Welcome to the 24/25 Season!
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sydney Schless, Director of Marketing 269.216.6780
sschless@kalamazoosymphony.com
Kalamazoo Symphony Announces 24/25 Season Featuring Cellist Yo-Yo Ma
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra launches the 24/25 season with over 20 mainstage performances, including An Evening with Yo-Yo Ma on June 2. Presented by Zhang Financial, the 24/25 season brings world-renowned artists, local community partners, and exhilarating symphonic music to Kalamazoo.
The Masterworks Series returns with six concerts in Miller Auditorium, all at 7:30 p.m. The Series features Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, Maurice Ravel’s Boléro, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto with pianist Garrick Ohlsson, and a world premiere written by Michigan native and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Composer in Residence James Lee III, performed by New York Philharmonic Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill.
Featured Masterworks artists include Tine Thing Helseth (trumpet), Garrick Ohlsson (piano), Anthony McGill (clarinet), Rihab Chaieb (mezzo-soprano), Ben Gulley (tenor), and the 2024 Stulberg International String Competition Gold Medalist.
The 24/25 season features four incredible Symphony Special Events: The Music of John Williams in October, Get in the Spirit! A Holly, Jolly Concert in December, Rhapsody in Blue in April, and An Evening with Yo-Yo Ma in June, generously underwritten by Zhang Financial.
The Sound Waves Series debuts with four concerts, in four different venues, focused on community partnerships. This series is an opportunity to experience a fusion of arts and culture organizations right here in Kalamazoo, unveiling a side of the Symphony you haven’t seen or heard before. The series includes Pipe Dreams with the Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition in October, Nutcracker Suites & Treats with Ballet Arts Ensemble in December, Symphonic Beats: Celebrating Hip Hop Culture with Dr. Kandace Lavender in February, and Sound in Motion with Wellspring / Cori Terry & Dancers in April.
Led by Western Michigan University’s Bruce Uchimura, the quick-to-sell-out Craft Music Series returns to Bell’s Eccentric Café with four performances featuring a variety of genres, from tango and opera to rock and pop.
For two nights, KSO By Candlelight transforms the Radisson’s Arcadia Ballroom into a magical concert venue immersed in the golden glow of candlelight.
The Jane Rooks Ross & Barry Ross Family Discovery Concert returns to Miller Auditorium in March for a night of family fun led by Katherine Kilburn, conductor and Michigan State University assistant director of orchestras.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
Building community partnerships is integral to the Kalamazoo Symphony’s mission to serve our community through outstanding musical listening and learning experiences. Every season, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra shares the stage with a wide variety of community partners.
24/25 Season Community Partners include:
- Ballet Arts Ensemble
- Kalamazoo Children’s Chorus
- Kalamazoo Choral Arts
- Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition
- Dr. Kandace Lavender of Read & Write Kalamazoo
- Stulberg International String Competition
- Wellspring / Cori Terry & Dancers
EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The Kalamazoo Symphony is a national leader in music education with an incredible depth and breadth of programming available to our community. The hundreds of education and community programs that occur throughout every Kalamazoo Symphony season will be announced at a later date. From the Kalamazoo Kids in Tune after-school program to Orchestra Rouh, which works to bring immigrant students together through music, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra impacts nearly 37,000 local students annually. A listing of educational programs will be announced later and available at KalamazooSymphony.com.
TICKETS AND INFORMATION
Tickets for individual concerts will go on sale in August. Currently, tickets are available to Symphony season subscribers and those interested in purchasing season ticket packages for the 24/25 season. Season ticket packages start with as few as three concerts in the 24/25 season and include exclusive season ticket holder benefits. For more information or to buy a ticket package, visit KalamazooSymphony.com or call 269.349.7759.
ABOUT THE KALAMAZOO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
For over 100 years, the Symphony has been a part of the fabric of our community. Today, we seek to expand our reach and learn from our community so that we can be equitable and inclusive of all people. We are committed to the promises made in our strategic plan and to our mission of serving this community through outstanding musical listening and learning experiences. Under the leadership of Executive Director Jessica Mallow Gulley and Music Director Julian Kuerti, the Kalamazoo Symphony, through the unwavering support of the Kalamazoo community, is an integral part of the cultural and educational life of the region.
The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is the state's third-largest orchestra, with more than 80 contracted musicians, 20 professional staff, and 20 teaching artists employed full or part-time, for a total of 250 employees from Kalamazoo and surrounding areas. The KSO provides more than 40 concert performances each year, reaching more than 57,000 music lovers. The KSO performs high-quality symphonic music, fosters audiences of tomorrow, and elevates the careers of local musicians.
###
Editor’s note: Artist and orchestra photography for the 24/25 season is available upon request.
