KSO to Perform TN Premiere of Bernstein’s Complete Songfest
Rarely performed Bernstein 12-song cycle brings together six vocalists and the words of 13 American poets Oct. 15-16
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra with Music Director Aram Demirjian will present the Tennessee premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s complete Songfest on Oct. 15–16 at the Tennessee Theatre. The program also features Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Julia Perry’s anthem Ye Who Seek the Truth, which will be heard in an arrangement for strings and harp by Jannina Norpoth.
For Demirjian, programming Songfest served as the starting point for a broader exploration of poetry and the spoken word throughout the KSO’s 2026–27 season.
“Songfest is really where the idea of exploring American poetry throughout this season began,” Demirjian said. “It brings together poetry that reflects a breadth of perspectives on the American experience, encompassing a wide range of backgrounds and identities.”
That exploration extends across several KSO performances and programs this season and includes the appointment of former Knoxville Poet Laureate Rhea Carmon as the KSO’s first poet-in-residence, reflecting Demirjian’s longtime interest in the connections between poetry and music.
“Alongside the Bernstein, I’m so pleased to share one of Tchaikovsky’s masterworks and a sacred choral work by Julia Perry. Perry was a fascinating composer whose music is thankfully gaining greater notice now, nearly a half-century after her death,” said Demirjian. “The original text of Ye, Who Seek the Truth draws on scripture, but in this program, the instrumental version acts as a broader meditation on searching for truth, as all poets and artists do.”
Nearly 50 years after its 1977 world premiere, the rarely performed Songfest will be heard in its entirety in Tennessee for the first time. Written for six vocal soloists and orchestra, Songfest is a cycle of 12 songs setting the words of 13 American poets spanning three centuries. Originally commissioned in celebration of the United States Bicentennial, the work became Bernstein’s wide-ranging musical exploration of American life and identity through poetry.
Bernstein began Songfest as a Bicentennial commission but did not complete it in time for 1976. The full work premiered the following year at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with Bernstein conducting the National Symphony Orchestra. Its texts include poetry by Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Edgar Allan Poe, e.e. cummings, Edna St. Vincent Millay, June Jordan, Julia de Burgos and others.
The complete Songfest brings together six vocal soloists and orchestra across its 12 songs, with the singers performing both individually and in ensembles throughout the cycle and the orchestration expanded to include less conventional symphonic instruments like electric keyboard and Fender bass. The KSO performances will feature soprano Raquel González, mezzo-soprano Cierra Byrd, alto Renée Tatum, tenor John Overholt, baritone Stephen Salters and bass David Crawford.
For complete information about the KSO’s 2026-27 season, please visit knoxvillesymphony.com/202627-season-preview
Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony
Oct. 15–16, 2026 | Tennessee Theatre
Aram Demirjian, conductor
Raquel González, soprano
Cierra Byrd, mezzo-soprano
Renée Tatum, alto
John Overholt, tenor
Stephen Salters, baritone
David Crawford, bass
JULIA PERRY: Ye Who Seek the Truth
LEONARD BERNSTEIN: Songfest (Tennessee premiere)
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5
The concert is part of the MoxCar Marketing + Communications Masterworks Series and is sponsored in memory of Whit Hodges by his loving family. Tickets and information are available at knoxvillesymphony.com.
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About the KSO: Led by Music Director Aram Demirjian, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra shares extraordinary music and meaningful experiences across East Tennessee. Founded in 1935, the KSO is the oldest continually performing orchestra in the Southeast and presents hundreds of concerts and events each year in concert halls, schools, hospitals, libraries, parks, and community spaces. The KSO’s education programs reach more than 17,000 students annually, and its Youth Ensembles program serves more than 500 young musicians from 93 schools across 18 counties. Nearly 60,000 people experience the KSO’s free community concerts each year, and Music & Wellness programs bring live music to more than 6,000 individuals in healthcare settings.