The Amadeus Concert Ensemble has announced its 2026-27 season, a series 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 April that continue the rewarding exploration of thematic gems of music history, featuring both acclaimed soloists and the Amadeus Concert Ensemble Orchestra.
OCTOBER
The season begins on Sunday, October 11, with a themed program entitled “Piano Passions,” a concert featuring pianist Dr. Chih-Long Hu, Professor of Piano at UT Knoxville. The program includes Vivaldi’s Concerto for Strings in D minor, Falla’s Pantomine and Ritual Fire Dance from El Amor Brujo, a movement from Granados’ Piano Quintet, and the Knoxville premiers of Koželuch’s Keyboard Concerto for Four Hands, Turina’s Rapsodia Sinfónica, and Marcello’s Introduction, Aria, and Presto. Maestro Salesky will join Dr. Hu at the keyboard for the duo concerto.
JANUARY
ACE’s second concert of the season, “From Paris With Love,” hopes to warm up the winter on January 10, at 5:30 PM, with a program of romantic and dramatic music of French composers. The featured soloist will be South Korean soprano Sunwoo Park, returning to the series following her appearance in last season’s ACE concert of Russian composers. Ms. Park, winner of the prestigious 2025 William Sullivan Foundation Award, will be heard in “Beau Soir” by Debussy, “Chanson d’amour” by Fauré, “Les Filles de Cadix” by Delibes, and “Depuis le jour” by Charpentier. Ms. Park will also present rarely heard works by Saint-Saëns, Chausson, Meyerbeer, Offenbach, Poulenc, and Rabey. The Amadeus Concert Ensemble Orchestra will be spotlighted in highlights from Bizet’s Carmen and Ravel’s Mother Goose ballet.
APRIL
The season concludes on Sunday, April 25, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. with “SchubertFest” featuring eleven works by the 19th century Austrian master. Making her Knoxville debut is soprano Alisa Jordheim. The program includes popular favorites “Shepherd on the Rock,” “Ave Maria,” “Ständchen,” “Du bist die Ruh,” “Benedictus” from the Mass in C Major, and the Litany for the Feast of All Souls. Ms. Jordheim will be joined throughout the performance by ACE Principal Clarinetist Alex Chang. The Amadeus Concert Ensemble Orchestra will be featured in the composer’s Death and the Maiden, Minuet No. 5, and the Adagio from his Arpeggione Sonata with ACE Principal Violist Joshua Ulrich as soloist.
“This season promises inspiring and dramatic music that the public rarely has an opportunity to experience in live concerts,” remarked Salesky. “The soloists and orchestra are eager to perform these jewels for our appreciative audiences. ACE is deeply grateful to our generous sponsors for their support which allows us to present these performances without charge.”
The Cathedral Concert Series, free performances with online registration, is a production of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, 711 S. Northshore Drive, Knoxville, TN. Free reservations may be made three weeks prior to each concert at www.shcathedral.org/cathedral-concert-series/
