Summer Concerts
The Philadelphia Orchestra launches into summer with an exciting array of concerts spread across multiple venues throughout the country. Summer residencies will include returns to the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), as well as a concert at Longwood Gardens and a Free Neighborhood Concert at Penn’s Landing. With programs ranging from classical to opera, Broadway, Hollywood, and more, the Fabulous Philadelphians will be joined by an impressive lineup of guest conductors, soloists, and, of course, their own music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, located in Philadelphia's beautiful Fairmount Park, continues its rich tradition as the Greater Philadelphia region's premier outdoor cultural arts center.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin makes his debut appearance at the Mann Center with a special gala concert. The first half of the evening features selections from the Philadelphia Community Mass, a performance inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s MASS and conceived by Nolan Williams, Jr., the Mann’s festival artistic director. During the second half, Nézet-Séguin conducts the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra performing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, one of the towering masterworks of classical music.
Berlioz single-handedly created the Romantic era in music with his blazing, amazing Symphonie fantastique. In this incredible piece, the orchestra becomes a storyteller, relating the hopes, loves, fears, and terrors of an artist who falls for a woman the first time he sees her, fantasizes about their life together, and suffers the terrors of the scaffold and a wild Witches’ Sabbath as retribution for killing the one he loved! The program opens with a bacchanalian tribute to La Dolce Vita that is possible only in Rome, a city both sacred and profane all at once and all the time.
Steven Reineke leads The Philadelphia Orchestra and two of Broadway’s brightest new voices in this hit parade of fresh favorites from some of the latest Tony Award®-winning musicals, including The Book of Mormon, Newsies, The Lion King, and Dear Evan Hansen. Matt Doyle, known for his roles in the Broadway productions of Spring Awakening and War Horse, takes the stage along with vocal powerhouse Betsy Wolfe of Bullets Over Broadway and Waitress fame. Additional selections from modern Broadway classics round out the evening.
The Harry Potter Film Concert Series returns to the Mann with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire™ in Concert, the fourth film in the Harry Potter series. On July 20, 2019 Justin Freer will conduct The Philadelphia Orchestra performing the magical score live from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire™ while the entire film plays in high-definition on a 40-foot screen.
The Rachmaninoff connection with The Philadelphia Orchestra is rich and historic. Rachmaninoff himself recorded all of his piano concertos with the “Fabulous Philadelphians” and two of its music directors, Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy. The composer also made his only recordings as a conductor with The Philadelphia Orchestra. His final orchestral masterwork, the Symphonic Dances, was written for and dedicated to Ormandy and the Orchestra.
Conductor Gemma New helps us celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing. The program will be filled with popular classical favorites featured in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the music of John Williams celebrating outer space, a piece from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, and much more, including a new work composed especially for this occasion by popular film and TV composer Michael Giacchino.
The Mann is thrilled to present Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back live in concert on July 26th. The Philadelphia Orchestra will play John Williams' iconic musical score live as the film is projected on three giant screens.
Bravo! Vail is Colorado’s premier summer music festival, and the only one in North America to host three world-renowned symphony orchestras in a single season, including The Philadelphia Orchestra.
A revered maestro returns to Vail, and a three-time Grammy-winning violinist makers her long-awaited Bravo debut in this enchanting program filled with nuance and virtuosity.
The Fabulous Philadelphians evoke the vivid energy of youth through the magic of music, featuring Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, selections from Harry Potter, and Britten's beloved Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.
Pianist Nicholas Angelich—declared "born to play Brahms" by The Daily Telegraph—makes his triumphant return to Vail with a concerto of grandeur and grace, which pairs beautifully with Prokofiev's evocative portrait of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers.
The stars align in thrilling confluence for Puccini’s insanely popular opera, from its spine-tingling beginning to its tragic end. In this extraordinary outdoor setting and dramatic stage set, Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin—one of the most prominent opera conductors and music director of the Metropolitan Opera—leads an all-star cast, two choruses, and the exhilarating artistry of The Philadelphia Orchestra. For the first time ever, Bravo! Vail brings this ambitious production to life in Vail with bold new ideas from exceptional artists and creative visionaries.
This wonderfully crowd-pleasing program has something for everyone: A colorful high-octane opening, Chopin Competition winner Seong-Jin Cho in his Bravo! Vail debut, and the fiercely flamboyant First Symphony of Rachmaninoff.
The stars align in thrilling confluence for Puccini’s insanely popular opera, from its spine-tingling beginning to its tragic end. In this extraordinary outdoor setting and dramatic stage set, Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin—one of the most prominent opera conductors and music director of the Metropolitan Opera—leads an all-star cast, two choruses, and the exhilarating artistry of The Philadelphia Orchestra. For the first time ever, Bravo! Vail brings this ambitious production to life in Vail with bold new ideas from exceptional artists and creative visionaries.
