The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) packs a whole lot of music into March, beginning with Olga Plays Gershwin on Thursday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 5, at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. A pre-concert talk starts one hour prior to each evening’s performance.
Led by Cincinnati Symphony’s François López-Ferrer, this rhythm-filled celebration of culture begins with Alberto Ginastera’s Four Dances from Estancia, a ballet featuring music inspired by his native Argentinian rural landscape. George Gershwin, similarly, was inspired by the sounds and rhythms of Havana when he composed his Cuban Overture. World-renowned pianist Olga Kern will bring her talent to Gershwin’s jazzy Concerto in F, also known as his “New York Concerto.” Closing the program will be the Rochester premiere of contemporary composer Gabriela Lena Frank’s Leyendas (Legends): An Andean Walkabout, which blends elements from classical and Andean folk music traditions.
On Sunday, March 6, from 4 to 5 p.m., the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (RPYO) will perform its annual RPO/RPYO Side-by-Side concert – Turning to Classical Composers – at the Auditorium Theatre, 855 East Main Street. RPYO Music Director Dr. James Mick will conduct a program including Bach, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, and Smetana, with RPO members playing alongside their young RPYO counterparts. Tickets are available online at https://bit.ly/3LAB7H6 or in-person at the Auditorium Theatre Box Office (Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday, March 6, 1 to 4 p.m.).
Then, for one night only on Saturday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Kodak Hall, the RPO welcomes back Conductor Laureate Christopher Seaman for a special 80th birthday celebration concert: Happy Birthday, Christopher Seaman! A special pre-concert chat with the former RPO Music Director will take place, with details to be announced. Maestro Seaman will lead the orchestra in a popular program, beginning with Benjamin Britten’s “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra,” Opus 34.
Next up, current Music Director Andreas Delfs takes his turn on the Pops series with Ann Hampton Callaway: “Diva to Diva” on Friday and Saturday, March 18 and 19, at 8 p.m. at Kodak Hall. The Tony nominee and platinum-selling singer/songwriter fuses a unique blend of jazz and pop that keeps her in demand around the world. In “Diva to Diva,” she honors all the great women of song, from Ella Fitzgerald to Nina Simone, and from Carole King to Judy Garland, with her on-point musicality.
On Sunday, March 20, at 2 p.m., Maestro Delfs will lead a completely different program, Delfs Conducts Mozart, in Nazareth College’s Beston Hall at Glazer Music Performance Center. The Sunday Matinee opens with J. C. Bach’s Symphony in G minor Op 6 No. 6, considered to be a signature work of the 18th century. That’s followed by Dmitri Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op 107 – widely considered to be one of the most difficult concerted works for cello – featuring RPO Principal Cello Ahrim Kim (The Clara and Edwin Strasenburgh Chair). Mozart’s passionate Symphony No. 40, one of his most greatly admired works, closes the program.
Later that week, Maestro Delfs once again takes the podium for Emperor Concerto on Thursday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 26, at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall. A pre-concert talk starts one hour prior to each evening’s performance. A Rochester premiere opens the program: Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Something for the Dark is a musical journey of adversity, growth, and hope. Next, world-renowned Mexican pianist Jorge Federico Osorio joins the RPO for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73.
Clarinet and His Friends: A Story of Diversity, Acceptance and Unity on Sunday, March 27, at 2 p.m. at Hochstein Performance Hall. RPO trumpeter Herb Smith will conduct this family-friendly OrKIDStra concert that centers around nervous Clarinet, who has been invited to perform with the RPO. He’s worried about fitting in because he looks and sounds different from the other instruments in the orchestra. Audiences will join Clarinet as he meets all of the instruments and learns how – though all different – they can create beautiful music together. Tickets are $10 for children 17 and under, $20 for adults.
Tickets for Kodak Hall shows start at $30 for adults/$18 for children (ages 3-17) and are available online anytime at rpo.org, by phone at 454-2100 (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), and in-person 60 minutes prior to curtain at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main Street. Both Beston Hall and Hochstein Performance Hall tickets are also available at the venue beginning one hour prior to the show.
COVID protocols have been updated and will be in effect through March 11. Patrons aged five and up are required to show proof of COVID vaccination, with the second shot taking place at least 14 days prior to the concert. All patrons are required to wear masks during the entire performance. (Accepted forms of masks in Kodak Hall only are: Surgical, KN95, and N95.) Venue capacity is at 65%, and areas are available for those who feel more comfortable with social distancing.
The Pops Series is sponsored by Wegmans and Canandaigua National Bank. Since the 2020-2021 Season, M & T Bank has sponsored the Philharmonic and Pops Series and continues its commitment as a Co-Sponsor for the 2021-22 Season. They are joined by Co-Sponsor Rochester Regional Health, now in its fourth year as a season sponsor. All concerts, artists, and schedules are subject to change.
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