Press Release: Spartanburg Philharmonic Announces Expansive 2022-23 Season "We Are Music
Six concerts to be led by Music Director Finalists Antoine T. Clark, Troy Quinn, Geneviève LeClair, Nadège Foofat, Lee Mills, and Jacob Joyce
Season also includes:
Zimmerli Series features five world-class soloists Kenneth Overton, Fabiola Kim,
Claire Bryant, Conrad Tao, and Dominic Cheli.
Performances of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker in
collaboration with Ballet Spartanburg
Espresso Series presents high-caliber guest artists Sandeep Das, Mike Block,
Konrad Paszkudzki, Jennifer Chang, and more.
Award-winning Bluegrass bands Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen,
Appalachian Roadshow, The SteelDrivers, and Sister Sadie
The Spartanburg Philharmonic has unveiled details of their 2022-23 season, with their most extensive lineup of programs in their 94-year history. The new Season explores a vast catalog of music - one that will challenge, delight, and ignite audiences’ senses. The Zimmerli Series showcases works by great masters of the past paired with innovative pieces by living composers. Enhancing the Zimmerli programs are the talents of six Music Director Candidates and five world-class soloists. The Espresso Series invites audiences to explore a world of new music and artists. And the Bluegrass Series features the ever-exceptional, harmonic vocals and instrumentals of award-winning bands. Altogether, the 2022-23 highlights a breadth and depth of music for which the Spartanburg Philharmonic has become known.
In making the announcement, Executive Director Kathryn Boucher said, “After 94-Seasons of enriching the Spartanburg community with high-quality, live music performances, our audiences expect an ambitious repertoire that spans eras and musical styles. As finalists for the position of Music Director, we challenged each of our candidates to craft programs that celebrate the best that classical music offers while exploring the brilliant offerings of underperformed and living composers. Our 2022-23 Season, “We Are Music,” encapsulates the results of their work and is a thrilling and inclusive season that will delight and intrigue all music lovers. Our Espresso and Bluegrass Series further expand our offerings to the community, allowing all of Spartanburg to experience and embrace the many aspects that music and the Philharmonic have to offer.”
Highlights of the expansive 2022-23 Season include:
A Talented And Diverse Set Of Guest Conductors
The SPhil continues its search with SIX Music Director finalists leading the orchestra. They include (in order of appearance) Antoine T. Clark, Troy Quinn, Geneviève LeClair, Nadège Foofat, Lee Mills, and Jacob Joyce. After a much celebrated inaugural performance of The Nutcracker in partnership with Ballet Spartanburg, LeClair will return to the podium to lend her experience and expertise to the joint production.
Performances By Five World-Class Soloists
As part of the 2022-23 Season, Zimmerli Series concerts will feature performances by critically acclaimed artists. The season opens with Kenneth Overton lending his rich baritone to Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer. In November, violinist Fabiola Kim, brings her “extraordinary precision and luminosity” (NY Times) to Vaughan Williams’ soaring The Lark Ascending. Cellist Claire Bryant returns to the SPhil stage, this time performing Elgar’s passionate and expressive Cello Concerto. Award-winning composer and pianist, Conrad Tao, makes his orchestra debut, playing his piece An Adjustment. Finally, Dominic Cheli will mesmerize with his performance of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F Minor.
Zimmerli Series Programs Blend Masterworks and Contemporary
As a modern orchestra, the SPhil embraces the opportunity to perform works by living, female, and composers of color alongside classical masterworks. The juxtaposition of new and familiar highlights the best of classical music while weaving a multi-layered tapestry of music that challenges and entertains. In the 2022-23 Season, the SPhil is honored to perform stunning and moving modern compositions, including; Anna Clyne’s This Midnight Hour, John Powell’s How To Train Your Dragon, Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral, Arvo Pärt’s Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britton, Conrad Tao’s An Adjustment, and Jesse Montgomery’s Coincident Dances. These contemporary works are paired with long-time favorites and orchestra premieres of grand, classical pieces such as; Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, and Ives’ Symphony No. 2.
