Edmonton Symphony Orchestra Announces 2022/23 Season

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is proud to announce its 2022/23 season, offering exhilarating live music programming and the first with Artistic Advisor Michael Stern. Subscriptions are on sale now.

The ESO return to the Winspear Centre stage and welcome back a diverse roster of guest soloists and conductors including many familiar faces and audience favourites. Music Director Emeritus Bill Eddins, Bob Bernhardt, Lucas Waldin, and Jean Marie Zeitouni return to lead the ESO in electrifying programs, while new outstandingly talented artists are introduced to Edmonton, including Roman Rabinovich (ESO debut), Conductor Earl Lee, violinist Timothy Chooi, and pianist Katherine Chi. Resident Conductor Cosette Justo Valdés will lead the orchestra in a number of exciting programs, including Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony, The Mambo Kings: Hot Latin Nights! and several Symphony for Kids concerts.

The 2022/23 season includes 12 Classical Series programs with favourites from the classical canon, such as Stravinsky's The Firebird, Copland's Appalachian Spring, Elgar's Enigma Variations, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, and Beethoven's glorious Symphony No. 9 "Ode to Joy." The Robbins Pops Series once again boasts its fabulous arrangements, plus the glitz and glamour that go with it. Expect a musical journey that will take you everywhere from 1960s London to Hollywood to South America and beyond. The popular Pairings Series features shorter programs and a complimentary food and beverage item with each ticket. The Symphony for Kids Series offers the ideal child and family introduction to orchestral music.

This season, the ESO welcomes Michael Stern as Artistic Advisor. Stern currently holds three Music Director positions: with the Kansas City Symphony, where he will be concluding his 19-year tenure at the end of the 2023-2024 season; with the National Repertory Orchestra, a summer music festival in Breckenridge, CO, which for 43 years has provided an intensive, unique fellowship program for aspiring young musicians, and with the newly rebranded Orchestra Lumos (formerly the Stamford Symphony). And, following a 22-year tenure as founding Artistic Director of Iris Orchestra in Germantown, Tennessee, he now serves the newly reimagined Iris Collective as Artistic Advisor. He appeared as guest conductor with the ESO in 2015 and 2019 and emerged as audience and orchestra favourite. An anticipated re-engagement for November 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic.

"This is an exciting moment for the Edmonton Symphony as we look to the future and renewal after this extended disruption across the world. With brilliant guest soloists, esteemed conductors, and the virtuosity of our very own ESO musicians all in the mix, the upcoming season has something for everyone. I invite you to enjoy a compelling range of essential music, old and new, cherished masterpieces and new discoveries alike. I am thrilled to be a part of great music in Edmonton, with the exceptional artistry of the ESO making the case that we all need great music in our lives more than ever," says Stern.

"We've shared music with the community creatively for the past two years by whatever means were available to us - it has been at times interesting, challenging, and rewarding in equal measure. It's very exciting to be announcing a complete season once again. We look forward to working with Michael Stern to guide us on our journey as we look for a new musical leader for the orchestra after five outstanding years with Chief Conductor Alex Prior. But especially, we look forward to welcoming the community back to live music at the Winspear." adds ESO and Winspear Centre President and CEO, Annemarie Petrov.

Season features include:

Symphony Under the Sky | September 3 and 4
Symphony Under The Sky returns to Hawrelak Park for its 25th anniversary with beloved festival conductor Bob Bernhard. The festival includes two programs, one featuring Hollywood favourites, and the other a mix of the best of ESO's Classical and Pops repertoire.

Stern Conducts Grieg & Stravinsky: Magical Musical Tales | November 4 -6
ESO Artistic Advisor Michael Stern leads the orchestra with Grieg, Ravel, and Stravinsky. Yellowknife composer Carmen Braden has transformed her original string quartet The Raven Conspiracy into a gem for the orchestra. Plus, hear some keyboard magic as Calgary-based pianist Roman Rabinovich makes his ESO debut.

Classical Mystery Tour: The Best of the Beatles | October 27 and 29
Guest conductor Martin Hermann leads the ESO as they amplify iconic tunes exactly as they were originally performed, including Penny Lane with piccolo trumpet, and Yesterday with guitar and string quartet.

Thrill of a Lifetime: A Special Concert for the Future | April 15 and 16
Edmonton Youth Orchestra players experience the thrill of sitting side by side with the ESO, to perform Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, led by ESO Music Director Emeritus William Eddins.

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony: An Ode to Joy | May 4 and 6
Led by ESO Artistic Advisor Michael Stern, this program also features thoughtful and reflective pieces by two of today's celebrated women composers, Canadian Vivian Fung and American Jessie Montgomery.

Full 2022/23 season details and subscription options at www.winspearcentre.com.

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