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The Jacksonville Symphony Premieres Courtney Bryan’s “Visual Rhythms”

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Courtney Lewis, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony   On March 8 and 9, we present a program of French and American music featuring a world premiere by Courtney Bryan. Courtney was our first Mary Carr Patton Composer-in-Residence a few years ago, and we’re delighted that she’s written us a second piece, entitled “Visual Rhythms.” The piece takes its title from … Read More

Jacksonville Symphony to debut new composition

Conducting Electricity

Courtney Lewis, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony    On March 8 and 9, we present a program of French and American music featuring a world premiere by Courtney Bryan. Courtney was our first Mary Carr Patton Composer-in-Residence a few years ago, and we’re delighted that she’s written us a second piece, entitled “Visual Rhythms.” The piece takes its title from … Read More

Program Notes: Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony

Program Notes

Program Notes: Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony Maurice Ravel’s La valse, poème chorégraphique:   World Premiere December 12, 1920; Paris, France (12 minutes)  Maurice Ravel is usually described as a musical impressionist, meaning that his work focuses on mood and atmosphere. He was actually more classical in his handling of melody and form. The cultures of the Far East, Africa and Spain fascinated … Read More

Q&A with Conductor Anna Rakitina

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What is your favorite part of the programming in these performances of Anna Clyne’s Restless Oceans, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise and his Second Symphony? “I definitely love all three pieces as well as the idea behind the program itself. One of the most lyrical symphonies goes after the most lyrical song ever written without words – Vocalise. The speechless voice of … Read More

Program Notes: Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony

Program Notes

Program Notes: Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony Anna Clyne’s Restless Oceans: World Premiere January 22, 2019; Davos, Switzerland (3 minutes) London-born Anna Clyne is based in New York but has an international career. Her Prince of Clouds and Night Ferry were nominated for GRAMMY® Awards in 2015. Clyne collaborates regularly with choreographers, filmmakers and visual artists. Well-versed in technology, Clyne uses computer-controlled … Read More

The Jacksonville Symphony: A Harmony of Culture and Celebration 

Conducting Electricity

The Jacksonville Symphony’s mission is to enrich the human spirit through music, and as we celebrate Black History Month, it is important to know that Black History is American History. The Jacksonville Symphony continues to celebrate the American story through music by presenting diverse programming that is culturally and demographically representative of the community that we serve. Music, the universal … Read More

Program Notes: Mozart, Vivaldi & Handel

Program Notes

Program Notes: Mozart, Vivaldi & Handel George Frideric Handel’s Zadok the Priest (Coronation Anthem No. 1): World Premiere October 11, 1727; London, England (6 minutes) George Frideric Handel’s principal instrument was organ, but he also played violin and harpsichord. In the early 1700s, Handel mastered Italian opera, working in several Italian cities. Beginning in the 1730s, he focused on English … Read More

Love, Obsession and Revenge: The Jacksonville Symphony Presents Carmen

Courtney Lewis, Conducting Electricity

Courtney Lewis, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony      On April 12 and 14, the Jacksonville Symphony will stage our biggest production of the season, our “symphonically-staged” opera, which this year is Georges Bizet’s beloved and ever-relevant Carmen. For those of you who haven’t attended one of these operas before, Jacoby Symphony Hall is transformed into an opera house with a … Read More

Symphony to celebrate 100th anniversary of ‘Rhapsody’

Courtney Lewis, Conducting Electricity

 We begin the new year with a program celebrating the 100th birthday of George Gershwin’s revolutionary Rhapsody in Blue. This extraordinary piece, part symphony, part concerto, part big band swing session has an amusing genesis. In January 1924, Gershwin had the unsettling experience of reading in the New York Tribune that he was already at work on a “jazz concerto” … Read More

Program Notes: Rhapsody in Blue & Rachmaninoff 

Program Notes

Program Notes: Rhapsody in Blue & Rachmaninoff  Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40:  World Premiere March 18, 1927; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (24 minutes)  Sergei Rachmaninoff was a major figure in post-romanticism. A brilliant pianist, he also wrote splendidly for orchestra. His music features lush themes and heart-on-the-sleeve sentimentality. He eventually settled in the U.S., enjoying great … Read More