BY ALAN SHERROD Asked to describe American orchestral music over the last 130 years in a few words, we may find ourselves struggling for a quick answer. Admittedly, that’s probably because our own music history doesn’t necessarily feel like…
Review: Pianist Kagawa and Guest Conductor Gallo Highlight KSO Chamber Series Concert
BY ALAN SHERROD Once again on Sunday afternoon, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra demonstrated why its Chamber Series at the Bijou Theatre is so effective and entertaining. First—as we never tire of saying—is the Bijou Theatre itself. The combination of…
KSO Chamber Series This Sunday — Beethoven, Ravel, Schoenberg, Zwilich
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra resumes its Chamber Series this Sunday afternoon, March 1, with a program enticingly titled “A Cast of Characters: Peanuts, Mother Goose and More.” The concert will open with Beethoven’s Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus and…
Review: Knoxville Opera Polishes Up a Comic Gem in Rossini’s ‘Il Barbiere di Siviglia’
BY ALAN SHERROD Without a doubt, Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) was the perfect choice for Knoxville Opera’s winter production. With a clever directorial hand and impressive casting, this weekend’s performance at the Tennessee Theatre…
Review: ‘Cabaret’ and Its Tale of Caution Opens CBT’s New Jenny Boyd Theatre
BY ALAN SHERROD Opening night in most any theatre is a special occasion, one that bristles with the nervous excitement of performers—and audiences—high on anticipation. However, when that opening night is also the opening of a new theatrical venue,…
Review: KSO Offers a Valentine of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev
BY ALAN SHERROD Admittedly, Valentine’s Day is one of our stranger holidays. Having been commercialized into a merchandizing platform for chocolate, roses, jewelry, and anything pink, the day also impacts the programming of events in February. Classical music falls…
UT Symphony Orchestra This Week: John Williams, Florence Price, and ‘The Pines of Rome’
The University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra offers a Valentine’s Evening concert featuring music by John Williams, Florence Price, Ennio Morricone, and Ottorino Respighi. James Fellenbaum conducts. • University of Tennessee, Cox Auditorium in the Alumni Memorial Building • Saturday evening,…
Review: Concertmaster Series Explores a Different Side of Romance
BY ALAN SHERROD For the winter installment of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster Series, Concertmaster and host William Shaub offered up an intensely intriguing program with an evocative title: “Tides of Solitude.” That title, of course, referred to a…
Review: Amadeus Concert Ensemble Delivers an “Organ Spectacular”
BY ALAN SHERROD This past Sunday afternoon, the Amadeus Concert Ensemble continued its 2025-26 season of concerts as part of the Cathedral Concert Series in a program that was both a “first” and a landmark occasion. This was the…
Review: KSO Chamber Classics Warm Up a Cold Day with Elgar, Bach, and Haydn
BY ALAN SHERROD It is a regular theme—one can hardly talk about the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s January concerts without mentioning the possibility of weather complications. That was the case for this past Sunday’s Chamber Classics concert at the Bijou,…
