By Caitlyn Meisner | cmeisner@alextimes.com
The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra is set to begin its 81st season later this month with the hope that “every concert tells a story.”
George Hanson, executive director of ASO, said this season doesn’t follow a theme throughout its September to April run, but it will feature many guest musicians and choral groups.
ASO is coming off of its 80th season – or its Oak Anniversary – which was a whirlwind of original pieces based on Alexandria’s history and personal stories mixed with timeless classics. Several guest performers were welcomed onto ASO’s stages throughout the season as well.
But this year, with no single theme to carry ASO throughout, the orchestra is relying on the creative spirit of music director James Ross to tell a new story at each performance.
Ross contrasted ASO’s strategy with other symphony orchestras who attempt to “tack on” a theme after the program is completed rather than starting with the idea then constructing the program.
“I am a man who loves story, and I love there being story arcs for each individual program,” Ross said. “What I’m proud of, actually, with [ASO] is that we’ve done enough interesting, slightly unexpected stuff … that I feel like the orchestra has gained some trust so that now each program can go in a slightly different direction.”
The closest thing ASO has to a theme this year is each program’s title begins with the letter “A.” The first concerts, on Sept. 28 and Sept. 29, are labeled “Ablaze”; the Nov. 16 show is “Abound”; the holiday shows on Dec. 21 and Dec. 22 are “Aglow”; the Feb. 15 and Feb. 16 performances are “Appeal” and the final two shows on April 26 and April 27 are “Ascend.”
The September “Ablaze” show will feature five separate works from different composers of different backgrounds and eras. Jennifer Higdon and Gabriela Ortiz have composed the most recent works.
“I want each of those programs to tell its own story and to not be bound by trying to fit into some absolute, larger theme,” Ross said. “There’s a lot of people who bought subscriptions this year – even more than last year – [but] we want each program to be attractive to the single-ticket buyers as well.”
Season subscriptions allow interested individuals to purchase the entire season’s performances in a bundle instead of purchasing single tickets. Hanson said this is the best subscribed season in memory since ASO changed its performance schedule about 10 years ago to perform each concert on consecutive days: a Saturday evening then Sunday afternoon.
“This is the best subscribed season we’ve ever had in this format [and] I think that has to do with the appeal of [Ross’] programming,” Hanson said. “We have ‘Carmina Burana.’ … It may very well be the most popular or one of the top five most popular orchestral works in the repertoire. And we’re only doing one performance.”
This year, the concerts are planned to be the same both days, with the exception of Sept. 28 and 29, when “Carnival Overture” by Antonín Dvořák, “Kauyumari” by Ortiz and selections from “Romeo and Juliet Suites” by Sergei Prokofiev will be performed both days. Additionally, excerpts from “Concerto 4-3” by Higdon will only be performed on Sept. 28, while just on Sept. 29, audiences will also hear menuet from “Tombeau de Couperin” by Maurice Ravel and “Pavane” by Gabriel Fauré, according to the ASO website.
Saturday concerts are performed at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday concerts are performed at the George Washington Masonic Memorial at 3 p.m.
Ross said his biggest challenge is to continue to tell compelling stories through each season, especially as many symphony orchestras around the country and world fell to the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hanson said ASO has focused on a capital fundraising campaign to ensure its financial sustainability.
“We pegged our goal at $2 million, and we are approaching $1.8 million of that goal. We expect this year to reach that goal,” Hanson said. “The last part of a campaign like that is always the most difficult, but we’ve taken the steps to really shore up the long term financial prospects.”
Ross said he enjoys introducing new concertgoers to classical music along with playing the traditional pieces that appeal most to long-time classical aficionados.
“I don’t like thinking of programs as just a collection of three pieces and hopefully everybody will like that. That’s only attractive to people who already love classical music,” Ross said. “What I really want them to have is an experience, not just of music, but of like a little bit of a story that connects our lives to the lives of these pieces and the composers and that we’ve created a little bit of an arc on every program.”
He also said he wants to break down traditional barriers or structures to symphony orchestra shows to not only keep himself fresh, but attract new audiences.
“I am as interested in what prevents people from coming and partaking in our storytelling,” Ross said. “The rituals around [concerts] are a little … scary. There’s norms around clapping. There’s a lot of assumption that everybody who comes to the concert should know something about classical music. That scares me.”
In light of that, Ross would prefer to build a program around a current theme rather than a centuries-old composer.
“[Composers’] music can also gain by being part of some unique, larger story that connects to our lives right now,” Ross continued. “Beethoven is not around; I am around. The Alexandria Symphony is around.”
Hanson echoed Ross in ASO’s unusual approach to mixing new and old.
“You’ll hear something by a composer you may never have heard of and say, ‘Boy, I really like that,’ but then you get to enjoy a great performance of [something familiar.]”
In the November “Abound” show, Jocelyn Hagen, a composer, is premiering a piece that was written a couple of months ago; it will be paired with Beethoven’s “Egmont Overture” and Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.”
This show will also showcase ASO’s partnership with the Arlington Chorale and Youth Choir, directed by Ingrid Lestrud, D.Mus., and the Sympatico Children’s Chorus, a music education program at Alexandria City Public Schools’ John Adams Elementary.
The December “Aglow” shows will showcase Chelsey Green – a jazz violinist, professor at the University of California, Berkeley and University of Maryland alumna. Ross thought it fascinating to have a “hot and cold” theme to the program by having Green sing summertime songs in addition to traditional holiday songs.
February’s “Appeal” show will even have Ross himself playing the French horn along with the symphony orchestra – as he conducts. The concert will also feature Lee Hinkle, a marimba player.
“We have never done that before. I hope I can manage both jobs decently and do well,” Ross said, chuckling. “It’s a big, big part of my background and has danced in and out of my life ever since I turned more toward conducting.”
The final show of the season in April, titled “Ascend,” will feature Vijay Venkatesh on the piano. Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 will be played, in addition to Gioachino Rossini’s “William Tell Overture.”
Ross said there isn’t a formula he uses to pick guest musicians, but that he likes to draw on personal relationships to craft a personalized program for each musician.
“I do like putting together programs with people who I have a richer knowledge of or relationship to, and not just people who we pay to come in and give us their luster,” he said. “I’m interested in featuring soloists [because] collaborating with us is meaningful to them for one reason or another.”
Subscription packages are available on ASO’s website. Ticket prices to each concert vary.
