“Broadway star Donna McKechnie, ‘Little Mermaid’ Jodi Benson and a familiar face from ‘Star Trek’ are among those joining the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra for its 2016-17 season,” writes Matthew J. Palm in Thursday’s (1/21) Orlando Sentinel. “Two operas, fully staged and costumed at the orchestra’s Plaza Live theater; music guests from Iran and New Zealand; and tributes to Russian music, contemporary composer John Adams and Irish romance. Music director Eric Jacobsen unveiled the upcoming season at a reception for orchestra supporters Wednesday night.” The Classics series will include a “seasonlong focus on Russian composers”; an appearance by pianist Emanuel Ax in concertos by Beethoven and Mozart; and Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony on April 8. Pops highlights are to include a “Great American Songbook” program in October and a tribute to Marvin Hamlisch on April 1. The Focus series offers, among other programs, an “avian-themed program” that includes Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending and a Persian folk tune arranged by Colin Jacobsen; “East Meets West,” a February 27 concert featuring Purcell’s Fantasia Upon One Note, and an appearance by Iranian composer and string soloist Kayhan Kalhor’s in his work Silent City; and the U.S. premiere of a guitar concerto by Orlando composer Christopher Marshall.
Posted January 25, 2016
