanished entirely had Mussorgsky not walked through his memorial gallery and refused to let them disappear. Ravel's dazzling orchestration makes every canvas blaze.
Bizet: Suite No. 1 from Carmen
Barnes, Geter, Montgomery, Okpebholo, Ragland, Simon, Thompson: African Queens for Soprano and Orchestra
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Nashville Symphony | Rich Daniels, conductor | Warren Haynes, vocalist & guitar | John Medeski, keyboards | Kevin Scott, bass | Terence Higgins, drums | Greg Osby, saxophone | Saundra Williams & Mayteana Morales, background vocals
GRAMMY® Award-winning vocalist, songwriter, guitar legend, producer, and Gov’t Mule frontman Warren Haynes announces two special nights at Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the home of the Nashville Symphony—presented by Lightning 100.1 FM. On Thursday, March 11 and Friday, March 12, Warren Haynes will perform the Dreams & Songs Symphonic Experience with the Nashville Symphony, led by conductor Rich Daniels from the Chicago City Lights Orchestra. The symphonic show will explore all aspects of Warren’s incredible catalog and career including music from Gov’t Mule, Allman Brothers Band, The Dead, and his solo albums. The Dreams & Songs Symphonic Experience was inspired by his Warren’s hugely popular Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration, which featured 30 total shows throughout 2013-2016. In March 2019, Haynes first premiered his show “Dreams & Songs – A Symphonic Journey” to rave reviews with two sold-out shows with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra in his hometown of Asheville, NC. Alongside a full orchestra and an A-list band of core musicians, the one-of-a-kind evenings featured symphonic adaptations of his career-spanning material in a unique and distinctive way, allowing Haynes to stay true to his rock and improvisational roots while also embracing the power and beauty of the symphony. The Dreams & Songs Symphonic Experience returned in 2024 with nine U.S. shows, including an evening at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and a special show in 2026 in New Orleans featuring an all-new, expanded experience.
Visionary artist Warren Haynes – ranked among the “Greatest Guitarists of All Time” by Rolling Stone – is a cornerstone of the American music landscape, lauded as one of the most formidable guitarists and vocalists of the modern era and a prolific songwriter and producer. Throughout his prolific career as part of three of the greatest live groups in rock history – Allman Brothers Band, Gov’t Mule and the Dead – and an acclaimed solo artist, he has become one of music’s most treasured storytellers and his artistry has led to thousands of memorable performances and millions of album and track sales. After joining the Allman Brothers Band in 1989, Haynes released his first solo album, Tales of Ordinary Madness, in 1993 and soon after, formed Gov’t Mule, originally as a side project during band breaks. The Mule has since created a revered catalog of more than 20+ studio and live albums over the past 30 years, including multiple GRAMMY nominations. Haynes has also released a total of four acclaimed solo albums. In addition, he curates and hosts the Christmas Jam, an annual star-studded charity show in Asheville, which celebrated its 33rd event in 2025, making it one of the longest running live concerts in the U.S.
Guitar Player VIP Package - $257
Symphonic Experience VIP Package - $207
*Location provided at time of purchase
**same as used by Warren Haynes
Nashville Symphony | Valentina Peleggi, conductor | Kevin Bate, cello
Scheherazade. The very name thrusts us into the world of One Thousand and One Nights. A young maiden saves her life by telling spellbinding stories to the sultan, thereby sparing herself from death. You'll hear her voice in the solo violin winding through all four movements, sensuous and impossible to resist. Be enchanted by one of the most captivating works in the entire symphonic canon.
The Nashville Symphony is proud of its outstanding musicians, and in this program we feature one in the solo spotlight: principal cellist Kevin Bate in Camille Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No. 1*, one of the most elegant pieces ever written for the instrument.
In celebration of Women’s History Month, conductor Valentina Peleggi opens the concert with British composer Anna Clyne's Masquerade, a five-minute burst of fireworks inspired by the 18th-century pleasure gardens where music belonged to everyone.
Clyne: Masquerade
Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
* A concerto is a piece that features a soloist stepping into the spotlight of a full orchestra, showcasing their virtuosity and prowess in a spellbinding musical conversation with all the other instruments around them. Our 2026/27 season highlights 10 concertos, many of them by American composers, to celebrate the extraordinary musicianship of your Nashville Symphony musicians and guest artists.
