“The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra has announced the shows it will feature during the 2022-2023 season,” writes Sonya Swink in Thursday’s (2/17) Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, SD). “This season … will feature three beloved choral works: Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony…. [South Dakota Symphony Youth Orchestra Music Director] Thomas Fortner [will conduct] the orchestra through the greatest hits of science fiction movies, television and more with themes from ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Star Wars,’ and more. There’s even more celebrations to continue the 100th year celebration of the SDSO. Sioux Falls-raised [jazz singer] Luke Carlsen … will return for an evening of singing romantic standards. There will also be appearances by … pianists Conrad Tao and Orion Weiss [and] violinist Rui Du, plus symphonies of Brahms and Sibelius…. Delta David Gier, SDSO music director, said, ‘From Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to Ravel’s Bolero to the Sci-Fi Spectacular—there is much for our musicians to look forward to.’ Conrad Tao plays Tchaikovsky, kicking off the first show of the season on Oct. 8, 2022.” Music by contemporary composers will include Conrad Tao’s Spoonfuls, Chen Yi’s Ge Xu (Antiphony), Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater, Reena Esmail’s My Sister’s Voice, and a world premiere by Niloufar Iravani, commissioned through the League’s Virginia B. Toulmin Orchestral Commissions Program in partnership with American Composers Orchestra.
