December means tradition, family and music. As we renew our KSO tradition with the 32nd Annual Clayton Holiday Concerts, we are immensely grateful for you, our audience, and for our extended musical family here in Knoxville, from the Knoxville Choral Society to Go! Contemporary Dance Works, and our sponsors, the Clayton Family Companies, especially Jim […]

KSO announces extension of Aram Demirjian contract The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra announced on Monday, Nov. 12 that the KSO Board of Directors has extended Maestro Aram Demirjian’s contract as Music Director for three years beyond the current three year contract that began in 2016. This extension takes Maestro Demirjian through the 2021-2022 season. Highlights of […]

KSO Staff News and Acknowledgements Accolades Rachel Dellinger (KSO Director of Communications) has been named a 2018 Honoree for KnoxBiz.com’s 40 Under 40. She is responsible for media and community relations, web and social media, and public relations/marketing efforts for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. Since 2012, she has measurably increased engagement on Knoxville Symphony’s social media platforms, implemented  […]

Four notes. That’s how many notes it takes to get a gasp out of the audiences when we play music from Harry Potter. It’s such a wonderful moment and it makes us remember the power of music. The KSO performs the Young People’s Concerts annually at the Civic Auditorium for more than 8,000 elementary students […]

KSO Cellist and Owner of Wilhite Strings rents instruments to area students, furthers their music education   Bruce Wilhite has played cello with the Knoxville Symphony for more than 25 years. He was a full-time core member from 1980-2003 at which point he transitioned to a per service member of the cello section.  He opened […]

View the KSO Board of Directors here. The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors has grown by two this season. New members include recently-elected Patricia Bible, Founder/CEO of KaTom Restaurant Supply and Christian Corts, Regional VP of BB&T. A native of Greenville, S.C., Corts received his bachelor’s degree in finance from Samford University. He was as […]

Music composed under Stalin’s regime provides emotional escape Most people have deadlines for work, an annoying boss, and feel underpaid. The Soviet era composers, artists and writers, including Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev had to deal with all of that plus the fear of winding up in a labor camp or being shot for displeasing the dictator Joseph […]

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT: Megan Kehren, KSYO conductor and KSO Violist Many music teachers tell their students, “I was once where you are.” In Megan Kehren’s case, she was EXACTLY where her students are – taking her seat as a violist in the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra (KSYO), and now as an adult, she leads a youth […]

Musician Spotlight: Erin Archer, KSYO conductor Erin Archer has been involved with the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra (KSYO) since her family moved to Knoxville in the early 90’s. As a college student at the University of Tennessee, she became a KSYO rehearsal assistant. She also plays with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra as a substitute viola […]

Aretha. Carole. Tina. Janis. Whitney. I can’t imagine having written enough great songs and had an interesting enough life to create a musical about myself, but Carole King has. If you had a chance to see “Beautiful” when it was in Knoxville last spring, you know the amazing talent of Carole King and the difficult life […]

 KSO Flutist also acts as mom, teacher, yogini Jill Bartine is regularly recognized in the Knoxville community, whether it’s from playing the flute on stage with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra or teaching yoga at a local studio. A wife and mother of twins juggling multiple jobs, Jill is constantly trying to find “balance” – both literally […]

If you’ve been keeping up with the symphony, you know that some of the members have been busy with Candide at the Clarence Brown Theatre. It’s been fantastic to be playing Bernstein’s music and to have the privilege of watching the amazing actors around us for eight shows a week. How do they memorize all of […]

By Bob Adamcik, KSO percussionist A classical musician who was known around the world and recognized in popular culture? The 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein gives us a chance to look at his life and career as an unprecedented force in music and society as a performer, conductor, and teacher. He was also a civil rights […]

KSO percussionist Bob Adamcik shows us just one way he cares for his instruments. Watch it here. “When I love listening to a piece of music, I sometimes have to remind myself that a person has taken what is basically a machine and created something beautiful with it. As you watch and listen to the Knoxville Symphony, […]

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and the Clarence Brown Theatre celebrate the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth with a production of his Broadway smash Candide. Candide Aug. 31 – Sept. 16, 2018 Clarence Brown Theatre Mainstage at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Featuring hit songs “Glitter and Be Gay” and “Make Our Garden Grow,” Candide is a modern theatrical setting […]

Just Announced…The Knoxville Symphony Orchestras’ News Sentinel Pops Series lineup for 2018-2019. The KSO 2018-19 Pops Season includes Music of Frank Sinatra, Music of Pink Floyd, Disney’s Mary Poppins, and Leslie Odom, Jr. from Broadway’s Hamilton, a role for which he won the Tony Award for Best Male Actor. You have the chance to see Hamilton‘s Leslie Odom, […]

This week’s Masterworks performances are sure to take the cake. The KSO 2017-18 season comes to a close this Thursday and Friday with “Rhapsody in Blue.” Performances are at 7:30 p.m. at the Tennessee Theatre with a pre-concert chat at 6:30. Tickets here. Pianist Michelle Cann joins the Orchestra for not one but two piano concerti – […]

Don’t let that apparent gap in the KSO’s concert schedule fool you– we are still plenty busy preparing for Knoxville Opera’s production of Aïda this coming Friday and Sunday. The grand finale of KOC’s 40th anniversary season will be a proper Grand Opera. The demanding vocal score is in good musical hands with soprano Michelle Johnson (as […]

Music entertains as well as uplifts our minds, bodies, and spirits. The KSO’s Music and Wellness program places live musicians playing therapeutic music in healthcare settings – including hospital rooms. Alan Carmichael, a well-known marketer and music lover in Knoxville, was a recipient of the gift of music. Alan writes: “I had quadruple bypass surgery at […]