The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Aram Demirjian have announced the programs for the orchestra’s 2025 -26 season. With the announcement, 2025-26 series subscriptions are on sale now. Single tickets go on sale in August 2025.
• The Masterworks Series features the full orchestra with notable guest soloists at the Tennessee Theatre.
• The Chamber Series features the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra with soloists from the orchestra in Sunday afternoon concerts at the Bijou Theatre.
• The Concertmaster Series features KSO Concertmaster William Shaub with colleagues from the orchestra in major chamber music works — on Wednesday and Thursday evenings at the Knoxville Museum of Art.
• The Q Series features ensembles from the orchestra in monthly Noon concerts on Wednesday — lunch included with admission — at the Elks Lodge.
• The Pops Series — TBA
The Masterworks Series – Sponsored by MoxCar Marketing + Communications – Tennessee Theatre
Conductor is Aram Demirjian unless otherwise noted
September 18-19, 2025 — “Beethoven’s 9th”
Jennifer Higdon: New Work – KSO 9 For 90 Commission & World Premiere
Aaron Copland: Old American Songs – featuring bass David Crawford
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (“Choral”)
• • •
October 16-17, 2025 — “Elgar Cello Concerto”
Meilina Tsui: Floridian Symphony (Tennessee Premiere)
Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto (cellist Zlatomir Fung)
Igor Stravinsky: Petrushka
• • •
November 20-21, 2025 — “Rhapsody in Blue”
– Michelle DiRusso, conductor
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol
George Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue (Chaeyoung Park, Piano)
Carlos Simon: Four Black American Dances
Manuel De Falla: Three-Cornered Hat Suites 1 & 2
• • •
January 15-16, 2026 — “Gluzman Plays Brahms”
Gala Flagello: Bravado
Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto (Vadim Gluzman, violin)
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 2
• • •
February 12-13, 2026 — Valentine’s Romance: Star-Crossed Lovers
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo & Juliet Overture-Fantasy
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody On a Theme of Paganini (pianist Zlata Chochieva)
Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet Selections
• • •
March 12-13, 2026 — “West Side Story”
Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances From West Side Story
Robert Paterson: Cocktail Concerto – KSO 9 For 90 Composition & World Premiere
(Christopher Creviston, saxophone)
Amy Beach: Symphony In E Minor
• • •
April 16-17, 2026 — “Midori Returns”
Niloufar Nourbakhsh: Knell
Richard Strauss: Don Juan
Jonathan Leshnoff: New Work – KSO 9 For 90 Commission & World Premiere
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Violin Concerto (pianist – Midori)
• • •
May 14-15, 2026 — “Marsalis Swing Symphony”
– Michael Rogers, baritone & Knoxville Jazz Orchestra
Margaret Bonds: Spirituals
Wynton Marsalis: Swing Symphony
Gabriella Smith: Field Guide
Ferde Grofe: “On The Trail” From Grand Canyon Suite
Aaron Copland: Finale From Symphony No. 3
Roy Cockrum Chamber Series – Bijou Theatre*
September 29, 2024 — “Mozart & More”
Florence Price: Octet For Brasses And Piano
Richard Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 (Jeffery Whaley, horn)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 40
• • •
November 30, 2025—Handel’s Messiah (*at Tennessee Theatre)
Abigail Santos Villalobos, soprano
Jan Wilson, mezzo
Eric Ferring, tenor
Kevin Burdette, bass
• • •
January 25, 2026 — “Haydn Oxford Symphony”
Johann Sebastian Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2 (Devan Jaquez, flute)
Edward Elgar: Introduction And Allegro
Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 92 (“Oxford”)
• • •
March 1, 2026 — “A Cast of Characters: Peanuts, Mother Goose, and More”
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Overture To The Creatures Of Prometheus
Arnold Schoenberg: Transfigured Night
Ellen Zwilich: Peanuts Gallery (pianist Emi Kagawa)
Maurice Ravel: Mother Goose Suite
• • •
May 3, 2026 — “Appalachian Spring”
W.C. Handy: St. Louis Blues March
Charles Ives: Three Places In New England
Nicky Sohn: New Work – KSO 9 For 90 Commission & World Premiere
Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring: Suite
Concertmaster Series – Sponsored by Merchant & Gould — Knoxville Museum of Art
Host and violinist William Shaub joined by his colleagues from the orchestra
October 1-2, 2025 — “Spanish Vices”
Pablo De Sarasate: Introduction And Tarantella
Manuel De Falla: Spanish Dance From “La Vida Breve”
Chiquinha Gonzaga: Corta Jaca
Bohuslav Martinu: Sonata For Flute, Violin And Piano
Nino Rota: Trio For Flute, Violin And Piano
• • •
February 4-5, 2026 — “Tides of Solitude”
Handel-Halvorsen: Passacaglia
Karl Goldmark: “Air”, Op. 28
Katerina Souponetsky: Tides Of Solitude For Violin, Bassoon, Cello And Piano
Sergei Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 1
• • •
April 8-9, 2026 — “The Breath of the Wild”
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Valse Scherzo
Saad Haddad: New Work – KSO 9 For 90 Commission & World Premiere
Manaka Kataoka Arr. Claire: The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Theme
Gabriel Faure: Piano Quartet No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 15
