Steven B. Libman, President & CEO of the Jacksonville Symphony Although we are presently in the midst of an incredible heat wave, our administrative, artistic and production teams are very busy with preparation for the opening of our 2023/24 Season. Our 74th season has so much to offer the community – from phenomenal classical music to Pops concerts featuring … Read More
Jacksonville Symphony gears up for season
Courtney Lewis, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony The summer months are some of my favorites of the year. Ironically, time away from the Symphony gives me the opportunity to learn new music and absorb all the scores for the coming season. What the audience hears at a concert is like the tip of the iceberg: most of the preparation … Read More
Jazz, ‘Carmen,’ ‘E.T.’ part of upcoming Jacksonville Symphony season
Steven B. Libman, President & CEO The 2022/23 season at the Jacksonville Symphony just concluded with the thrilling energy and virtuosity of pianist Conrad Tao as he performed Sergei Prokofiev’s famous Third Piano Concerto. Having also featured Dmitri Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony, this finale marked the perfect exclamation point on a remarkable season. Now, we are turning our sights toward the … Read More
Ticket to Ride: Beatles, Prokofiev close Jacksonville Symphony season
Tony Nickle, Vice President & Artistic Administrator The 2022/23 season at the Jacksonville Symphony has shown us the boundless possibilities of symphonic music by spanning a wide expanse of eras, genres and artistic icons. The Pops Series in particular has featured perhaps our most diverse concert experiences with programs ranging from Cirque de la Symphonie all the way to celebrations … Read More
Jacksonville Symphony leader bound for Paris
Courtney Lewis, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony This weekend, I head to France to spend six weeks conducting a very exciting new ballet with music by the English composer, Thomas Adès, for the Opéra national de Paris at the famous Palais Garnier. Inspired by Dante Alighieri’s 14th century epic poem, “The Divine Comedy,” “The Dante Project” is a rarity … Read More
A Feast for Your Eyes and Ears: The Magic Flute
Courtney Lewis, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony In a few weeks the Jacksonville Symphony will present our largest production of the season, The Magic Flute, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s perennially popular opera. It’s my favorite Mozart opera, a fairy tale of good versus evil, enlightenment versus ignorance and the journey of finding your own way in the world. After the … Read More
The Jacksonville Symphony Casts Operatic Enchantment With ‘The Magic Flute’
Courtney Lewis, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony, Haskell Endowed Chair On April 28 and 30, the Jacksonville Symphony will present one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most beloved and famous operas, “The Magic Flute.” The two performances will be the culmination of several years of planning and preparation, and the Symphony’s largest production of the season. This is the story … Read More
Silence is Not Golden: Amplifying Student Voices in JSYO
Grant O’Brien, JSYO Music Director and Assistant Conductor, Winston Family Endowed Chair When I accepted the position to be Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras (JSYO), I was determined to create rehearsal environments that differed from that which I had in high school band. This is not to say I had a negative experience. I have so much … Read More
The Jacksonville Symphony Rings in a Bright Holiday Season
Courtney Lewis, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony The holiday season is almost upon us, a time when we can enjoy being together with family and friends, eat and drink too much and reflect on the year that has passed. I’m looking forward to traveling to London and Belfast to be Uncle Courtney for a few weeks. It’s a time … Read More
Schumann’s heartbreaking Second one of Lewis’ favorites
When I’m asked the impossible question, “What’s your favorite symphony”, I usually refuse to answer, but inside my head a voice always cries out: Schumann’s Second! Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was the archetypal Romantic: he loved poetry as much as music, couldn’t decide whether to be a musician or a writer, married another artist (the great pianist Clara Wieck), struggled with … Read More