Sat, Apr 12, 2025 | 7:00 PM

Sanctuary Hall at First Congregational

Sun, Apr 13, 2025 | 3:00 PM

Kaul Auditorium at Reed College

The season of seasons closes by honoring the themes of light, love, and rebirth through acclaimed works by Pergolesi, Scarlatti, Bach, and Vivaldi. In Vivaldi’s “Summer,” the cuckoo, dove, and goldfinch sing in the blazing sun before the winds begin to blow. Following an homage to Scarlatti, including his Salve Regina in G Minor, we conclude with a work that he inspired; Pergolessi’s final masterpiece, Stabat Mater. Its dancing rhythms and decorative trills contrast effectively with the tender, passionate text sung by soprano Anna Dennis, rounding out the season with a sense of joy and hope.

Gustav Holst, a keen student of astrology, seized on the different characters assigned to our planets to compose his masterpiece. Each planet brings different feelings and startling effects, from Mars’ shattering depiction of war to Neptune as it drifts away into space and ethereal voices fade into silence. Breathtaking high-definition imagery from NASA showcases our solar system’s heavenly bodies.

Music Director Designate Xian Zhang makes a welcome return to conduct, and inspirational soloist Steven Banks makes his Seattle Symphony debut in Diaspora — a saxophone concerto written for him by American composer Billy Childs, in which the past, present and future of the Black experience serve as inspiration.

Thursday 7:30, Saturday 8:00, Sunday 2:00

Sat, Mar 15, 2025 | 7:00 PM

Sun, Mar 16, 2025 | 3:00 PM

Friday, February 28 at 7:30

Saturday, March 1 at 7:30

The Epiphany Choir & Orchestra
Zach Hemenway, conductor

Danielle Ruetter-Harrah, soprano
Jay Carter, countertenor
José Luis Muñoz, countertenor

Featuring G.F. Handel’s Birthday Ode for Queen Anne and Henry Purcell’s Birthday Ode for Queen Mary (Come, ye sons of art), this concert will satisfy whatever wish you have. Splashy and celebratory choruses? Present. Lighthearted Duets? Present. Stunningly beautiful solo lines? Present. So beautiful, in fact, that the first movement of Handel’s ode, Eternal Source of Light Divine, has been sung at numerous royal occasions, including most recently at the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. The evening will be rounded out with Correlli’s much-beloved Concerto Grosso No. 8 in g minor. Danielle Reutter-Harrah, soprano; Jay Carter, countertenor; José Luis Muñoz, countertenor.

Thursday January 30 at 7:30

Friday January 31 at 12:00

Saturday February 1 at 8:00

Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot returns to the podium with our continuing Ravel celebrations this season as we mark the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth. Benjamin Attahir’s newly commissioned work for pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Principal Harp Valerie Muzzolini is inspired by sketches Ravel made for Morgiana, an Arabian Nights ballet. Then, two Ravel jewels. Firstly, a showcase for harp in the Introduction and Allegro, which he wrote to demonstrate the capacities of a new, modern harp design. And then the beloved Mother Goose, performed here in its entirety. Ravel captures all the vivid enchantment of fairytale scenes — from dazzling Chinese pagodas to the comically stilted conversation between the elegant but timid Beauty (clarinet, of course!) and the gruff, bassoon-voiced Beast.

Thursday, January 23 at 7:30

Saturday, January 25 at 8:00

Sunday, January 26 at 2:00

The legendary Midori, a Seattle favorite, returns to the Benaroya Hall stage to perform Brahms’ Violin Concerto, which fuses astounding virtuosic demands with unique symphonic vision — a musical tour de force for violin. German conductor Anja Bihlmaier makes her Seattle debut, bringing with her other treasures from her homeland. Wagner’s Lohengrin begins with perhaps the tenderest music ever penned. And Schumann’s feverish passion pours out in his Fourth Symphony, paired with the lush romance of Coleridge-Taylor’s rarely heard Ballade.

Friday January 17 at 7:30

Sunday January 19 at 2:00

Music and libretto by Hector Berlioz

Following our celebrated 2023 production of Samson and Delilah in Concert, join us for an abridged version of Hector Berlioz’s epic in a concert version featuring full orchestra and chorus. Les Troyens à Carthage (Acts 3, 4, & 5) begins after the fall of Troy as Aeneas arrives at Carthage with tales of the Trojan War. Upon arrival, he orders his army to assist Queen Dido in defeating the invading Nubians before falling in love with the Queen himself. However, when duty calls, the two lovers are parted while a funeral pyre burns.

For the Seattle Opera debut of Berlioz’s 19th-century grand opera, we are excited to welcome back mezzo-soprano and Tacoma native J’Nai Bridges (Samson and Delilah in Concert ’23) as Dido, the Queen of Carthage, and Russell Thomas (Nabucco ’15), “a tenor of gorgeously burnished power” (The New York Times), as Aeneas.

Thursday January 9 at 7:30

Saturday January 11 at 8:00

Dance meets Gothic and the pipe organ stars. The Seattle Symphony ushers in 2025 with Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, its every measure brimming with the kinetic energy and impetus of dance rhythms. The mighty Watjen Concert Organ stars in the Gothic brilliance of Francis Poulenc’s Organ Concerto, performed by acclaimed organist Paul Jacobs. And we visit Poulenc’s wickedly funny ballet The House Party — a delightful musical depiction of risqué flirting that made his name as well as causing a minor scandal in 1920s Paris. A dance, a party and an organ fanfare — what better way to start the new year?

If you go to PNB’s production of the Nutcracker December 18 - 28, chances are I’ll be playing in the pit so stop by and say hello!

Always happy to play Handel’s Messiah with the choir of Epiphany Parish. The baroque band is always stellar.

Friday December 13 @ 7:30

Saturday December 14 @ 7:30

I’ll be leading my first Messiah with a lovely group of local baroque musicians here in Seattle. Joined by the Cantorei Choir of Blessed Sacrament under the direction of Michael Plagerman

Friday December 6 @ 7:30

Saturday December 7 @ 2:00

Sat, Nov 16, 2024 | 7:00 PM

Sanctuary Hall at First Congregational

Sun, Nov 17, 2024 | 3:00 PM

Kaul Auditorium at Reed College

Enrico Onofri, Violin

Historical performance, violin and chamber music masterclasses in the countryside of San Leo, Italy.

Be moved by Tchaikovsky’s poignant journey from high drama to triumph. The composer brought new emotional intensity to his Fourth Symphony and created a masterpiece for the ages. Then, Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G sparkles in the hands of scintillating pianist Alexandra Dariescu — its whip-cracking wit, sad waltz and jazz-infused charms combining to make one of the best-loved concertos. New Zealand conductor Tianyi Lu returns to our podium for this program that also features Kaija Saariaho’s depiction of the music of the spheres as they wheel through the night skies — imagery that has entranced composers through the ages and a recurring theme of this season. 

Thursday 7:30

Saturday 8:00

Sunday 2:00

Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony dates from the darkest days of the Second World War, when making music scarcely seemed possible. He dedicated it to all victims of oppression. Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot begins a season-long celebration marking 150 years since Maurice Ravel’s birth with Concerto for the Left Hand. Composed for Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in World War I, Ravel’s concerto spans the expressive power of the whole keyboard and bubbles with dark energy. We also salute the centenary of musical powerhouse Pierre Boulez.

Thursday 7:30

Saturday 8:00