SA Symphony Players seek contract

Symphony Players give out information
before a concert last spring

The opening of the San Antonio Symphony season is October Fifth and Sixth; however, players do not have a contract. Expired in the fall of 2011, management and players came to an agreement to work under the expired contract while talks continued.

Members of the players negotiation committee (Craig Sorgi, Renia Shterenberg and Mary Ellen Goree) talked to host John Clare about a recent letter they sent to the Board of Directors of the SA Symphony.

Hear their entire conversation here. (mp3 file)
The letter they sent is here. (pdf file)

Symphony management has not responded to emails yet.

SA Symphony: This one goes to eleven

More details about the San Antonio Symphony 72nd Season 2011-12:

October 14 & 15, 2011
Scheherazade
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor
Alexander Gravylyuk, piano

Barber The School for Scandal Overture
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in D minor
Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S.124
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade, Op.35

October 28 & 29, 2011
Paganini Rhapsody
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor
Bernd Glemser, piano

Pärt Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten
Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op.43
Liszt Totentanz, S.126
Schumann Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op.61

November 4 & 5, 2011
SLL Salutes America
Laurie Auditorium
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor

Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing brings his favorite American popular music to the POPS, including works by Bernstein and Gershwin.

November 11 & 12, 2011
Brahms Sings
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor
San Antonio Symphony Mastersingers, John Silantien, director

Brahms/Glanert Four Serious Songs, Op.121
Brahms A German Requiem, Op.45

November 18 & 19, 2011
Rachmaninoff 2
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor
Kolja Blacher, violin

Mozart Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, K.492
Berg Violin Concerto
Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op.27

NOVEMBER 25-27 and DECEMBER 2-4, 2011
The Nutcracker
Performed by Ballet San Antonio
Majestic Theatre
Ken-David Masur, conductor

December 16 & 17, 2011
Holiday POPS
Majestic Theatre
Ken-David Masur, conductor

BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL
January 13 & 14, 2012
Beethoven 1 & 3
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor

Beethoven Coriolan Overture, Op.62
Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op.21
Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op.55, “Eroica”

January 20 & 21, 2012
Beethoven 2, 4 & 5
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor

Beethoven Symphony No. 2, in D major, Op.36
Beethoven Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op.60
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67

January 27 & 28, 2012
Beethoven 6 & 7
8 p.m., Majestic Theatre
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor

Beethoven Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op.68, “Pastorale”
Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op.92


February 10 & 11, 2012
Beethoven 8 & 9
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor
Vocal soloists TBA
San Antonio Symphony Mastersingers, John Silantien, director

Beethoven Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op.93
Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op.125, “Choral”

February 12, 2012
Beethoven 9 Sunday Matinee
3 p.m., Majestic Theatre
NOTE: Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 3 p.m. Symphony No. 9 only, not part of Classics series

Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op.125, “Choral”

February 3 & 4, 2012
Broadway Rocks
Laurie Auditorium
Ken-David Masur, conductor

Broadway rocks with your Orchestra and stars from “The Great White Way” in high energy selections from Broadway blockbusters, such as Mamma Mia, Tommy, Rent, The Lion King, Hairspray and The Phantom of the Opera!

March 2 & 3, 2012
The Sea
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor
Latica Honda-Rosenberg, violin

Wagner Overture to The Flying Dutchman
Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op.77
Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op.33a
Debussy La mer

Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Renée Fleming
7:30 p.m., Majestic Theatre
Special Event (not part of Classics series)
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor
Renée Fleming, soprano

March 9 & 10, 2012
Bugs Bunny at the Symphony
Majestic Theatre
George Daugherty, creator and conductor

Bugs Bunny is back! This new production is the sequel to the original Bugs Bunny on Broadway that was one of the biggest POPS hits of recent years. Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, features a new fusion of on-screen Looney Tunes and live symphony orchestra accompaniment, and spotlights some of the original cartoon treasures of Bugs Bunny on Broadway, while adding an enlarged “cast” of Warner Bros.’ animated characters and cartoons to this celebrated melding of classical music and classic animation.

March 23 & 24, 2012
Nancy Zhou Returns
Ken-David Masur, conductor

Nancy Zhou, violin
Children’s Chorus of San Antonio, Marguerite McCormick, director

Respighi Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite I
Corigliano The Red Violin: Chaconne
Ravel Tzigane
Liszt Dante Symphony
April 13 & 14, 2012
Bach, Handel & Vivaldi
8 p.m., Majestic Theatre
Patrick Duprè Quigley, conductor
Tess Wakim, soprano and Reggie Mobley, countertenor
San Antonio Symphony Mastersingers, John Silantien, director

J. S. Bach. arr. Stokowski Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
Vivaldi In furore iustissimae irae, RV 626
J. S. Bach Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068
Handel Zadok the Priest
Handel Chandos Anthem No. 4: O Sing Unto the Lord, H249b
Carpentier Te Deum

April 20 & 21, 2012
Fiesta POPS
Majestic Theatre
Ken-David Masur, conductor

May 4 & 5, 2012
Mozart in Old Style
Barry Douglas, conductor and piano

Rossini Overture to La Cenerentola (Cinderella)
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466
Górecki Three Pieces in Old Style
Haydn Symphony No. 104 in D major, “London”

May 18 & 19, 2012
Stars Wars and other Space Odysseys
Laurie Auditorium
Michael Krajewski, conductor

Michael Krajewski and the Symphony Pops will boldly go where no orchestral pops concert has gone before! Space has inspired some of the greatest symphonic film music and Star Wars, Star Trek, and E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial are just a few of the thrilling scores that will transport you to a special place filled with fun and fantastic music.

