The Amadeus Concert Ensemble has announced its 2025-26 season of free Sunday afternoon concerts that are a part of the ongoing Cathedral Concert Series at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville. ACE Artistic Director and Conductor Brian Salesky has chosen three programs for October, January, and May that continue to explore different niches of music history, offering audiences an opportunity to hear classics as well as rarely performed works.
The season begins on Sunday, October 12, with Polish Classics, a themed concert showcasing the music of four notable Polish composers: Moritz Moszkowski, Henryk Wieniawski, Fryderyk Chopin, and Stanislaw Moniuszko. Honorary sponsors of this concert are former United States Ambassador to Poland, Victor Ashe and his wife, Joan. Polish violinist Zofia Glashauser, a violinist in the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, will play Légende and the Polonaise Brillante, No. 1, Op. 4, by Wieniawski. Also on the concert are three intriguing, rarely performed songs by Chopin, sung by alto Diana Salesky. The concert’s highlight is the Knoxville premiere of selections from Halka, the “Polish national opera,” by Stanislaw Moniuszko. Soprano Linda Barnett (debut), tenor John Overholt, and baritone Joel Brown are the featured singers.
The second of three ACE concerts comes on Sunday, January 25, 2026, titled Organ Spectacular. The concert will feature the Cathedral’s organist Byongsuk Moon playing the Knoxville premieres of Respighi’s Canticle and Rheinberger’s Organ Concerto No. 2. For the first time, the Cathedral’s recently installed Casavant organ will be accompanied by a symphony orchestra. This diverse program will also include Mouret’s Première Suite de Symphonies (aka “Masterpiece Theatre” theme). A highlight is bound to be Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Trumpets with trumpeters Sarah Fellenbaum and Brett Long. The concert also features Marcello’s Introduction, Aria, and Presto for strings.
The season wraps on Sunday, May 31, 2026, with Rachmaninoff & Friends, a program that offers a treasure chest of musical gems from Russian composers. The concert will feature soprano Ashley Fabian in songs and dramatic arias by Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Alyabyev. The Amadeus Concert Ensemble orchestra will be featured in three popular works: Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” and “The Three Wonders” from The Tale of Tsar Saltan.
The concerts, all at 5:30 PM on their respective dates, are free with online registration beginning three weeks prior to each concert — https://www.shcathedral.org/cathedral-concert-series/
Cathedral Concert Series at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus , 711 S. Northshore Drive, Knoxville, TN
“Polish Classics” — Sunday, October 12, 5:30 PM
“Organ Spectacular” — January 25, 2026, 5:30 PM
“Rachmaninoff & Friends” — May 31, 5:30 PM
