Dive into a harmonious blend of tradition and innovation with the Flint Institute of Music's 2024-2025 event lineup. From Tchaikovsky's enchanting 'The Nutcracker' to William Harvey's culturally rich composition 'Seven Decisions of Gandhi,' this season promises unforgettable experiences for all audiences. Join the Flint Symphony Orchestra as they celebrate the festive spirit with 'Holiday Pops,' or explore the supernatural and natural realms in 'Super/Natural.' Discover the magic of orchestral brilliance through a spectrum of genres and performances by gifted musicians and conductors.

A Symphony of Traditions: Unveiling Flint's Musical Masterpieces

The Flint Symphony Orchestra has been sharing their enchanting holiday spirit with generations of Flint audiences and can’t wait to spark new magic with this year’s Holiday Pops — Home for the Holidays! Join us for time-honored audience favorites of traditional and contemporary Christmas music along with a selection of upbeat and festive songs. Experience a Christmas musical mosaic that is sure to warm your heart and add a special glow to your holiday celebrations.

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Holiday Pops

Flint Institute of Music

A joyous family holiday tradition for decades, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker chronicles the story of Clara, a young girl swept away to a magical land of adventure. Clara’s family Christmas party features stately dances and lifelike mechanical dolls made by Clara’s mysterious Uncle Drosselmeyer. Drosselmeyer’s magic ushers in an army of mice at the stroke of midnight, as the Christmas tree grows and Clara’s beloved Nutcracker springs to life. The second act sweeps Clara away to the magical Land of Sweets, where she enjoys performances from the regal Sugar Plum Fairy and her subjects. The joy, beauty and adventure of The Nutcracker has something for the whole family to enjoy. Join the Flint Symphony Orchestra, Flint School of Performing Arts ballet students, and professional guest dancers in celebrating this beloved holiday tradition.

The Nutcracker

The FSO’s 2023-24 season concludes with the powerhouse Carmina burana by Carl Orff, featuring soloists Ann Marie Atanga, soprano, John Reisen, tenor, and Johnathan Ten Brink, baritone and the Flint Symphony Chorus. Carmina burana is a cantata based on a collection of 13th century poems compiled at a Benedictine monastery. The texts cover a range of topics, like the fickleness of fortune and wealth, religious ecstasy, drunken debauchery and bawdy humor. Carmina burana performed in its entirety is a delight for audiences. It taps into themes that are at the core of being human, with haunting melodies and thrilling rhythms that leave a lasting impression.

Holland & Orff

FIM Whiting Auditorium

The Flint Symphony Chorus joins FSO for this concert of masterworks that pays homage to one of the most celebrated composers in history. In the final performance of the season, the combined ensembles will render the last piece Mozart ever composed — or nearly. After his death at 35, the piece was completed by one of his peers. A funeral rite for the dead, Mozart’s Requiem is also a representation of vitality, the young composer having given life to the piece with his final breaths. The Overture to Don Giovanni, which opens the concert, nods to the great success of Mozart’s work during his lifetime, and the final serenade, which was published posthumously, to his enduring eminence long after.

Life, Death, and Mozart: A Little Night Music and Requiem

Seven of TV and stage’s top choreographers bring to life the classic movie dances of yesterday with a fresh new vision! Starring Dancing With The Stars Celebrity Pros, So You Think You Can Dance top finalists, America’s Got Talent aerialists and combining forces with singing stars from American Idol and The Voice. Dance To The Movies recreates some of the most iconic characters and memorable musical moments from movies like Grease, Chicago, and Moulin Rouge. With new, stunning dances to scores from such movies as Singin’ In The Rain, Titanix, The Matrix and Willy Wonka. A Perfect family-friendly evening of cinema magic – LIVE on stage.

Dance To The Movies w/ Lesley Ann Warren

The Flint Symphony Chorus takes the stage to perform choral masterworks spanning different musical eras.

Flint Symphony Chorus: Choral Masterworks IV

St. christopher church

The music of Spain features evocative compositions from Manuel de Falla, Joaquín Rodrigo and Maurice Ravel. De Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance is a movement of the ballet El amor brujo utilizes fast, repetitive trills and ornamentations, with the oboe introducing the dance’s twists and turns. Aranjuez Concerto for classical guitar by Joaquín Rodrigo was inspired by the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, transporting the listener to another place and time. Ravel’s Rhapsodia Espagniola, Alborada del gracioso, and Pavane for a Dead Princess showcase numerous elements of Spanish music inspired by the composer’s heritage.

De Falla, Rodrigo & Ravel

The journey continues onward, bringing listeners to Italy – known for its expressive, emotional, and operatic classical music. Gioachino Rossini’s Overture to La gazza ladra depicts the opera’s primary character – a clever magpie – through its distinctive use of snare drum, and alludes to some of the opera’s more tragic aspects through minor, stormy-feeling sections. Paganini’s virtuosic Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor utilizes bell-like effects, evoking the Italian folk song. The program concludes with Respighi’s glorious tone poems, which vividly depict various scenes and events throughout Rome.

FSOLive: Rossini, Paganini & Respighi

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When you think of ballet, chances are good that right after tutus and pointe shoes, your mind will conjure a Tchaikovsky earworm from the Swan Lake Suite. Movements from one of his best-known works are used liberally in film and television, creating a familiar soundtrack to a ballet performance in popular culture. A full ballet, Tchaikovsky once wrote, is not a thing with a permanent existence. This concert suite derived from his full-length work stands alone from the dance it was once meant to accompany. That doesn’t mean we don’t intend to dance anyway! The program also features a variety of favorite dances by Strauss, Jr., and Mozart’s 21st piano concerto.

Piano, Polka, & Pointe: Mozart, Strauss, and Tchaikovsky

William Harvey, a Flint-born violinist, composer, and conductor has traveled the world collecting cultural music experiences that have impacted his perspective as both a performer and composer. He returns to Flint to perform his original composition Seven Decisions of Gandhi, and will give unique insight into the piece as host of the pre-concert talk. To compliment the revelation of new work that celebrates Eastern cultural traditions, the concert will open with Barber’s Adagio for Strings and conclude with some of Wagner’s most familiar pieces, all staples of the Western canon.

Peace Meets West: Barber, Wagner, and a New Work by William Harvey

Debussy’s Sacred and Profane Dances is one of the most frequently played and best-loved pieces for harp, and Juan Riveros will breathe new life into this staple of any harpist’s repertoire. Performed alongside Dukas’s whimsical The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, the program pairs the sacred and supernatural with the inspiration of the natural world. Prepare to embrace a transformation—like that of springtime — that will leave you nostalgic and invigorated.



Flint Symphony Orchestra

Feb 15, 2025

Piano, Polka, & Pointe: Mozart, Strauss, and Tchaikovsky

Mar 15, 2025

Peace Meets West: Barber, Wagner, and a New Work by William Harvey

Apr 12, 2025

Super/Natural: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice & Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony

Dec 21, 2024

Holiday Pops

7 - 8 Dec, 2024

The Nutcracker

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Flint Symphony Orchestra