Diverse artistry thrives at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the cultural hub of upstate New York, the Hudson Valley, Vermont, the Berkshires, Connecticut, and nearby Canada.
Opening Night of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s August residency will continue the new tradition of featuring Tchaikovsky’s famed 1812 Overture, complete with fireworks and live cannon fire as the kick-off to the 2019 orchestra season. New to the program for 2019, will be the SPAC premiere of dancers from the Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO).
Internationally acclaimed, PHILADANCO is celebrated for its innovation, creativity and preservation of predominantly African-American traditions in dance.
Leopold Stokowski, known for his long association with The Philadelphia Orchestra, was a cultural pioneer, bringing the latest in art and music to Philadelphia in the early 1900s and presenting it in bold, new ways—most notably his incredible interpretations of famous baroque works.
This robust program features Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D, which has become a vastly popular piece, especially in the horror genre, and has been prevalent in pop culture since well before the sound film era.
A native of Indonesia and a Young Scholar of Lang Lang’s International Music Foundation, pianist Janice Carissa will make her SPAC debut performing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major on August 2.
Audiences will be able to relive the magical adventure of Harry Potter’s second year at school like never before. This concert features Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets™ in high-definition while a live orchestra performs John Williams’ otherworldly score. Experience the wonder of talking spiders, scolding letters, and giant snakes all over again!
HARRY POTTER characters, names and related indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WIZARDING WORLD trademark and logo © ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR. (s19)
Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is postponing his return to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center due to family reasons following an injury sustained by his partner, Pierre Tourville. Mr. Nézet-Séguin has withdrawn from the concerts on August 7 and 8 but will return on August 16 and 17. He looks forward to greeting audiences in Saratoga next week after much-needed time with Pierre during the early stages of recovery.
The Philadelphia Orchestra and Saratoga Performing Arts Center are very grateful to Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Conductor Kensho Watanabe for stepping in to conduct the concerts on August 7 and August 8. The programs remain as announced.
Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is postponing his return to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center due to family reasons following an injury sustained by his partner, Pierre Tourville. Mr. Nézet-Séguin has withdrawn from the concerts on August 7 and 8 but will return on August 16 and 17. He looks forward to greeting audiences in Saratoga next week after much-needed time with Pierre during the early stages of recovery.
The Philadelphia Orchestra and Saratoga Performing Arts Center are very grateful to Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Conductor Kensho Watanabe for stepping in to conduct the concerts on August 7 and August 8. The programs remain as announced.
Under the baton of Peruvian conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, making his first-ever SPAC appearance, this program will transport listeners to South America with three SPAC premieres that explore the sounds of Argentina and Peru.
The effervescent Harp Concerto by the celebrated Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera was premiered by The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1965 and is today performed by the current principal, Elizabeth Hainen, considered one of classical music’s great harp ambassadors.
Making its SPAC Premiere in Saratoga as part of the film’s 10th anniversary, Disney • Pixar’s
The Academy Award-winning film features a 78-year-old curmudgeonly balloon salesman as its hero. When he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America, he finally fulfills his lifelong dream of adventure.
Charlie Chaplin’s immortal romantic comedy City Lights gets even brighter when The Philadelphia Orchestra performs Chaplin’s score live while the complete film—considered to be among the greatest ever made—is shown on a giant screen above the stage for the final installment of the “Cinema Series @ SPAC.”
Charlie Chaplin, one of the towering icons of film history, central to the field of film as a producer, director, and actor, is instantly recognizable to people around the world for his signature character, the Tramp.
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO), comprising 15 of the finest jazz soloists and ensemble players today, has been the Jazz at Lincoln Center resident orchestra since 1988.
Making his SPAC debut is 23 year-old Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki who has won acclaim for his extraordinary interpretive maturity, distinctive sound, and poetic sensibility. The New York Times has called him “a pianist who makes every note count.” Lisiecki’s insightful interpretations, refined technique, and natural affinity for art give him a musical voice that belies his age.
Mozart’s haunting Requiem came at the very end of his life: He died before he could finish it. A choral masterpiece featuring four renowned vocalists and the powerful forces of the Albany Pro Musica Concert Chorus, it is considered one of the greatest expressions of faith ever cast as a work of art.
The Philadelphia Orchestra presents a Free Neighborhood Concert at Penn’s Landing. This event is FREE and open to the public but online RSVPs are encouraged.
Led by Assistant Conductor Kensho Watanabe, The Philadelphia Orchestra celebrates its legacy of imagination, innovation, and excellence with an evening of music by American composers and Beethoven. Beginning with Michael Daugherty’s Flamingo, a wild and fun concerto for two tambourines, the Orchestra relaxes with George Gershwin’s charming Lullaby for strings and Morton Gould’s American Symphonette No. 2. Concluding the program is Beethoven’s masterful Symphony No. 1.