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.
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.
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…
Jennifer Higdon’s XC Blast – KSO Celebrates the Past and the Future
She’s won three Grammys, a Pulitzer, and has been composer-in-residence for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Next on her plate, composer Jennifer Higdon has written a celebratory fanfare for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s opening concerts of its historic 90th season on September 18-19. And what a moment that will be for us lucky East Tennesseans.
KSO To Open 90th Season with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and a World Premiere
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra opens its 90th season with a World Premiere by Jennifer Higdon, ‘XC Blast’; Aaron Copland’s ‘Old American Songs’; and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Review: KSO Wraps 2024-25 Season with Impressive New Worlds
BY ALAN SHERROD It was almost exactly three years ago that the Knoxville-based drum ensemble Indigenous Vibes first performed with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. They were back for this past weekend’s Masterworks concerts, this time performing the World Premiere…
Review: KSO Changes Our Mind About Orff’s ‘Carmina Burana’ – And That’s Good
If one needed any more evidence as to the raw popularity of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, they had only to wade through the diverse crowd in the Tennessee Theatre lobby and partake of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s performance of it this past weekend.
Review: KSO Wraps Chamber Classics Series with Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ & Baroque Inspirations
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra wrapped up its 2024-25 Chamber Classics season at the Bijou Theatre on Sunday in rather spectacular fashion. The concert was sold out, proving not only that Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is intensely popular with audiences, but also that the series itself is attractive to those who gravitate to a Sunday afternoon performance in the intimate acoustic environment of the Bijou. Gratifying, too, is the fact that the series uses its own orchestra members as soloists, something that often leads to truly compelling performances from musicians getting a turn in the spotlight.