Welcome to the 2021/22 Season!

"Before I welcome you to a new season of music, let me start by saying 2020/21 was not only a year of tribulations, but also a year of triumphs. Throughout the season, the Jacksonville Symphony remained one of the only American orchestras performing before a live audience in a concert hall. The Symphony led the way for orchestras across the nation to safely reopen.

It is because of all our tremendous efforts during the past season that we can confidently, and with great anticipation, announce the 2021/22 Jacksonville Symphony season.

Whether you come to Jacoby Symphony Hall to hear the music of Beethoven or Broadway, you are all enjoying the same wonderfully talented orchestra and world-class guest artists. Each concert in the 2021/22 season will be filled with live, soul-stirring music, experienced together. You will find transcendent performances, boundless energy, and unforgettable moments from one masterful performance to another.

We are thrilled to welcome you back for a new season of live, symphonic music with the Jacksonville Symphony. I sincerely hope that as you flip through these pages, you share my excitement to return to Jacoby Symphony Hall for the 2021/22 season, together."

— Courtney Lewis, Music Director

Florida Blue Classical Series

The 2021/22 Classical Series is overflowing with powerful and uplifting music, brilliant conductors and thrilling guest artists. Legends such as Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky are joined by several others deserving a prime place on the mantle of history. The series opens with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 and the first work in our Mozart Piano Concerto Mini-Cycle, and closes with a world premiere, Jacksonville Symphony commission and the titanic Beethoven’s Ninth.

SEP 24/25 ∙ Mozart’s Romantic Side: Piano Concerto No. 20
OCT 22/23 ∙ Bach to America
NOV 12/13 ∙ Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony
DEC 3/4 ∙ Mozart’s Dream: Piano Concerto No. 21
JAN 7/8 ∙ Brahms’ Pastoral Symphony
JAN 28/29 ∙ Mozart’s Defiance: Piano Concerto No. 24
FEB 18/19 ∙ Beethoven to Brahms
MAR 4/5 ∙ Appalachian Spring
APR 8/9 ∙ Mozart’s Groundbreaker: Piano Concerto No. 25
MAY 20/21 ∙ Mozart’s Radiance: Piano Concerto No. 23
JUN 10/11 ∙ Beethoven’s Ninth: Ode to Joy

The David M. Hicks Mozart Piano Series

There is no question that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was one of the greatest of the great geniuses ever to put pen to manuscript paper. From his first composition at age five to his final at 35, he composed a total of 626 known works. While astounding brilliance may be found in every genre, it is in his piano concertos that he perhaps flexes the most astonishing creativity. Between 1785 and 1786 he composed six piano concertos that arguably represent the most remarkable of the 27 he penned, and this season Courtney Lewis and the Jacksonville Symphony partner with a bevy of world-class pianists to bring you five of them. Each of these concertos has an extraordinarily unique flavor, and each of these remarkable pianists is certain to bring their own distinct voice to the stage.

SEP 24/25 ∙ Mozart’s Romantic Side: Piano Concerto No. 20
DEC 3/4 ∙ Mozart’s Dream: Piano Concerto No. 21
JAN 28/29 ∙ Mozart’s Defiance: Piano Concerto No. 24
APR 8/9 ∙ Mozart’s Groundbreaker: Piano Concerto No. 25
MAY 20/21 ∙ Mozart’s Radiance: Piano Concerto No. 23

Daniel Hsu, Alessio Bax, Conrad Tao, Jonathan Biss, and Simone Dinnerstein

Breathing New Life Into Music

The Jacksonville Symphony is thrilled to announce a multi-year project that will see the premiere of five original works commissioned from five of today’s most exciting composers, reflecting our commitment to the living art form. The 2021/22 season marks the first of these, with a piece for full orchestra by Tarik O’Regan, a British and American composer whose music The Washington Post describes as “exquisite and delicate.”

British and American composer, Tarik O’Regan

Fidelity National Financial Pops Series

The 2021/22 Fidelity National Financial Pops series may be our most exciting ever. It has music that will thrill virtually every Pops genre. There are two Broadway concerts. The first featuring contemporary Broadway music and the second with the music from The White Way’s classics. Piano Man Michael Cavanaugh returns to celebrate the music of Elton John. It’s Judy Garland’s 100^th birthday this year and we’re celebrating with a concert of her greatest hits. There’s the music of John Williams and Queen. And Jacksonville’s favorite, The Chris Thomas Band, joins us for a concert that will have you dancing in the aisles.

OCT 8/9 ∙ Wicked & More: The Music of Stephen Schwartz
NOV 5/6 ∙ Patriotic Pops
DEC 9/10/11/12 ∙ Holiday Pops
JAN 14/15 ∙ Classic Broadway
FEB 4/5 ∙ The Chris Thomas Band: The Rat Pack
FEB 25/26 ∙ Michael Cavanaugh: The Music of Elton John
MAR 18/19 ∙ The Music of Whitney Houston
APR 1/2 ∙ John Williams & Steven Spielberg
MAY 6/7 ∙ Get Happy! Judy Garland’s 100^th
JUN 3/4 ∙ The Music of Queen

Symphonic Night at the Movies Series

Blockbuster movies return to Jacoby Symphony Hall during the 2021/22 season. We’ll show Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on a gigantic screen while the Symphony plays the fabulous, award winning scores live to the picture. These concerts sell-out quickly so get your tickets before they’re gone.

JAN 21/22 ∙ Star Wars: Return of The Jedi

MAY 13/14 ∙ Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire^TM In Concert

Special Presentations

Every season the Symphony brings you special concerts that are not attached to any of our series and the 2021/22 season is no exception. Of course, the season features our standards including holiday traditions the First Coast Nutcracker, the only performance in Jacksonville with a full live orchestra and Handel’s Messiah, the greatest story ever told with the most majestic music ever written. We bring you the best New Year’s Eve concert party in Jacksonville with Tony DeSare playing the music of the Rat Pack and then dancing to the Chris Thomas Band. Then opera returns to the Jacoby Symphony Hall stage with Puccini’s famous La Bohème. The audience was thrilled two seasons ago by Mozart’s Don Giovanni and La Bohème should be even better. You won’t want to miss a note.

DEC 17/18/19 ∙ First Coast Nutcracker
DEC 18/19 ∙ Handel's Messiah
DEC 31 ∙ New Year's Eve: Rhapsody in Blue Eyes
MAR 26 ∙ 2022 Symphony Gala
APR 29/MAY 1 ∙ La Bohème

Symphony in 60 series

If you’re new to classical symphonic music or want to learn a bit more about it, our Symphony in 60 Series is perfect for you. These Thursday Happy Hour concerts begin at 6:30PM and you’ll be done in time for dinner at 8:00. The series is filled with music you’re sure to recognize and features to conductors speaking about the highlights you should listen for in each piece. Full series details coming soon!

Raymond James Coffee Series

The 2021/22 Coffee Series encompasses a full range of programming throughout the entire season. Enjoy the music from classic Broadway, your Patriotic favorites, and of course, Holiday Pops. We’ll present a concert celebrating the epic partnership of John Williams and Steven Spielberg and celebrate Judy Garland’s 100^th birthday with classics like “Over the Rainbow” and “For Me and My Gal.” You’ll hear classical favorites from Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, and Symphony principal clarinetist Giovanni Bertoni will perform Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, the feature work from Out of Africa. Join us for a season we’re sure you’ll love.