A 9 for 90 premiere rooted in community After the first half of the KSO’s April Masterworks concert closed with Quilts, a new work by Jonathan Leshnoff, many audience members made their way back to the Tennessee Theatre lobby. They returned to the quilts that inspired the music, seeing new connections in the patterns and […]
Author: Knoxville Symphony
Full Circle: Kathy Hart and the KSYO
Former KSYO student shapes the next generation When Kathy Hart first joined the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestras as a high school violinist, she had just moved to Knoxville from upstate New York. It was a new city, a new experience, and a moment of uncertainty that would quietly shape the direction of her life. “You […]
KSO’s 9 for 90 Accelerates
Seven World Premieres from March to May KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 17, 2026) – In celebration of the KSO’s 90th Anniversary Season, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO) and Music Director Aram Demirjian created the 9 for 90 season-long commissioning initiative that welcomes the world premieres of nine works, each composed specifically for the KSO and performed […]
Bringing Music to Young Learners
How the KSO Crafts the VYPC Concert Experience In February, the KSO will welcome more than 3,500 kindergarten through second-grade students to three sold-out performances of its Very Young People’s Concerts (VYPC). These 45-minute shows, designed especially for early-elementary learners, blend narration, visual storytelling, dance, and live orchestral music. For many children, it is their […]
Star-Crossed Lovers
Love, Fate, and the Music of Romeo and Juliet Valentine’s Romance: Star-Crossed Lovers brings together three Russian composers whose music confronts a familiar human question: how love persists – or fails – when shaped by conflict, fate, and loss. For Music Director Aram Demirjian, the program offers a way to mark Valentine’s Day without reducing […]
How to Listen at the Q Series
Inside the Woodwind Quintet with Duncan Henry For the upcoming Q Series concert, there’s an opportunity to listen a little differently: through the ears of one musician. Principal Bassoon Duncan Henry offers a way into the music that’s less about expertise and more about attention, curiosity, and conversation. At the center of the program is […]
Finding Freedom Inside Bach
Devan Jaquez and Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2 In Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2, the flute steps into the spotlight, but never does so alone. Written in the late 1730s, the suite places the flute at the center of a musical dialogue, moving through a series of dances that range from stately to […]
Inside Brahms’ Violin Concerto
Reflections on Performance and Collaboration When violinist Vadim Gluzman steps onto the Tennessee Theatre stage for the KSO’s January Masterworks concerts, he brings with him one of the most revered works in the violin repertoire and a lifetime of lived experience inside its music. Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major is often described as […]
Star Wars on the Big Screen
KSO Presents Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert Knoxville, Tenn. (January 7, 2026) – The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will present Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert on Saturday, January 10, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium. Audiences will experience the complete film on the big screen while the […]
How Clayton Comes Together
Behind the scenes of Knoxville’s favorite holiday tradition For 39 years, the Clayton Holiday Concerts have brought together thousands of East Tennesseans for a festive weekend of music at the Civic Auditorium. With four performances – one Friday, two Saturday, and a Sunday matinee – the concerts are among the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s largest annual […]
A New Voice for Brass
Premiering Kevin Day’s “Sing to the Moon” As part of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s 9 for 90 commissioning project – a season-long initiative marking the KSO’s 90th anniversary with nine new works by nine composers – Kevin Day contributed a piece for brass quintet titled Sing to the Moon. The work receives its world premiere […]
Joining a 300-Year Story
Handel’s Messiah Returns to the Tennessee Theatre Nov. 24, 2025 – When the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and Knoxville Choral Society take the stage this Sunday at the Tennessee Theatre, they’re doing more than performing a beloved holiday tradition. They’re stepping into a story that has connected performers and audiences across three centuries. “Performing Messiah means […]
Demirjian Renews Leadership Role
The KSO Extends Music Director’s Contract Through 2030 Knoxville, Tenn. (Nov. 19, 2025) – The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors announces that Music Director Aram Demirjian has signed a new four-year contract, extending his leadership through the 2029–30 season. This marks Demirjian’s fourth contract with the KSO and will bring his tenure to 14 […]
Rhapsody in Blue: Behind the Music
A Spark of American Genius Meets Two Rising Stars When George Gershwin stepped onto the stage of New York’s Aeolian Hall on February 12, 1924, he did so almost sheepishly. The audience, restless and drifting after a long experimental program, had no idea that the next sixteen minutes would change American music forever. What followed […]
A Musical Road Trip
Behind the Repertoire of the 2025 Young People’s Concerts This week, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra presents one of its most cherished traditions: the Sheena McCall Young People’s Concerts, specially designed for students across East Tennessee. This year’s event includes three performances — one on October 29 and two on October 30 — all held live […]
Crafting a Soundscape
Composer Meilina Tsui’s Masterclass at UT As part of her visit to Knoxville for the Tennessee premiere of her new orchestral work, composer Meilina Tsui met with music composition students at the University of Tennessee’s Natalie L. Haslam College of Music for an engaging masterclass. The session was presented in collaboration with the KSO, whose […]
Where Technique Meets Expression
Cellist Zlatomir Fung’s Masterclass at UT The day before his Knoxville Symphony Orchestra debut, internationally-renowned cellist Zlatomir Fung led a captivating masterclass at the University of Tennessee’s Natalie L. Haslam College of Music—a collaboration made possible through the KSO’s Community & Education program and its ongoing partnership with the university. In front of an attentive […]
A Powerful Season Opener
KSO launches 90th Anniversary Season with Beethoven’s Ninth The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra opened its 90th anniversary season with a program that celebrated both contemporary creativity and symphonic grandeur. Led by Music Director Aram Demirjian, the concert began with a burst of energy in the form of XC Blast by Jennifer Higdon — the first commission […]
A New Era for KSO’s Chimes
For more than three decades, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s chimes have been part of its musical voice: marking triumphant moments, adding sparkle to holiday favorites, and ringing out like church bells in Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. But after 30-plus years of service (and hundreds of miles on the road), our trusty chimes had reached the end […]
A Joyful Celebration of Community and Country
On July 4, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra brought patriotic spirit and musical joy to the World’s Fair Park Amphitheater for its 41st Annual Independence Day Concert, presented by the Lawson Family Foundation. Thousands gathered with lawn chairs and picnic blankets as part of the City of Knoxville’s Festival on the Fourth. Music Director Aram Demirjian […]
A Powerful World Premiere: Between Suns Debuts with KSO
In May 2025, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra presented the world premiere of Between Suns, a groundbreaking new concerto for West African drums and orchestra, composed by Derrick Skye and performed by Obayana Ajanaku and Indigenous Vibes. The KSO-commissioned work was met with enthusiastic applause at the Tennessee Theatre, where audiences experienced an electrifying fusion of […]
Honoring Dr. King Through the Music of Mahalia Jackson
In January 2025, , the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra presented its Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Concert to a full house at the Bijou Theatre. The free performance, presented in partnership with the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and the Bijou, honored the enduring legacy of Dr. King through the powerful music of gospel legend Mahalia […]