UPDATE: Single tickets for Ben Folds and the other special concerts go on sale July 30, the Fort Worth Symphony says.
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The Fort Worth Symphony's 2018-19 concert season offers something for fans of high culture, pop culture, and — for the first time — kid culture, too.
In addition to the symphonic and pops seasons, FWSO is introducing a Family Series composed of three kid-friendly concerts: "Superhero Soundtrack Junior," "The Music of Harry Potter," and "Jurassic Parts," described as "as new concert that tells the story of when instruments ruled the world."
A second nod to dinosaurs comes on the pops season with "Jurassic Park in Concert." The orchestra will play John Williams' score along with a 25th anniversary screening of the film. (Yes, 25th anniversary. Where has the time gone?)
But the hot pops ticket will be multi-platinum singer-songwriter Ben Folds, who will rock Bass Hall for the first time since his sold-out concert with FWSO in 2015.
The symphony's annual gala fundraising concert will welcome another musician who, like Folds, toggles deftly between pop and classical music. R.E.M. founding member Mike Mills joins the FWSO and music director Miguel Harth-Bedoya, along with violinist Robert McDuffie, to play Mills' Concerto for Violin, Rock Band, and String Orchestra.
The symphony's bread and butter, of course, is its symphonic series. Next season is packed with audience favorites, including Copland's Appalachian Spring, Mahler's Symphony No. 5, Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2, and more.
"The season will also bring exciting new works by three visiting composers: Jimmy Lopez, Andrew Norman, and Antonio Juan-Marcos," Harth-Bedoya says in a release. "Finally, this August the orchestra will celebrate the Bernstein Centennial with three programs of music by this charismatic musical giant of the 20th century."
Subscriptions will go on sale Friday, January 26 and can be ordered at www.fwsymphony.org or by calling 817-665-6000. Symphony series subscriptions range in price from $160-$678. Pops subscriptions range from $182-$560. Bernstein Centennial Festival subscriptions range from $51-$216. Family series subscriptions are $24 for children up to age 12 and $51 for adults. Single tickets will go on sale Monday, July 30, 2018, and student discounts are available. Most concerts take place at Bass Hall.
Here is a closer look at the 2018-19 season, with concert descriptions from FWSO:
The Family Concerts:
- September 8, 2018: “Superhero Soundtrack Junior” – a pint-sized version of our Pops concert celebrating the musical movie themes of Superheroes
- November 3, 2018: “The Music of Harry Potter” – this wildly popular program is coming back to bring you music from the Harry Potter film franchise
- February 2, 2019: “Jurassic Parts” – a new concert that tells the story of when instruments ruled the world
The Pops Concerts
- September 7-9, 2018: “Superhero Soundtrack” – Stuart Chafetz, conductor (featuring some of the most memorable movie themes of all time from blockbusters like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Supergirl, X-Men: The Last Stand, and more)
- October 12-14, 2018: “Super Diamond: A Tribute to Neil Diamond” – Ron Spigelman, conductor (the tribute band Super Diamond joins the FWSO to perform a glittering performance of Neil Diamond’s top hits)
- November 2-4, 2018: “Time for Three” – Nicholas Kendall, violin; Charles Yang, violin; Ranaan Meyer, double-bass (the genre-defying American trio performs music from Bach to Brahms and beyond, playing originals and their own arrangements of everything from bluegrass and folk tunes to ingenious mash-ups of hits by the Beatles, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake and more)
- November 23-25, 2018: “Home for the Holidays” – Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; (featuring all of your favorite seasonal songs and a special visit by a man in a red and white suit)
- January 18-20, 2019: “Ragtime, Blues & All That Jazz” – Byron Stripling, trumpet, vocals, and conductor (featuring music by ragtime masters Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton plus blues legends B.B. King, Muddy Waters and much more)
- March 8-10, 2019: “Mariachi Los Camperos: Viva Mexico, Viva America!” – Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor (the GRAMMY Award-winning group explores the works of Mexico’s many internationally renowned songwriters, highlighting the exquisite voices within Mariachi Los Camperos)
- March 22-24, 2019: “Jurassic Park in Concert” – Damon Gupton, conductor (featuring a screening of the 1993 film with John Williams’ magnificent score performed live to picture by the FWSO)
Special Concerts and Gala
- September 24, 2018: Multi-platinum singer-songwriter Ben Folds returns to the FWSO for the first time since 2015 for an evening of fan favorites and more, backed by the FWSO.
