The Rockford Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce plans for its 75th Anniversary season.  From its simple beginnings as a volunteer organization dedicated to playing and enjoying classical music, to its present status as a professional, award-winning regional symphony orchestra, the RSO has become an important cultural resource for the greater Rockford area—contributing to the overall quality of life for the region. During this milestone 2009/10 concert season we will pay tribute to the vitality of the Rockford region, perform beloved masterworks, and give the world premier performance of a concerto written especially for an RSO musician. Overall, the RSO will share the power of music that enlightens and inspires us all. 

 

Subscription packages are now on sale! All subscription packages include substantial savings of up to 20% off single ticket prices. Each subscriber receives exclusive benefits including reserved seats, flexible ticket exchange, discounts to area restaurants and the Coronado Corner Gift Shop, and the opportunity to buy single tickets before they go on sale to the general public. 

 

Listed below are details for each performance, including music and guest artist information for the RSO’s Classics Series and Pops Series, as well as the Nutcracker ballet with the Rockford Dance Company and a Gala Concert to conclude this momentous season with a performance of Beethoven's beloved 9th Symphony.  The RSO's interactive website has more details, including a musical preview of the season with Music Director Steven Larsen. Visit www.rockfordsymphony.com.

 

The 2009/10 season will feature pieces performed on the RSO's very first concert in 1934, orchestral blockbusters by Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, and Haydn, and the world premier of a concerto written for our very own principal trumpet Mark Baldin.  The RSO will welcome accomplished guest artists known for their incredible virtuosity, including the return of RSO favorite Rachel Barton Pine, emerging artist pianist Chu-Fang Huang, and harmonica virtuoso Robert Bonfiglio.

 

Opening night at the RSO is Saturday, September 26, 2009, with a concert featuring violinist Rachel Barton Pine in her fourth appearance with the RSO.  The concert opens with Walton's Crown Imperial Coronation March, followed by Strauss' beloved Blue Danube Waltz, which was played on the RSO's first concert in 1934. The second half features Pine performing Glazunov's violin concert, and concludes with one of music's greatest masterpieces, Brahm's Symphony No. 3.

Walton: Coronation March, Crown Imperial

Strauss II: Waltz, On the Beautiful Blue Danube

Glazunov: Violin Concerto

Brahms: Symphony No. 3

 

The ComEd Classics Series continues on Saturday, November 14, 2009, with the world premier of a trumpet concerto by Illinois composer Mark Lathan, written especially for RSO principal trumpeter Mark Baldin.  The RSO will also perform Benjamin Britten's Four Sea Interludes from his opera Peter Grimes. On the second half of the concert, the RSO will perform Tchaikovsky's last work, his passionate and emotional Symphony No. 6, Pathétique.

Britten: Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes

Lathan: Trumpet Concerto (World Premiere)

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)

 

On Saturday, January 16, 2010, the RSO will perform a piece from the very first concert in 1934, Praeludium by Armas Järnefelt, followed by the composer made famous from the movie "Amadeus", Antonio Salieri, and his 26 Variations on La folia di Spagno. The second half will feature a stunning interpretation of Villa-Lobo's concerto featuring Robert Bonfiglio on harmonica. The concert will conclude with Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 8, featuring each section of the orchestra.

Järnefelt: Praeludium

Salieri: 26 Variations on La folia di Spagna

Villa-Lobos: Harmonica Concerto

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 8

 

On Saturday, February 13, 2010, the RSO will perform Sir Malcolm Arnold's Four Scottish Dances, which celebrates the rich and varied folk dances of the British Isles. Next the RSO welcomes the piano virtuosa Chu-Fang Huang to perform Camille Saint-Saëns' second concerto, a piece inspired by Felix Mendelssohn, whose Scottish Symphony concludes the concert.

