{"id":15037,"date":"2025-10-21T23:29:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T23:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/?p=15037"},"modified":"2025-10-21T23:29:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T23:29:33","slug":"pasadena-symphony-announces-25-26-season-full-of-american-spirit-with-stellar-classical-masterworks-plus-two-commissions-and-premieres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/?p=15037","title":{"rendered":"Pasadena Symphony Announces 25\/26 Season Full of American Spirit with Stellar Classical Masterworks Plus Two Commissions and Premieres"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Highlights of 98<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;Season, which opens November 8, 2025, include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Six Distinctive Programs, all led by Music Director Brett Mitchell, with matinee and evening performances at Ambassador Auditorium;<br>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Landmark Orchestral Works that haven\u2019t been performed by the orchestra in over a decade, including Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique to open the season and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 \u201cPath\u00e9tique;&#8221;<br>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Classical Masterworks including Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3, \u201cScottish,\u201d Beethoven Symphony No. 3, \u201cEroica\u201d and Dvo\u0159\u00e1k Symphony No. 9 \u201cFrom the New World;\u201d<br>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Future of Classical Music on display with a co-commission of Juan Pablo Contreras\u2019 First Symphony, the west coast premiere of Jennifer Higdon\u2019s Cello Concerto and a co-commission and west coast premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff\u2019s \u201cRhapsody on America;\u201d<br>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Slate of Acclaimed Guest Artists performing a mix of old and new concerti &#8211; Pianists Orion Weiss (Ravel Piano Concerto in G), Michelle Cann (Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23) and Joyce Yang (Leshnoff Piano Concerto), Violinist Tessa Lark (Meyer Violin Concerto) and Cellist Julian Schwarz (Higdon Cello Concerto)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Pasadena, CA<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 Music Director Brett Mitchell and the&nbsp;<strong>Pasadena Symphony<\/strong>&nbsp;announce his sophomore season with an exhilarating schedule of six performances, curated in honor of the rich tradition of American composition.&nbsp; \u201cAs we close in on America\u2019s 250<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;birthday next summer,\u201d says Mitchell, &#8220;I\u2019m excited to celebrate the best of American orchestral music, past and present, all season long, pairing new American repertoire with great masterworks of the past.\u201d Alongside a stellar program of celebrated Classical works, the Pasadena Symphony cements its commitment to contemporary music by presenting&nbsp;<strong>two co-commissions<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;<strong>Juan Pablo Contreras\u2019 Symphony No. 1&nbsp;<\/strong>and<strong>&nbsp;Jonathan Leshnoff\u2019s \u201cRhapsody on America,\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong>and hosting two&nbsp;<strong>west coast premieres<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;<strong>Jennifer Higdon\u2019s Cello Concerto&nbsp;<\/strong>and the&nbsp;<strong>Leshnoff Piano Concerto<\/strong>. All concerts take place at the orchestra\u2019s home of over a decade &#8211; Pasadena\u2019s historic Ambassador Auditorium with matinee and evening performances at 2pm and 8pm.<br><br>Mitchell kicks off the 25\/26 season on&nbsp;<strong>November 8<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong>&nbsp;with&nbsp;<strong>Berlioz\u2019&nbsp;<\/strong>bold and electrifying&nbsp;<strong>Symphonie Fantastique<\/strong>, which the orchestra has never before performed at Ambassador Auditorium. Plus, acclaimed pianist&nbsp;<strong>Orion Weiss<\/strong>&nbsp;performs&nbsp;<strong>Ravel\u2019s Piano Concerto in G Major<\/strong>&nbsp;and the concert opens with&nbsp;<strong>Principal Tuba Jim Self\u2019s Tour de Force<\/strong>, on the occasion of his 50<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;anniversary with the orchestra! The new year brings<strong>&nbsp;Mendelssohn &amp; Meyer<\/strong>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<strong>January 24, 2026<\/strong>. Mitchell will take us on a rich musical journey, through Scotland with<strong>&nbsp;Mendelssohn\u2019s Hebrides Overture and Symphony No. 3 \u201cScottish,\u201d<\/strong>&nbsp;and then through fields of Kentucky bluegrass with&nbsp;<strong>Edgar Meyer\u2019s Violin Concerto<\/strong>&nbsp;performed by multiple award-winning phenom&nbsp;<strong>Tessa Lark.