BY ALAN SHERROD As it turns out, one doesn’t necessarily need one of Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance marches to feel the nostalgia at end-of-the-season concerts. Last Sunday, Maestro Aram Demirjian and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra beautifully accomplished the…
Review: Pianist Kagawa and Guest Conductor Gallo Highlight KSO Chamber Series Concert
BY ALAN SHERROD Once again on Sunday afternoon, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra demonstrated why its Chamber Series at the Bijou Theatre is so effective and entertaining. First—as we never tire of saying—is the Bijou Theatre itself. The combination of…
Review: KSO Chamber Classics Warm Up a Cold Day with Elgar, Bach, and Haydn
BY ALAN SHERROD It is a regular theme—one can hardly talk about the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s January concerts without mentioning the possibility of weather complications. That was the case for this past Sunday’s Chamber Classics concert at the Bijou,…
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: 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.
Review: An Afternoon of ‘Mediterranean Masters’ with Guest Conductor Noam Aviel and Harpist Cindy Emory
For the second season in a row, March was guest conductor month for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Classics Series. This past Sunday’s concert at the Bijou found conductor Noam Aviel on the podium for a program that seemed to follow its “Mediterranean Masters” theme on paper, but, in reality, had a delightful textural eclecticism that defied time period. Ms. Aviel’s direction through the afternoon was crisp, accurate, and entertaining, with tempos that bubbled energetically against the richness of the well-balanced chamber orchestra.
Review: KSO Offers a Chamber Classics Concert of Mozart, Cellos, and Brass
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Classics Series on Sunday afternoons has become quite popular, with audiences gravitating to music that really benefits from the intimate acoustic environment of the Bijou Theatre. Perhaps a more important asset, though, is that the series is an enticing showcase for the orchestra musicians who are featured as soloists or ensemble members. This past Sunday’s concert, “Mozart & More”, took that idea even further than usual, featuring the KSO’s Principal Second Violin Edward Pulgar as soloist and conductor in an after intermission performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K. 216. The first half of the concert featured delightfully different programming with two ensembles drawn from members of the orchestra: a cello quartet and a brass quintet.
Review: KSO Chamber Classics Opens With A Very ‘Memorable’ Beethoven, Mozart, and McKay
This past Sunday afternoon yielded two concerts that practically defined memorable, one of which was the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s season opening concert in their Chamber Classics Series at the Bijou that featured the world premiere of Dosia McKay’s ‘The Lure of the Flowering Fern’, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 with pianist Emi Kagawa, and Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony. Aram Demirjian conducted.
Sunday Spotlight: Pianist Emi Kagawa & KSO Chamber Orchestra—Mozart, Beethoven, McKay
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra begins its Chamber Classics Series on Sunday, September 29, at the Bijou Theatre. The concert will offer Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4, preceded by the world premiere of the KSO-commissioned, ‘The Lure of the Flowering Fern’ and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17. KSO’s Emi Kagawa is the pianist in the Mozart concerto. Aram Demirjian conducts.