Bangor, ME — Following a triumphant, sold-out season finale on Sunday, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra announced plans for its 2023-2024 season, the organization’s 128th.
Leaning into the themes of discovery and connection, Music Director and Conductor Lucas Richman has programmed concerts that continue the organization’s commitment to new music and underrepresented composers, while bringing audience favorites to light in dramatic contexts and using the season finale to shed light on the issue of homelessness in Bangor.
Highlights for the year ahead will include the BSO debuts of renowned artists Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano, and Awadagin Pratt, piano, and a re-scheduled performance of Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 5 that was originally set for May 2020.
The orchestra’s season finale in April 2024 will be devoted to the works of Lucas Richman, including the New England premiere of his new violin concerto, Paths to Dignity. Written for violinist Mitchell Newman, the important new work uses the power of music to connect homelessness advocacy organizations to a wider audience and inspire community change.
Subscriptions are now on sale through the Collins Center for the Arts Box Office. New subscribers save 40%, with a deadline of September 1, 2023. Nutcracker tickets will go on sale July 10, 2023, and single tickets for classical concerts will go on sale September 4, 2023. Visit bangorsymphony.org or call (207) 581-1755 to subscribe.
A full listing of the season is below and online, and an announcement video has been shared to YouTube. Photos of the orchestra and guest artists for the 2023-2024 season are available for download via Dropbox.
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Masterworks I
Scandinavian Splendor
Sunday, October 1, 2023 at 3pm
Collins Center for the Arts
Lucas Richman, conductor
Margarita Shevchenko, piano
Elfrida Andrée I Concert Overture, D major
Grieg I Piano Concerto in A minor with Margarita Shevchenko
Sibelius I Symphony No. 5, E-flat major
Masterworks II
Star Crossed: Romeo and Juliet
Sunday, November 19, 2023 at 3pm
Collins Center for the Arts
Lucas Richman, conductor
Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano
Debussy I Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Wagner I Tristan Und Isolde: Prelude and Liebestod with Michelle DeYoung
Prokofiev I Selections from Romeo and Juliet
Masterworks III
Past, Present, Future: Bach and Beyond
Sunday, January 28, 2024 at 3pm
Collins Center for the Arts
Lucas Richman, conductor
Awadagin Pratt, piano
Nathan Shields | World Premiere
Bach | Keyboard Concerto in A major, BWV 1055 with Awadagin Pratt
Jessie Montgomery | Rounds (2022) with Awadagin Pratt
Mendelssohn | Symphony No. 4, âItalianâ
Masterworks IV
Mahler’s 5th: From Darkness to LightÂ
Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 3pm
Collins Center for the Arts
Lucas Richman, conductor
Mozart |Masonic Funeral Music
Mahler | Symphony No. 5
Masterworks V
Paths to Dignity: The Music of Lucas Richman
Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 3pm
Collins Center for the Arts
Lucas Richman, conductor
Mitchell Newman, violin
University of Maine Singers & Oratorio Society
Richman | World Premiere
Richman | Concerto for Violin: Paths to Dignity with Mitchell Newman
Richman | Symphony: This Will Be Our Reply [Maine Premiere]
Holiday Special
The Nutcracker
Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 2pm
Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 7pm
Sunday, December 17, 2023 at 3pm
Lucas Richman, conductor
Robinson Ballet
Bangor Area Youth Choirs