Antonín Dvořák spent the summer of 1893 in Iowa, and it was America’s endearing, wide-open terrain that inspired the spacious sounds of his Ninth Symphony. The roots of the second movement’s famous English horn tune, sometimes known as “Goin’ Home,” can be traced to Dvořák’s exposure to African-American spirituals. Jessie Montgomery’s tribute to our National Anthem’s 200th anniversary opens the program. Associate Conductor Gonzalo Farias takes the podium in his Jacksonville Symphony Masterworks debut.

Continuing the tradition for the fourth year, the Bryan Concert Organ takes center stage joined by the brass, wind and percussion sections of the symphony. Featuring organist Greg Zelek, this powerful program is sure to shake the rafters of Jacoby Symphony Hall.

The radical opening of Beethoven’s 1803 “Eroica” Symphony is so unlike anything that came before it, some say it is one of the earliest hallmarks of music’s Romantic Era. Strauss’ Metamorphosen, composed in the last days of the European theater of World War II, is an elegy to the passing of that same cultural era. Join Courtney Lewis and the Symphony for a visit to the genesis and twilight of German Romanticism.

The NY Times described Tony DeSare as, “…two parts young Sinatra and one part Billy Joel meshed seamlessly to form a crooner, and a very good one.” Tony returns for his third visit to Jacksonville with a concert filled with Valentine’s romance.