Arnold: Four Scottish Dances

Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 (“Scottish”)

 

The RSO celebrates the anniversaries of three significant composers, all with ties to Great Britain, on Saturday, March 20, 2010. 2009 is the 250th anniversary of the death of George Frideric Handel, the 200th anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn, and the 200th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn’s birth. The Mendelssohn Chorale joins the RSO to perform choral works by Mendelssohn and Handel. The second half features Haydn's Symphony No. 101 "The Clock."

Mendelssohn: Excerpts from Elijah

Handel: Coronation Anthem, Zadok the Priest

Haydn: Symphony No. 101 (“The Clock”)

 

The ComEd Classics Series concludes on Saturday, April 24, 2010, with a touchstone of the orchestra repertoire, Mussorgsky/Ravel's "Pictures at an Exhibition", which will be a backdrop for a festive celebration of Rockford through the eyes of photographers in our community. The first half of the concert features John Adams' The Chairman Dances from his opera Nixon in China, and Carl Nielsen's Symphony No. 2.

Adams:  The Chairman Dances from Nixon in China

Nielsen: Symphony No. 2 (“The Four Temperaments”)

Mussorgsky, arr. Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition

 

The RSO Classics Series is graciously sponsored by ComEd. All concerts are held at the Coronado Theatre at 7:30 p.m.  Great savings are available by purchasing a subscription package with discounts equal to getting up to two concerts for free.  Subscription packages including the classics concerts are on sale now and range from $108 to $406.  Single tickets go on sale August 24, 2009, and will be priced $18 - $54.

 

Rockford Health System Pops Series 

The RSO kicks off the Rockford Health System Pops Series on Saturday, October 24, 2009, with "American Made: A Celebration of Rockford Manufacturing."  Part of Rockford's “Year of Innovation” initiative, this dynamic concert commemorates the history and vitality of the innovative companies in our community, underscored by the best American music of our generation written by Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, John Williams, Mark O’Connor, and John Corigliano. 

 

The RSO celebrates the Christmas season on Saturday, December 19, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, December 20, 2009, at 3 p.m., with its annual Holiday Pops concert at the Coronado Theatre. Celebrate the breathtaking music of the Holiday Season with coloratura pops artist Diane Penning, whose versatile voice and exciting stage presence has thrilled and moved audiences across the country. Featuring favorite carols including White Christmas, O Holy Night, Jingle Bell Rock, and Bach’s Ave Maria.

 

In a performance that is sure to sell out, the RSO will conclude the Rockford Health System Pops Series on Saturday, March 6, 2010, with "Broadway Today!"  Three outstanding singing actors, veterans of dozens of musical theater productions on the Great White Way, join the RSO to perform music from contemporary blockbusters like Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Wicked, and Mamma Mia!, along with exciting revivals of Annie Get Your Gun, The Music Man, Kiss me Kate, and more!

 

The RSO Pops Series is graciously sponsored by Rockford Health System.  All Saturday concerts are held at the Coronado Theatre at 7:30 p.m.  Subscription packages including the pops concerts are on sale now and range from $60 to $406.  Single tickets go on sale August 24, 2009 and will be priced $18 - $54.

 

This collaboration of the Rockford Dance Company and the Rockford Symphony Orchestra makes this holiday classic the premier production in Northern Illinois. Featuring professional lead dancers from The Joffrey Ballet and the Florida Ballet, the Nutcracker Is performed Thanksgiving weekend on Saturday, November 28, 2009 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.  Subscribers can be the first to buy tickets to the Nutcracker at a very, special low price of $30 with a subscription order - a savings of up to 40% off.

 

The highlight of the RSO season is a gala concert at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, 2010 of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, featuring world class soloists and Rockford's own Mendelssohn Chorale. Following the concert, the RSO will host a celebratory dinner at Rockford Country Club.

All programs, artists, and prices subject to change.

 

Subscriptions for the Rockford Symphony Orchestra’s 2008/09 season are available by calling the Rockford Symphony Orchestra box office at (815) 965-0049 or online at www.rockfordsymphony.com.