Rochester Philharmonic Sets World Premieres and More for 25/26 Season

Rochester Philharmonic has revealed its 25/26 season, featuring world premieres and more. See the full lineup of programming here. 

PHENOMENAL PHILHARMONICS

GETTING FESTIVE: Arguably, the biggest news comes from the reveal of the first time the RPO will present a festival since 2016. In fact, in the 25/26 season, we're presenting two!

After all, few do them as well as Maestro Delfs, who has a long history of building music festivals that provide fans with a tidal-wave of works by their favorite composers. For example, the RPO Beethoven Festival offers the opportunity to enjoy four different full Beethoven programs over the short course of just two weekends.

"We usually only do one full program in a week, but here we're doing two in a week -- then two the next week," Delfs explained, continuing, "To pull that off, there must be an incredible amount of trust between the orchestra and conductor. And, after many years together, we have that."

Performances on Weekend One of the RPO Beethoven Festival are Thursday, Oct. 23, Saturday, Oct 25. On Weekend 2, performances are Thursday, Oct. 30, Saturday, Nov. 1.

The RPO Dance Festival starts with a stunning reunion of the orchestra and Garth Fagan Dance (Saturday, Jan. 24; Sunday, Jan. 25), which together dazzled both classical and dance crowds as well as critics with its revolutionary 2024 take on Stravinsky's The Rite of Springballet. This time, Fagan and the RPO breathe new life into the sights and sounds of such crowd-pleasers as Bernstein's Three Dance Episodes from On the Town.

Thursday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1., the dance fest delivers a perfect storm of much of the best of the RPO: a community-arts collaboration, two world premieres, and a guest artist at the top of his game. Among the classical world's few true equivalents of a rock god, French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet premieres the orchestra's latest commission from Voices of Today composer Aaron Jay Kernis. Then, Maestro Delfs conducts his own new arrangement for Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet Suite, with longtime RPO partner Rochester City Balletproviding brand-new choreography to Shakespeare's greatest love story.

BREATHTAKING, FROM START TO FINISH: As is his trademark, Delfs opens and closes the season in epic ways: With Breathtaking Barber (Saturday, Sept. 27; Sunday, Sept. 28), he serves up a thrilling blend of energy and elegance, with esteemed American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers bringing her signature radiance to Barber's deeply expressive Violin Concerto. Mason Bates' high-octane Mothership launches the program with modern flair, while Dvořák's joyous Symphony No. 6 makes for an awe-inspiring start to an unforgettable season!

The season finale is also something to sing about, as Delfs and the RPO are joined by the Rochester Oratorio Society, a children's choir, and powerhouse trumpet sensation Pacho Flores for composer Carl Orff's electrifying choral spectacle Carmina Burana (Saturday, May 30; Sunday, May 31), making for a season that concludes with both literal and figurative crescendos.

IN THE STARS: In addition to Thibaudet, Flores, and Meyers, the season's other guests also come from classical music's A-list, including Grammy-winning violinist Gil Shaham and his acclaimed violinist wife Adele Anthony, who couple up for Sarasate's fiery Navarra and Bach's lively Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in the program Baroque to Brilliance (Saturday, March 21; Sunday, March 22), which concludes with Maestro Delfs and the RPO performing Mozart's much-loved Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter."

Also, on the Phils season's guest list: pianist Yefim Bronfman, soprano Jasmine Habersham, cellist Julian Schwarz, violinists Blake Pouliot, Karen Gomyo, Paul Huang - and Wu Man on the pipa!

MARVELOUS MATINEES: A reminder that while all Philharmonics programs are scheduled for 7:30PM Saturdays, half also take place at 7:30PM Thursdays with the other half 2PM Sundays. Introduced this season, the Sunday Afternoons at Kodak Hall will be back by popular demand.

Speaking of afternoon delights, the RPO's popular Sunday Matinees at Naz series continues, with Mozart providing the anchor for Maestro Delfs' 2 PM soirees in the intimate Beston Hall on the campus of Nazareth University: Mozart & Poulenc (Sunday, Sept. 21), Mozart & Britten (Sunday, Dec. 14), Mozart & Prokofiev (Sunday, March 29), and Mozart & Haydn (Sunday, May 24).