<\/strong><br><br>The orchestra will perform the Ambassador Auditorium debut for another masterwork on&nbsp;<strong>February 21<\/strong><sup>st<\/sup>, with&nbsp;<strong>Tchaikovsky\u2019s&nbsp;<\/strong>haunting&nbsp;<strong>Symphony No. 6&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>\u201cPath\u00e9tique.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/strong>The program opens with Colorado-based composer&nbsp;<strong>Jeffrey Nytch\u2019s Beacon<\/strong>&nbsp;and a shimmering performance of&nbsp;<strong>Mozart\u2019s 23<sup>rd<\/sup>&nbsp;Piano Concerto<\/strong>&nbsp;by&nbsp;<strong>Grammy Award-winning pianist Michelle Cann<\/strong>.&nbsp;<strong>March 21<sup>st<\/sup>&nbsp;<\/strong>brings Mexican-American composer&nbsp;<strong>Juan Pablo Contreras<\/strong>&nbsp;to the stage to introduce&nbsp;<strong>his first symphony, which the Pasadena Symphony co-commissioned. \u201cMy Great Dream\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong>captures Contreras\u2019 journey to becoming both a composer and US Citizen.&nbsp;<strong>Bernstein\u2019s Dance Variations from&nbsp;<em>Fancy Free<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;opens the program, and&nbsp;<strong>Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s Symphony No. 9 \u201cFrom the New World\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong>caps this tribute to the American spirit.<br><br><strong>Beethoven\u2019s Symphony No. 3 \u201cEroica\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong>fills the concert hall with revolutionary verve on&nbsp;<strong>March 21<sup>st<\/sup><\/strong>, accompanied by 2025 ASCAP Young Composer Award-winner<strong>&nbsp;Quinn Mason\u2019s Heroic Overture.&nbsp;<\/strong>The&nbsp;<strong>west coast premiere&nbsp;<\/strong>of Grammy-winning composer&nbsp;<strong>Jennifer Higdon\u2019s Cello Concerto<\/strong>&nbsp;completes the program, performed by cellist&nbsp;<strong>Julian Schwarz<\/strong>, whom the concerto was written for. The season closes with a celebration of&nbsp;<strong>America @250 on May 30<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong>, highlighting American composition throughout the last century from&nbsp;<strong>Copland\u2019s Lincoln Portrait and&nbsp;<em>Appalachian Spring&nbsp;<\/em>Suite<\/strong>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<strong>John Williams\u2019<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>Selections from&nbsp;<em>American Journey<\/em><\/strong>, commissioned by President Clinton for the 2000 Millennium celebrations. The Pasadena Symphony is also proud to present the&nbsp;<strong>west coast premiere and co-commission of Jonathan Leshnoff\u2019s \u201cRhapsody on America\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong>written for and performed by award-winning pianist&nbsp;<strong>Joyce Yang.<\/strong><br><br>The Pasadena Symphony provides a quintessential experience specially designed for the music lover, the social butterfly or a date night out. Audiences can enjoy a pre-concert meal at nearby restaurants in Old Town Pasadena or have a drink on Ambassador Auditorium&#8217;s beautiful outdoor plaza. The symphony also offers a pre-concert discussion one hour prior to each performance hosted by KUSC Classical California\u2019s Brian Lauritzen, who interviews Music Director Brett Mitchell and special guests including soloists and composers.<br><br>All Pasadena Symphony concerts take place at&nbsp;<strong>Ambassador Auditorium<\/strong>, 131 S. St. John Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105, with performances at&nbsp;<strong>2pm and 8pm<\/strong>. Subscription packages start at $120 with single tickets starting at $55. Both may be purchased online at&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/pasadenasymphony-pops.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pasadenasymphony-pops.org<\/a>&nbsp;or by calling (626) 793-7172.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights of 98th&nbsp;Season,&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category--others"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15037"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15038,"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15037\/revisions\/15038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacyf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}