The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra concerts this past weekend, as programmed by Maestro Aram Demirjian and delivered by the orchestra, featured a brilliant take on Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto by the young dynamic cellist Zlatomir Fung. The orchestra players were in the spotlight for the 1947 concert hall version of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Petrushka and its dramatic orchestral storytelling. And, the opener, Meilina Tsui’s Floridian Symphony, was a delightfully vibrant and atmospheric new work that calls on orchestral instruments and their players to explore and artistically replicate the natural sounds of a rural Florida environment and its world of insects, birds, and other animals.
Review: Amadeus Concert Ensemble Explores “Polish Classics”
The Amadeus Concert Ensemble opened its 2025-26 season on Sunday afternoon, continuing its exploration of gems of music history in superb performances that are a part of the ongoing Cathedral Concert Series. On this occasion, the theme was “Polish Classics,”…
KSO This Week: Essential Elgar, Storybook Stravinsky
Following its compelling opening Masterworks Series concerts last month, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra embraces an intriguing program for its October concerts this week that feature Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor with guest soloist Zlatomir Fung, along with Igor Stravinsky’s delicious folk-fantasy ballet score, Petrushka. Maestro Aram Demirjian will be opening the concert with the eight-minute Floridian Symphony by Meilina Tsui—receiving its first performances in the state of Tennessee.
On Sunday: Amadeus Concert Ensemble Opens Season With “Polish Classics”
Season after season, the Amadeus Concert Ensemble has taken its audience in the Cathedral Concert Series on a number of enlightening journeys, sometimes to familiar locales, but just as often, to charming and intriguing, but less-visited musical destinations. ACE is…
Review: KSO Concertmaster Series Opens With ‘Vices’ and Virtues
BY ALAN SHERROD In the space of only two weeks, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra has launched four of its five performance series, with a fifth series opening just days away. The most recent of these season openers was last…
Review: Magical Season Opener for KSO Chamber Series at the Bijou
BY ALAN SHERROD With a big helping of momentum from its recent Masterworks season opener, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra turned its attention to the popular Chamber Series for its season opener Sunday at the Bijou Theatre. Once again, the…
On Sunday: KSO Chamber Classics Opens With Price, Strauss, and Mozart
Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra — “Mozart & More” Roy Cockrum Chamber Series — Aram Demirjian, conductor –Works by Florence Price, Richard Strauss, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Sunday, September 28, 2:30 PM Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street Tickets and Information …
Review: Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Turns In A Sublime Beethoven Ninth To Open 2025-26 Season
BY ALAN SHERROD It came as no real surprise that Maestro Aram Demirjian chose to open the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s 2025-26 season with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. After all, the work is perfect for celebratory occasions, in this case, the…
Review: CBT’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’
Although there is peril in describing the current attention devoted to English novelist Jane Austen as a mania, that seems like an almost unavoidable conclusion. From the popularity of Jane Austen Regency Balls, Jane Austen Festivals in the UK and the U.S., not to mention a plethora of film and television projects in addition to the literature itself, the author’s fanbase is arguably second only to The Bard in the 21st Century. The fact that 2025 is the 250th anniversary of Ms. Austen’s birth has only added fuel to the fire of that attention.
Review: River and Rail Theatre Co. — A Feast of Performances in Ijames ‘Moon Man Walk’
There is nothing in the dramatist’s rulebook that says a play can’t be simple and complex at the same time. Those are certainly the traits of James Ijames’ Moon Man Walk, which opened last weekend for a three-week run at River & Rail Theatre Company.
