The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Aram Demirjian, has recently announced the program lineups and dates for its 2024-25 season for each of its five main series. Season subscriptions are on sale to current subscribers who want to retain their current seats or change their seating, and to new subscribers. Either way, subscriptions represent the best bargain as well as access to the choicest seat locations. Individual concert tickets go on sale in August.
• The eight Masterworks concert pairs at the Tennessee Theatre feature the full orchestra and are heard monthly on Thursday and Friday evenings from September to May, with the exception of December. The season opening September concert will feature Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and George Gershwin’s Concerto in F.
• The five Sunday afternoon Chamber Classics concerts feature the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra in the more intimate confines of the Bijou Theatre. Concerts, which occur in September, December, January, March, and April, often feature outstanding members of the orchestra in soloist roles. The December 2024 concert will again offer Handel’s Messiah to start up the Christmas season.
• The six Pops Series concerts, most often performed at the Civic Auditorium, feature music of today’s popular artists and movies.
• Concertmaster and violinist William Shaub is host for the Concertmaster Series of chamber music at the Knoxville Museum of Art in October, February, and April.
• The Q-Series, featuring the KSO’s String Quartets and the Woodwind Quintet, is scheduled for six Noon performances (lunch included) at the Elks Lodge on Lonas Drive in West Knoxville.
As has been the case with the current season, the 2024-25 season is a well-curated mix of works from the vast orchestral repertoire representing music history side-by-side with important contemporary works—some highlighting women composers or others finally getting their musical voices heard by the public.
A few choice highlights from the 2024-25 Masterworks and Chamber Classics Series—
• Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 (MW, Sept. ’24)
• Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 (CC, Sept. ’24)
• Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17 with pianist Emi Kagawa (CC, Sept. ’24)
• Gershwin’s Concerto in F with pianist Natasha Paremski (MW, Sept. ’24)
• Brahms Symphony No. 3 (MW, Oct. ’24)
• Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with violinist Paul Huang (MW, Oct. ’24)
• Sibelius Violin Concerto with KSO violinist William Shaub (MW, Nov. ’24)
• Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite (MW, Nov. ’24)
• Handel’s Messiah (CC, Dec. ’24)
• Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (MW, Jan. ’25)
• Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 with violinist Edward Pulgar (CC, Jan ’25)
• Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (MW, Feb. ’25) Laura Beth Wells, narrator
• Schumann: Piano Concerto (MW, Mar. ’25)
• Orff: Carmina Burana (MW, Apr. ’25)
• Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (CC, Apr. ’25)
• Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”) (MW, May ’25)