Nashville Symphony | Kristian Bush, songwriter | Lee Thomas Miller, songwriter | Wendell Mobley, songwriter
For the third year in a row, this one-of-a-kind experience comes back to Schermerhorn Symphony Center, where the musicians of the Nashville Symphony join forces with The Bluebird Cafe to bring you Bluebird at the Symphony. In this artistic collaboration, celebrated songwriters will perform their familiar favorites, made famous by superstars like Sugarland, Trace Adkins, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, and more—reimagined with magnificent orchestrations performed live by musicians of the GRAMMY®-winning Nashville Symphony.
Since 1982, Nashville’s iconic Bluebird Cafe has celebrated the craft of songwriting, offering an intimate environment that pulls back the curtain on the “Heroes Behind the Hits.” Over four decades, countless artists and songwriters have launched their careers at The Bluebird, giving audiences a front-row seat to the creative process.
Bluebird at the Symphony offers an only-in-Nashville fusion of our community's rich songwriting tradition with the unparalleled talent of the musicians of the Nashville Symphony. Discover the songwriting soul of Music City in a new way as you hear timeless favorites transported from the Cafe to the Symphony stage.
Nashville Symphony & Chorus | Tucker Biddlecombe, chorus director
Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21, 1685. After his death in 1750, his music fell into near obscurity until a 20-year-old Felix Mendelssohn conducted a revival concert in 1829 that changed the course of music history.
Tonight we celebrate the composer the world almost lost. The evening spans the full range of Bach's genius: the Brandenburg Concertos No. 2 and No. 3, with their dazzling interplay of instruments; the achingly beautiful Prelude from the Cello Suite No. 1; the Toccata and Fugue in D minor — one of the most instantly recognizable pieces ever written, heard in everything from Fantasia to Halloween soundtracks; the stately grandeur of the Suite No. 3 with its famous Air; and the beloved "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."
The evening culminates in the Magnificat: Bach's most jubilant choral work, a blazing setting of Mary's song of praise for chorus, soloists, trumpets, and full orchestra. Nashville Symphony Chorus Director Tucker Biddlecombe conducts.
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major, BWV 1047
“Prelude” from Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
Suite No. 3 in D Major for Orchestra, BWV 1068
Magnificat, BWV 243
“Jesus bleibet meine Freude” from Cantata No. 147 ("Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben"), BWV 147
Nashville Symphony | Scott Terrell, conductor
The action-packed adventure pits man against prehistoric predators in the ultimate battle for survival. Featuring visually stunning imagery and groundbreaking special effects, this epic film is sheer movie magic 65 million years in the making.
Now audiences can experience Jurassic Park as never before: projected in HD with a full symphony orchestra performing John Williams’ iconic score live to picture.
Welcome… to Jurassic Park!
Rated PG-13.
© Universal City Studios LLC and Amblin Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Nashville Symphony | Leonard Slatkin, conductor | Will Leathers, trumpet
Long a staple of the symphonic canon, Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 (“The Great”) remains a touchstone for every orchestra and conductor. Classic in its structure but Romantic in its grandeur, it has been described by some as being of “heavenly length.” Or, as Robert Schumann said, "the riches that lay here made me tremble with excitement."
As a companion piece, Music Director Leonard Slatkin will present his own take on the great Austrian composer. He imagines Schubert living today but still writing as he did more than two hundred years ago. It is a pastiche of sounds and styles both past and present.
The program features Nashville Symphony principal trumpeter Will Leathers presenting the world premiere of Ricardo Mollá's Trumpet Concerto.* The Spanish composer, also a trumpet player, wrote this work specifically to highlight Leathers’ prowess on the instrument.
Slatkin: Schubertiade
Mollá: Trumpet Concerto | World Premiere
Schubert: Symphony No. 9
* A concerto is a piece that features a soloist stepping into the spotlight of a full orchestra, showcasing their virtuosity and prowess in a spellbinding musical conversation with all the other instruments around them. Our 2026/27 season highlights 10 concertos, many of them by American composers, to celebrate the extraordinary musicianship of your Nashville Symphony musicians and guest artists.
