BY ALAN SHERROD In the space of only two weeks, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra has launched four of its five performance series, with a fifth series opening just days away. The most recent of these season openers was last…
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.
A Glimpse Ahead: 2025-26 Knoxville Music and Theatre Season
Waiting anxiously in the wings for its entrance cue, the 2025-26 season of theatre and music is yet another one packed with classics and new works—gems of both history and the latest efforts of playwrights, composers, and authors. Subscriptions to…
Friday: KSO’s Independence Day Concert at World’s Fair Park
Although the September opening of the 2025-26 Knoxville Symphony Orchestra season is still more than two months off, those in need of a symphonic fix can take in this Friday’s Annual Independence Day Concert at the World’s Fair Park Amphitheater.…
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 Concertmaster Wraps Season With Schumann Piano Quartet
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster William Shaub, host and performer of orchestra’s Concertmaster Series, wrapped up the 2024-25 season of three concerts this week with an eclectic program of works that once again featured showcase pieces for violin and piano followed by a notable ensemble work chosen from the gems of chamber music history.
Review: Guest Conductor Conner Gray Covington Leads KSO in Clyne, Schumann, and Rimsky-Korsakov
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra turned to Maestro Conner Gray Covington to helm last Thursday and Friday’s Masterworks concert pair. The concert included Anna Clyne’s ‘This Midnight Hour’, Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Scheherazade.’ Janice Carissa was the pianist in the Schumann concerto.