- December 3, 2018: A holiday tradition, the FWSO, conducted by Associate Conductor Alejandro Gómez Guillén, will perform Handel’s Messiah.
- December 15, 2018: The FWSO will screen the holiday favorite Home Alone at Will Rogers Auditorium, featuring John Williams’ charming and delightful score performed live to picture by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and the Lone Star Youth Chorus.
- December 31, 2018: Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts a New Year’s Eve tribute to Frank Sinatra featuring vocalist Cary Hoffman.
- February 9, 2019: Violinist Robert McDuffie and R.E.M. drummer Mike Mills join Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the FWSO for a gala concert featuring performances of Mills’ Concerto for Violin, Rock Band, and String Orchestra and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
Symphonic Series
- September 14-16, 2018: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; James Ehnes, violin (TCHAIKOVSKY Capriccio Italien, Violin Concerto, and Symphony No. 6, “Pathetique”)
- October 5-7, 2018: Eugene Tzigane, conductor; Maja Bodganović, cello (BRITTEN Four Sea Interludes, SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No. 1, SMETANA The Moldau from Má Vlast, and DEBUSSY La mer)
- October 26-28, 2018: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Alessio Bax, piano; Antonio Juan-Marcos, visiting composer (BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2, ANTONIO JUAN-MARCOS Canto de Semillas [World Premiere], and RAVEL Selections from Daphnis et Chloé)
- November 9-11, 2018: Jacomo Bairos, conductor; Jennifer Corning Lucio, oboe (LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, STRAUSS Concerto for Oboe, COPLAND Appalachian Spring, MÁRQUEZ Danzón No. 2)
- January 11-13, 2019: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Jimmy López, visiting composer (JIMMY LÓPEZ Symphony No. 1, STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra)
- February 1-3, 2019: Andrew Grams, conductor; Simone Porter, violin (SCHUMANN Overture to Hermann und Dorothea, BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1, BRAHMS Symphony No. 2)
- February 22-24, 2019: Ruth Reinhardt, conductor; Stephen Hough, piano (STRAVINSKY Danses Concertantes, MENDELSSOHN Piano Concerto No. 1, SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5)
- March 15-17, 2019: Robert Spano, conductor; Jessica Rivera, soprano (STRAUSS Four Last Songs, MAHLER Symphony No. 5)
- April 5-7, 2019: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Colin Currie, percussion; Andrew Norman, visiting composer (DVOŘÁK Carnival Overture, ANDREW NORMAN Switch [Concerto for Percussion], MARTINŮ Symphony No. 1)
- May 17-19, 2019: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Pablo Sáinz Villegas, guitar (KODÁLY Dances of Galánta, RODRIGO Fantasia para un gentilhombre, SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5)
Lenny at 100: A Bernstein Centennial Festival
- August 24, 2018: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Kelley O’Connor, mezzo-soprano (Slava! A Political Overture, West Side Story Symphonic Dances, and Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah”)
- August 25, 2018: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; David Shifrin, clarinet (Three Dance Episodes from On the Town; Sonata for Clarinet; Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, and On The Waterfront)
- August 26, 2018: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Kelley O’Connor, mezzo-soprano; Michael Adams, baritone (Overture to Candide, Three Dances from Fancy Free, Chichester Psalms, and Selections from Candide, Trouble in Tahiti, Arias and Barcarolles, and more)
Pianist Alessio Bax joins FWSO for the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2.
