Musicians of the Jacksonville Symphony. Photo by James Gilbert/Jacksonville Symphony.
In Wednesday’s (6/12) Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville), Tom Szaroleta writes that the Jacksonville Symphony “has big plans for the 2024-25 season, which kicks off in September. It will be the 75th year for the symphony, the 40th for the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus and the 10th for Courtney Lewis, the symphony’s music director and principal conductor. The season will include more than 40 guest artists, the world premiere of three new works, a Jimmy Buffett tribute and visits from Harry Potter and Han Solo. The season kicks off Saturday, Sept. 21, at Jacoby Symphony Hall, with a performance of Gustav Mahler’s second symphony…. The Florida Blue Classical Series will see the symphony perform works by the big names you’d expect to see in a symphony season—Rachmaninoff, Elgar, Beethoven, Ravel, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Dvořák. That series also includes a visit from the Marcus Roberts Trio and two world premieres, one by artist-in-residence Conrad Tao in April and another by Carlos Simon in June.” The season’s third world premiere is by Brittany J. Green, part of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program, an initiative of the League of American Orchestras in partnership with American Composers Orchestra. “Also making its debut is a Pops Series show … [President and CEO Steven] Libman said the season was intentionally designed to mix classical and popular music.”
