BY ALAN SHERROD In days of yore—which now includes anything prior to the pandemic shutdown—one could count on the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra for a season-ending concert that somehow included both an energetic musical experience and an emotional one. Heartstrings…
Review: Knoxville Opera Ends with Puccini – Begins a New Era
BY ALAN SHERROD Like the mythological Phoenix rising from its predecessor’s ashes, Knoxville Opera’s popular Rossini Festival International Street Fair rose once again last weekend to draw throngs of fun-and-entertainment seekers to the streets of downtown Knoxville. Unable to…
Review: KSO Premieres Schachter’s ‘Cycle of Life’ – Offers a Phenomenal Rachmaninoff
BY ALAN SHERROD To say there was an air of excitement at the past weekend’s Knoxville Symphony Orchestra concerts at the Tennessee Theatre would be an understatement. The occasion was the world premiere performances of Michael Schachter’s Violin Concerto:…
Big Week on Stage: World Premiere from KSO, ‘Patsy Cline’ at Clarence Brown, Puccini from Knoxville Opera
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra For Knoxville Symphony Orchestra fans, every concert has some compelling component—a hugely popular work performed with passion or perhaps an unknown gem lurking just out of sight, at last finding the listeners it deserves. This week’s concert…
Review in Brief: KSO’s 2022 Concertmaster Series Wraps with Splendid Schumann Quintet
BY ALAN SHERROD Since its inception, the joy of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster Series has actually been its crescendo of dual attractions—shorter, intriguing works, often virtuosic, that may be new to the audience or works you probably won’t…
Review: KSO Honors Ukraine’s Struggle; Brilliant in Tchaikovsky and Brahms
BY ALAN SHERROD Orchestra programming and guest artist booking by symphony orchestras are done a year or more in advance, so it hardly seems fair to dwell on unfortunate coincidences that somehow manage to sneak their way onto an…
KSO This Week: Connecting Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Ethel Smyth
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Series Aram Demirjian, conductor— Guest artist Tanya Gabrielian Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street Thursday and Friday, March 17 and 18, 7:30 PM Tickets and Information Dame Ethel Smyth: The Boatswain’s Mate: Overture Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Piano…
Performances This Week: ‘I Can’t Breathe’ Premiere, Master Arts Recital at CSUMC, KSO Chamber Orchestra
Marble City Opera: World Premiere of I Can’t Breathe Demand was great for tickets to Marble City Opera’s World Premiere production of a new opera, I Can’t Breathe, music by Leslie Burrs and libretto by Brandon Gibson. The three performances…
Review: KSO, Pianist Weiyin Chen, Conductor Sameer Patel Combine for a Memorable Evening
BY ALAN SHERROD While Knoxville Symphony Orchestra maestro Aram Demirjian was away on a guest conductor gig with the Santa Rosa Symphony this month, the baton in this week’s KSO Masterworks concerts went to guest conductor Sameer Patel. It…
KSO This Week: Guest Conductor Sameer Patel Returns – Works by Higdon, Mozart, Sibelius
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks with Guest Conductor Sameer Patel Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street in Downtown Knoxville Thursday and Friday, February 17 and 18, 7:30 PM Jennifer Higdon – blue cathedral Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 25…