Espresso Series To Serve Music From Around The World
or the 2022-23 Season, the SPhil welcomes notable guest artists whose music spans the globe while embracing classical music traditions. Leading off the season, members of the award-winning Silkroad Ensemble, Mike Block and Sandeep Das, explore the uncharted musical space of cello and tabla with a sound that critics call “breathless...half dance, half dare” (NY Times) and “deeply powerful” (NPR/WBUR). The tour then continues through the Great American Song Book with the strong “sense of history...of drama, a love of the blues, and an elegance...borne of high mind dedication (Wynton Marsalis) for which the Konrad Paszkudzki Trio has become known. The exotic East will immediately envelop the audience when Jennifer Chang and her guzheng, the 21-string Chinese zither, take the stage. Finally, a combined orchestra ensemble with local performers will provide an aural tour of traditional Danish, Irish, and Scottish fiddle music to close the Espresso Series season.
Four Award-Winning Bluegrass Bands Take Spotlight
The Bluegrass Spartanburg series, presented by the Spartanburg Philharmonic, has become widely known for attracting GRAMMY and International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award winners each season. In 2022-23, all four bands in the lineup have received multiple awards and industry accolades. “Over the past several seasons, Bluegrass Spartanburg has cultivated a reputation for providing bands with an incredible experience.” shares Executive Director Kathryn Boucher. “It’s more than the fantastic back-stage accommodations the bands always talk about. That this series continues to draw industry-leading artists at the top of their game to Spartanburg is truly a testament to the loyal fanbase in and around the Spartanburg community that continues to show up to hear the music. In 2022-23 we’re proud to present high-caliber bands like Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Appalachian Roadshow, The SteelDrivers, and Sister Sadie.”
Educational Programs And Performances
The Spartanburg Philharmonic Youth Orchestra will present three concerts as part of its 2022-23 Season, highlighting the accomplishments of nearly 150 student musicians. As part of its community engagement, Spartanburg Philharmonic presents Music Sandwiched In, a free and open to the public lunch hour series every other Wednesday throughout the concert season, offering an exciting lineup of performers and programs at the Spartanburg County Public Library Headquarters.
Season Ticket packages are available for all series and offer early access to the best seats at the best prices. Individual tickets to all concerts go on sale beginning July 1, 2022. Subscription information and pricing are available at www.SpartanburgPhilharmonic.org/subscribe or by calling 864-278-9671.
A complete list of the Spartanburg Philharmonic’s 2022-23 season performances is included below.
Zimmerli Series
Scheherazade & Other Tales - September 24, 2022
Antoine Clark, conductor | Kenneth Overton, baritoneFantasy & Firebird - November 5, 2022
Troy Quinn, conductor | Fabiola Kim, violinNutcracker with Ballet Spartanburg - December 9-11, 2022
Geneviève Leclair, conductorHeart, Soul & Cello - February 11, 2023
Nadège Foofat, conductor | Claire Bryant, celloTao of Purity & Power - March 25, 2023
Lee Mills, conductor | Conrad Tao, piano & electronicsAmerican Songscape - April 22, 2023
Jacob Joyce, conductor | Dominic Cheli, piano
Espresso Series
Chai Cello - September 30, 2022
Sandeep Das, tabla | Mike Block, celloJava Jazz - November 18, 2022
Konrad Paszkudzki TrioOolong Notes - February 17, 2023
Jennifer Chang, guzhengFiddle Frappé - March 17, 2023
Danish, Irish, & Scottish Tune
Bluegrass Spartanburg
Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen - October 14, 2022
Appalachian Road Show - December 10, 2022
The SteelDrivers - February 4, 2023
Sister Sadie - April 27, 2023
About Spartanburg Philharmonic
Almost a century old, Spartanburg Philharmonic has its roots in the 1895 May Festival, the precursor of the South Atlantic States Music Festival founded in 1898, and one of only four such festivals featuring orchestras in the United States at that time. Recognized as a pillar of creativity, inspiration, and entertainment, Spartanburg Philharmonic is a modern orchestra with a strong foundation in traditional and contemporary music.
As a firm proponent of diversity and inclusion, the Philharmonic is dedicated to creating innovative and exhilarating experiences through memorable performances of well-known and rarely played works by female composers, composers of color, and both established and contemporary composers, for all members of the Spartanburg community and beyond.
An arts organization whose mission is to enrich, inspire, and educate through live performances of high-quality music, the Spartanburg Philharmonic partners with a variety of community, health, and education organizations to provide opportunities for all ages and abilities to enjoy. Amongst the programs are Music Sandwiched In, a free and open to the public lunch hour series; the Spartanburg Philharmonic Youth Orchestras, offering instrumental music education to students grades 6 through 12 in 16 different schools across three counties; and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Institute’s Link Up program, providing a music curriculum to 4th graders throughout Spartanburg County. www.spartanburgphilharmonic.org