Nashville Symphony | Keith Lockhart, conductor
Keith Lockhart launches our Pops Through the Century series with a joyful celebration of style that made Pops concerts an American favorite. With the longtime conductor of the Boston Pops holding the baton, this program blends Broadway hits, Hollywood classics, and dazzling orchestral show pieces for an unforgettable evening. This concert captures the wit, charm, and energy that defined the golden age of Pops.
Nashville Symphony | conductor to be announced
Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra is a GRAMMY® Award-winning, multi-media concerto from composer Mason Bates accompanying an animated film by a multi-Oscar-winning creative team. Guided by a magical Sprite, the families of instruments in the orchestra overcome their differences to demonstrate “unity from diversity” in a spectacular finale.
Nashville Symphony | Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor | Peter Otto, violin
Three composers. Three generations. One evening that moves from contemplation to confidence.
Missy Mazzoli opens with These Worlds in Us, dedicated to her father, a Vietnam War veteran. Her piece is a haunting meditation on memory and loss that she described as the discovery that "grief is not often far from joy."
Then Nashville Symphony concertmaster Peter Otto steps into the spotlight for Korngold's Violin Concerto.* A Viennese exile who found refuge in Hollywood, Korngold essentially invented the sweeping orchestral sound we still associate with epic cinema, and this concerto, built from themes in his film scores, carries that same grandeur into the concert hall.
We close the evening with Brahms' Second Symphony, which he warned friends was so melancholy, "you will not be able to bear it." He was wrong. It turned out to be his sunniest, most pastoral work. You’ll feel the arrival of spring in the final movement’s unbridled joy.
Mazzoli: These Worlds In Us
Korngold: Violin Concerto
Brahms: Symphony No. 2
* A concerto is a piece that features a soloist stepping into the spotlight of a full orchestra, showcasing their virtuosity and prowess in a spellbinding musical conversation with all the other instruments around them. Our 2026/27 season highlights 10 concertos, many of them by American composers, to celebrate the extraordinary musicianship of your Nashville Symphony musicians and guest artists.
Nashville Symphony | Nicholas Buc, conductor
YOU’LL BELIEVE A MAN CAN FLY.
By arrangement with Warner Bros. Pictures, Film Concerts Live! proudly announces Superman in Concert. Hollywood’s greatest cinematic superhero returns to the big screen in the film that started it all, and now audiences can experience the Man of Steel in concert halls around the world accompanied by the power of a full symphony orchestra performing John Williams’ triumphant original score live to picture!
Directed by Richard Donner, and showcasing a young Christopher Reeve in a breakout performance that would make him an international superstar, Superman features a star-studded cast including Margot Kidder as intrepid reporter Lois Lane, Gene Hackman as the villainous Lex Luthor, and the inimitable Marlon Brando as Jor-El.
Donner’s brilliant big screen adaptation relays the inspiring origins of Superman, from his narrow escape as an infant from the doomed planet Krypton, to his formative years on a farm in Smallville, Kansas, and finally to his arrival in Metropolis, where he leads dual lives as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent and as the mythic Man of Steel. Don’t miss this exciting chance to experience a beloved classic film as never before!
Rated PG.
SUPERMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics. © 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Nashville Symphony | Nathan Aspinall, conductor | Inon Barnatan, piano
In 1802, Beethoven sat alone in a village outside Vienna and wrote a letter to his brothers that he never sent. He was going deaf. He was in despair. He contemplated ending his life. Then he went home and wrote music so full of joy and light it astonishes listeners to this day.
The Piano Concerto No. 4 opens with the soloist alone, quietly, as if thinking out loud, before the orchestra responds. The New York Times calls pianist Inon Barnatan "one of the most admired pianists of his generation." He has recorded all of Beethoven’s Concertos, to great acclaim.
Symphony No. 2 closes the evening in pure exuberance. It’s Beethoven's defiant, life-affirming answer to everything the world had thrown at him thus far.
