The Dallas Symphony Orchestra announced its 2020/2021 season this morning, including a dynamic mix of audience favorites and classical premieres. Music director Fabio Luisi will lead seven concert programs during his inaugural season, including performances of Verdi’s Otello and Requiem; Luisi will also take the DSO to Carnegie Hall in October for its first New York appearance in nearly a decade.
One of the most exciting prospects of the season is the bright selection of pops programming, devised by principal pops conductor Jeff Tyzik. Audiences can look forward to hearing orchestral arrangements of icons like Stevie Wonder, Selena, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, and Queen. The Stevie Wonder Sing Along concert, taking place on July 17, is first on the schedule. Tejano icon Selena will get three concerts on September 18-20, starring vocalist Isabel Marie Sánchez.
The symphony’s movies-in-concert series, a fan favorite, will also return with fun and family-friendly films including Toy Story, E.T., Star Wars, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The movies are shown on the big screen at the Meyerson while the orchestra plays along. These concerts–especially the Harry Potter and Star Wars editions–almost always sell out ahead of time, so don’t wait to buy tickets.
Classical music buffs will get their fill of Brahms and Beethoven, as well as new works by contemporary composers, like Xi Wang, Unsuk Chin, Bryce Dessner, and many others.
The DSO’s composer-in-residence Angélica Negrón will present the world premiere of En otra noche, en otro mundo (On Another Night, In Another World), a piece co-commissioned by the DSO and the National Symphony Orchestra, in February 2021. That should be an interesting concert–the Puerto Rican-born composer is also in an electronic indie band, and the New York Times has praised her “capacity to surprise.”
The commission is just one part of a larger effort by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to support women in the classical music sphere. The symphony plans to commission 20 new works over the next decade, half of which will come from female composers. It’s also bringing back the second annual Women in Classical Music Symposium in November.
No Dallas Symphony season would be complete without its ever-popular holiday series, which includes Christmas Pops, Family Christmas Pops, Big Brassy Christmas & Organ Extravaganza, C-Suite Christmas, and New Year’s Eve concert. This year, there will also be a new Dia de los Muertos concert held on October 31 to celebrate the culture of Mexico.
The Dia de los Muertos concert, Family Christmas Pops, and The Orchestra From Planet X featuring Magic Circle Mime Company, are all part of the Family Concert series, and tickets to all three can be purchased as a package.
See the full calendar of concerts and events on the Dallas Symphony Orchestra website.