May 25 & 26, 2012
Alondra conducts Copland

Alondra de la Parra, conductor
Mikhail Simonyan, violin

Khachaturian Concerto for Violin
Copland Symphony No. 3

June 1 & 2, 2012
Bruckner Blockbuster
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor
Olga Scheps, piano

Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, S.125
Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E major

A night at the opera

The San Antonio Opera has announced the opera company’s 2011-2012 Season. Maestro Enrique Patron de Rueda will be at the helm of the San Antonio Opera Orchestra and they also welcome new chorus director Kristin Roach.
The 2011-2012 season kicks off on September 30 - October 2, 2011 with Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet directed by returning stage director Cynthia Stokes. Mexican soprano Maria Alejandrez, a 22-year old recent champion of Plácido Domingo’s worldwide competition Operalia is cast as Juliet, and international tenor Richard Troxell performing the role of Romeo. Local favorite Timothy Jones will play the important character of Friar Lawrence.
On February 17-19, 2012, Mozart’s Don Giovanni will be a co-production with the Baltimore Lyric Opera. The opera will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.
The last production of the 2011-2012 Season is Rossini’s The Barber of Seville scheduled for June 29 - July 1, 2012. The role of Rosina will be played by Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Rivera, Figaro is played by Jeremy Kelly and Count Almaviva will be played by Brian Stucki. The opera is sung in Italian with English supertitles.
With a history and tradition of educating our city’s young children and young adults, the San Antonio Opera continues its Opera4Kids programs for in-school performances, Free Dress Rehearsals in collaboration with the Opera Guild of San Antonio and an outreach program with performances outside of San Antonio.
Season subscriptions are now available for purchase at the 30% discounted rate if purchased or renewed by April 1, 2011. More information is available from the opera Box Office at 210-225-5972 or visit http://www.saopera.com/. They are also on Facebook and Twitter @SAOpera.

Exciting seasons

The New York Philharmonic held a press conference this afternoon and announced their 2011-12 season, including an online stream from WQXR.

KPAC was happy to receive a note about the San Antonio Symphony's 2011-12 season in the mail today (dated February 1st) as well!

Fleming appears in San Antonio
March 2012 for a special concert!

Highlights for the SA Symphony include Renee Fleming (March 7, 2012 at the Majestic) as a special event, a Beethoven Festival (January 13-February 11, 2012) with all the Symphonies and Coriolan Overture, Brahms Requiem & Four Serious Songs in November 2011, San Antonio violinist Nancy Zhou (March 2012) and Barry Douglas plays piano & conducts in May 2012.

Star Wars returns to the Pops series, as well as a not so Pops concert of American Music with Sebastian Lang Lessing, and Bug Bunny at the Symphony with George Daugherty.

Only living composers appear to be John Corigliano and Arvo Part.  The season will start in October 2011 with Scheherazade and end in June 2012 with Bruckner Blockbuster.

Season subscribers will have a chance to renew first, between now and March 4th with special discounts...other season tickets will be available in the spring and single tickets in the fall.
Find out more about your San Antonio Symphony online at http://www.sasymphony.org/ and on Jack Fishman's blog http://blog.mysanantonio.com/jackfishman/

This summer KPAC & KTXI air select San Antonio Symphony concerts from this season, 2010-11!

Symphony announces new season

The San Antonio Symphony has announced its 2009-2010 season - the Symphony's 70th anniversary. Opening the season is a special, one-night-only performance of Carmina Burana, Saturday, September 19. The Symphony also features violinist Gil Shaham performing Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto.
Christopher Seaman will continue as the San Antonio Symphony's Artistic Advisor for the 2009-2010 season. Single tickets go on sale in August.
The San Antonio Symphony subscription series consists of 28 Classics and 12 Pops concert performances; Educational concerts include 24 Young People's Concert performances, a week-long St. Philip's College Residency program, a Side-by-Side with Youth Orchestras of San Antonio, four Interactive Family Concerts and numerous Community Engagement and Neighborhood Concerts.
"Developing this Symphony season took a great deal of balance, as we wanted to give conductors an opportunity to showcase their best talents to the community, while also providing the same story-telling, entertainment and emotional retreat experience audiences have come to enjoy in our classical performances," explained Maestro Seaman. "The selected pieces are a great equalizer in that we are showcasing the orchestra and the conductors' depth while reminding audiences why classical music is fun and transformative."
The 2009-2010 Classics Series includes Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schubert, Tchaikovsky and many others. Guest soloists include soprano Dawn Upshaw, violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, guitarist Manual Barrueco, bassoonist Sharon Kuster and concertmaster Ertan Torgul.
"The 2008-2009 season kicked off our music director search and created a unique opportunity for the community to enjoy many exciting new conductors," said Jack Fishman, Symphony President/CEO. "We are delighted to bring many of them back and showcase new candidates this season as we move closer to finding the next San Antonio Symphony music director."
The Symphony will continue its Interactive Family Classics Series, which encourages children and their parents to "get up close and personal" with musical instruments during pre-concert activities and a condensed, hour-long concert. Audience members meet the conductor and symphony musicians before each concert to discover the joys and challenges of conducting and playing live, orchestral music. The Symphony will perform four Sunday afternoon concerts for families at Trinity University's Laurie Auditorium again next season. The Young People's Concert Series, which aims to inspire, educate, and entertain young people through the performance of live symphonic music, will encompass four weeks of concerts and twenty-four performances at Laurie Auditorium as well.
"Education is a key component of every symphony season, and we are excited to see opportunities grow for students in San Antonio and the surrounding communities to experience classical music and learn the joys of playing a musical instrument," Fishman said. "They are our future community leaders and music lovers."
Listen for the 2008-2009 season later this summer on KPAC and KTXI!