EARLIER STARTS: For your scheduling convenience, virtually all 25/26 season evening programs (Phils and Pops) will start at 7:30PM. This earlier start makes it easier to attend concerts on worknights, adds time to grab an after-performance coffee or late-night bite. Enjoy the 30 extra minutes any way you like! The only exceptions to the 7:30 rule are the family-friendly 7PM starts for nighttime performances of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2TM - In Concert and The Nutcracker.

TOP OF THE POPS

GET LOST IN SPACE! AGAIN: SPACE! (Friday, Nov. 21; Saturday, Nov. 22) offers another opportunity for the thousands who loved RPO's historic April 2024 Eclipse Spectacular at Blue Cross Arena to experience it again in a whole new way - reconfigured for a concert hall, but with all the wow factor intact.

"This actually brings Eclipse full circle," commented Tyzik. "When [RPO Vice President of Artistic Planning and Operations] James Barry and I first started talking about it, this was originally set for Kodak Hall. But it wasn't long before it became what it became: a production with three conductors, all these guest performers, spectacular lighting. Soon we realized that we'd need to present it in a bigger space like Blue Cross Arena."

But don't think for a second that the move to a smaller venue is going to lessen the experience. Tyzik said, for one example, Kodak Hall will give special guest aerialist group Troupe Vertigo, even more room to move. And while Tyzik's gleaning the greatest Eclipse hits for his setlist¸ he's also making some surprise additions.

POPS PREMIERES: While no stranger to the orchestral podium, RPO Third Trumpet Herb Smith marks his RPO Pops Series conducting debut with an all-new program arriving just in time for Valentine's Day: Endless Love: R&B Love Songs and Duets. Revered musical-stage veterans Shayna Steele and Chester Gregory team up for such soulful romantic favorites as "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love," "Let's Get it On," and, of course, the Oscar-nominated "Endless Love." (Friday, Feb. 6; Saturday, Feb. 7.)

Tyzik is at the helm for Summer Breeze: Yacht Rock Classics, sailing through a setlist of smooth late- '70s and early- '80s grooves that some 25 years later appear as its own music format known as "Yacht rock." If you can't get enough of Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers, Christopher Cross, and the classic jazz-rock fusion of Steely Dan, this has your name all over it. (Friday, Oct. 3; Saturday, Oct. 4.)

It's Tyzik again, saluting the Sounds of Laurel Canyon: Rock Legends of the '60s and '70s. Journey back to the California rock scene with a tribute to the legends who defined a generation and continue to inspire countless artists today. This unforgettable concert will transport audiences from Kodak Hall to Hollywood's Laurel Canyon, the creative birthplace of pop-rock legends including The Mamas & The Papas, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, The Eagles, and Fleetwood Mac. (Friday, Jan. 16; Saturday, Jan. 17.)

FILM FAVORITES: Conductor John Devlin and the RPO perform sensational soundtrack selections from movies that pivot around Heroes and Villains (Friday, March 27; Saturday, March 28), including The Pink Panther, Batman, and Spider-Man, and Maestro Evan Roider and the RPO honor Broadway in Hollywood, with selections from musicals that survived their trips from stage to screen, including West Side Story, Wicked, Chicago, and Mamma Mia! (Friday, May 22; Saturday, May 23).

SPECIAL GUESTS: Get on your feet as the beloved Camille Zamora and the Mambo Kings join Tyzik and the RPO to take us on a musical journey through Spain and the Americas in the program Fiesta Sinfonica: A Symphonic Celebration. (Friday, April 24; Saturday, April 25.)

TWO TREASURED TRADITIONS: For more than 30 years, Gala Holiday Pops -- with Jeff Tyzik, the RPO, and the Festival High School Chorale - has been a more reliable part of the Rochester holiday season than... SNOW! As always, Tyzik is keeping this year's surprises close to his vest. But one thing's for sure: no matter what your year-end festivity, this will make it a lot more magical. (Friday, Dec. 19; Saturday, Dec. 20; Sunday, Dec. 21.) Finally, it's the swan song for Harry Potter, as the most successful live-to-film series concludes with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2TM - In Concert. (Saturday, Oct. 18; Sunday, Oct. 19.)

SUBSCRIPTION AND TICKET INFO:

RPO 25/26 Phils and Pops Series subscriptions are now available to current RPO series subscribers renewing for the upcoming season.

New RPO series subscriptions become available at 10 AM, Monday, March 24. Single tickets for individual performances go on sale to the public at 10 AM, Monday, July 28.

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