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, op. 58
Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 36
Nashville Symphony | Enrico Lopez-Yañez, conductor | Better Than Ezra
Alt-rock icons Better Than Ezra have been making music that lodges itself permanently in your brain for over 35 years. Now they’re join forces with the Nashville Symphony to give their hits an entirely new dimension. You'll hear "Good," "Desperately Wanting," and "Breathless" reimagined with the full power of an orchestra behind them, each song revealing layers you never knew were there. Frontman Kevin Griffin, co-founder of Middle Tennessee’s beloved Pilgrimage Music Festival, brings his deep Nashville roots to a night that bridges the worlds of rock and classical in the most irresistible way possible.
Nashville Symphony | conductor to be announced
What makes a hero? Join us for a fun, family-friendly concert, that explores how music tells the stories of heroes and villains through bold sounds, sneaky themes, and soaring melodies.
As we listen, we’ll discover that heroes aren’t just found in stories; they’re all around us. Heroes help others, stand up for what’s right, and bring people together. Because being a hero doesn’t take superpowers, just heart, kindness, and the courage to do good.
Nashville Symphony | Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
A symphony must be like an entire world; it should contain everything." – Gustav Mahler
Mahler’s Seventh Symphony makes good on that promise.
A journey from night to day across five vast movements, it begins in shadow and mystery, moves through a dance Mahler himself described as ghostly and sinister, and then into an intimate nocturnal serenade where guitar and mandolin shimmer inside the orchestra's enormous sound, before the finale erupts into the blazing light of day.
Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero, who has made Mahler a cornerstone of his legacy with the Nashville Symphony, conducts.
Mahler: Symphony No. 7
Nashville Symphony | Deanna Tham, conductor
“You must feel the Force around you...”
The battle for the galaxy intensifies in this thrilling fifth episode of the unfolding saga. As Imperial Forces launch an all-out attack on the Rebel Alliance, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) flee to Cloud City where they are captured by Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) journeys to the mysterious, marshy planet of Dagobah, where the wise Jedi Master Yoda teaches the young hero the ways of the Force.
Little does Luke know that all his Jedi training will be called upon so soon. A stunning revelation–and a seeming life-or-death duel with Darth Vader–awaits.
Rated PG
Nashville Symphony | Leonard Slatkin, conductor
The season ends where it began: with America, and everything it means to the composers and performers who call it home.
Cindy McTee's Adagio for String Orchestra opens the evening with quiet weight. Written in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, and commissioned by Leonard Slatkin himself when he was Music Director of the National Symphony, it returns here in his hands as a personal reflection on his lifelong commitment to American repertoire.
Copland's Billy the Kid follows. With the wide-open prairies, the gunfights, and the cowboy songs, it’s his most vivid portrait of the American frontier. This is a rare performance of the complete ballet rather than the usual suite.
The season closes with Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra,* written by a Hungarian exile who arrived in New York in 1940 with nothing, fell gravely ill, and was convinced he would never compose again—until a conductor appeared at his hospital bedside with a commission and a vote of confidence. What followed, written in under two months, is one of the most joyful and virtuosic works in the orchestral repertoire. Every instrument gets its moment. Every section soars.
It is the exclamation point on our 2026-2027 season: a celebration of 250 years of the United States of America, 80 years of the Nashville Symphony, 20 years at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and our nation’s relentless musical spirit.
McTee: Adagio for String Orchestra
Copland: Billy the Kid: Ballet in one act
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
* A concerto is a piece that features a soloist stepping into the spotlight of a full orchestra, showcasing their virtuosity and prowess in a spellbinding musical conversation with all the other instruments around them. Our 2026/27 season highlights 10 concertos, many of them by American composers, to celebrate the extraordinary musicianship of your Nashville Symphony musicians and guest artists.
Nashville Symphony | Gary Fry, conductor | Cody Fry
Some artists write songs; Cody Fry builds worlds: cinematic, orchestral, impossible to get out of your head. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter-composer first captured the internet's heart with "I Hear a Symphony," which went viral on TikTok and charted in 38 countries, and his music has always sounded like it belongs in a concert hall. Fry returns to the Schermerhorn stage for an evening of his most beloved songs conducted by his father, orchestral composer Gary Fry, in a collaboration that is equal parts homecoming and celebration.
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