Name: Ethereal Storytelling
Start: 2026-02-01T15:00:00
Location: University of Maine

Lucas Richman

Anthony Trionfo

Bangor Symphony Orchestra

A holiday tradition for all ages, Bangor Symphony Orchestra proudly presents the annual production of The Nutcracker with the Robinson Ballet and Bangor Area Youth Choirs. Beloved by audiences throughout Maine, please join us for a magical afternoon as Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the Nutcracker grace the stage of the Collins Center for the Arts as the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, Bangor Area Youth Choirs, and Music Director and GRAMMY-award winning Conductor Lucas Richman bring Tchaikovsky’s score to life. Arrive early to shop at the BSO’s Nutcracker Store, offering a variety of holiday gifts, Nutcrackers, and treats.

The Nutcracker

University of Maine

A note from the Maestro:  Everything old is new again: there’s a freshness to each work in our third Masterworks series concert and I invite you to listen as though you are hearing this music for the first time. Indeed, we will be treated to a world premiere by the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Composer Award winner Ellis Ludwig-Leone, a brand new composition written specifically for the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. Witness the intimate collaborative atmosphere conjured by Mozart’s first flute concerto, as we welcome soloist Anthony Trionfo to our stage for his BSO debut. We end the afternoon with the magnificent storytelling drama evoked by Beethoven’s pen, delighting in the musical storyline of his Symphony No.6, also known as the “Pastorale.”

Ethereal Storytelling

A note from the Maestro: As winter comes to a close in Maine we may see crocuses peeking up through lightly fallen snow, or delicate starflowers growing in our forests, heralding the warming spring weather ahead. With the awakening and blooming of Mother Nature, composers through the ages have embraced spring as a source of inspiration. The ballet, The Rite of Spring, by Stravinsky engages one of the largest orchestras we have ever put on the stage of the Collins Center and this epic work will have us rolling and romping through the rhythmic splendor of springtime. Callirhoë by Chaminade is inspired by Venus, goddess of fertility, and the Spring Afternoon by Boulanger is a sweet short journey into the impressionist style. The robust merrymaking of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture kicks off this programmatic celebration of Spring.

The Rite of Spring

A note from the Maestro: In paying tribute to the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our programming was chosen to represent a wide berth of compositional contributions from various corners of the U.S. Pairing Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman with Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man gives us a unique opportunity of reflection across the decades. Valerie Colman’s Umoja (Anthem of Unity) is now a staple in concert halls across the nation, and the New England Triptych by William Schuman takes us on a musical journey to a New England of the not-so-distant past. Our season finale concert culminates in a suite of much-beloved music from George Gershwin’s opera, “Porgy and Bess.”