Board of Directors draws 2 more community leaders

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 Under Stalin’s Shadow

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 […]

Double (Viola) Trouble, Part II

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 […]

Double (Viola) Trouble, Part I

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 […]

Women Who Rock

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 […]

Orchestra Member “Stretches” into New Territory

 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 […]

West Side Story, Candide, and the Bernstein Experience

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 […]

Drumroll, please…

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, […]

Bernstein’s ‘Candide’ coming this fall

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 […]