Embark on a musical journey with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra's captivating 2024-2025 concert series. From nostalgic Christmas tunes and historic wartime symphonies to a celebration of Black musical heritage and operatic grandeur, the KSO offers a diverse array of performances. Each event promises a unique blend of cultural and artistic exploration, featuring exceptional talents and timeless compositions. Join us as we delve into the highlights of these memorable performances, celebrating the power of music to uplift and unite.

A Symphony of Seasons: Kentucky Symphony Orchestra's 2024-2025 Concert Series

The KSO presented the 1984 special edition Carpenters Christmas Portrait album live last year as a memorable yuletide event. This year, vocalist Denise Parroco returns, as KSO arranger Terry LaBolt adds three more Carpenters tunes from their 1978 Christmas recording for a 75-minute evening of secular, sacred, traditional, pop and classical music forever associated with the season.  Join Denise, the KSO and choir for a nostalgic, feel-good Christmas songfest exclusively with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra.

Merry Christmas, Darling

Greaves Concert Hall

For 30 years the KSO has offered free education programs to schools throughout Northern KY.    This program focuses on the musical instruments that comprise a symphony orchestra. Instruments are heard individually, in families and as part of the entire orchestra. “Getting to Know You” addresses some central music core concepts about instruments and how they make sounds. The Q & A session following the concert gives students and teachers the opportunity to ask questions of any musician or the conductor.  The program is also available via live-stream.   Children have access to a comprehensive program as the KSO alternates “Getting to Know You” (An introduction to instruments of the orchestra) with “Back in My Day” (the history of the orchestra and its music)

Bus ingress and egress is simple and parking is ample. Bus drivers can actually attend the program too.

Getting to Know You Education Concert

Seven Hills Church

For 30 years the KSO has offered free education programs to schools throughout Northern KY.    This program focuses on the musical instruments that comprise a symphony orchestra. Instruments are heard individually, in families and as part of the entire orchestra. “Getting to Know You” addresses some central music core concepts about instruments and how they make sounds. The Q & A session following the concert gives students and teachers the opportunity to ask questions of any musician or the conductor.  The program is also available via live-stream.   Children have access to a comprehensive program as the KSO alternates “Getting to Know You” (An introduction to instruments of the orchestra) with “Back in My Day” (the history of the orchestra and its music).

7 Hills Church

The KSO celebrates the Mexican festival Day of the Dead. Audience/musician face-painting, masks, candles and a large public ofrenda add to the atmospheric, ominous opuses the KSO will perform a frightfully fun evening of classics, premieres and Hispanic favorites and culture.

Sinister Sonorities

Leroy Anderson, Richard Hayman and Henry Mancini offered the musical “pop” behind the Arthur Fielder and the rise and fame of the Boston Pops from 1930-1979.  The KSO salutes these composers/arrangers responsible for the rise of the pops orchestras world-wide. Who knew the typewriter was a musical instrument?

POPS, Inc.

Devou Park

Tower Park Amphitheater

The KSO’s Devou Doo Daddies bring 1990s and 2020s swing from across the globe to NKY, with the swing revival sounds of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Squirrel Nut Zippers and Royal Crown Revue . . . together with European acts like Cut Capers, Caro Emerald, Atom Smith and more.  Get ready to swing it!

Get Movin’ (Feet Don’t Fail Me Now)

### Event Description: Boogie Nights with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra

**Event Name:** Boogie Nights

**Date:** July 8, 2023

**Time:** 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM

**Venue:** Greaves Concert Hall, Fine Arts Center, 1 Louie B Nunn Dr, Highland Heights, KY 41076, United States

**Event Overview:**
Step back into the vibrant era of the 1970s with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra's Boogie Nights concert. Originally scheduled to be held at Devou Park Amphitheater, the event has been relocated to Greaves Concert Hall on the campus of Northern Kentucky University (NKU) due to inclement weather. 

**Highlights:**
- **Music and Performances:** Enjoy a nostalgic journey with live performances of iconic disco hits from artists like Donna Summer, KC & the Sunshine Band, ABBA, The Village People, The Bee-Gees, and many more.
- **Fashion and Dancing:** Embrace the 70s vibe with bell-bottoms, Afros, and platform shoes. The event promises a night of dancing and fun.
- **Accessibility:** Free general seating with a wheelchair-accessible area. Doors open at 6:30 PM.
- **Admission:** Free, with contributions encouraged to support the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra.

**Special Notes:**
- **Dress Rehearsal:** Seniors and those wishing to avoid crowds are invited to attend the dress rehearsal at 10:00 AM on the same day at Greaves Concert Hall.
- **Parking:** Free parking is available in Lots I and D.
- **Restrictions:** Food and drinks are not allowed inside the concert hall.

**Additional Information:**
- **Live Stream:** The performance will be streamed live on the KSO website from Tower Park on July 9 at 7:30 PM.
- **Contact:** For more information, call 859-431-6216.

**Register for Updates:**
Sign up to receive concert updates and a chance to win prizes, including a $100 Amazon gift card and tickets to the KSO’s entire 32nd season.

**Support the KSO:**
Your contributions help keep the music playing. Find out how you can donate or volunteer to support the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra.

**Event Tags:** Concerts, date night, family-friendly, free concert, kid-friendly, live music, NKYhasthis, outdoors, summer fun, things to do.

Join us for a night of unforgettable music and dance as we celebrate the timeless groove of the 70s!

Let’s Do the Time Warp Again

Kathy Wade, Deondra Means and more join the KSO Newport Ragtime Band to perform and relate the stories of authentic ragtime, blues, stride, Dixieland, early jazz, swing and boogie-woogie from the 1890s-1930s by Lil Hardin Armstrong, Eubie Blake, Cab Calloway, James Europe, W.C. Handy, Scott Joplin, Artie Matthews, Jelly Roll Morton, Clarence Smith, Fats Waller and more. Hep-Hep!

The Jumpin’ Jive

The KSO celebrates the Hyde Park United Methodist Church’s Organ Series’ 20th Anniversary, and follows with an NKY encore performance at St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption. Organist Brenda Portman is featured in works by Reed, Barber and Saint-Säens, paying homage to the king (of instruments). All Hail!

Long Live the King

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

Near the end of their lives, two master Romantic period composers penned reflective, spiritual masterpieces: Wagner’s final opera seeks the Holy Grail; Bruckner dedicated his last symphony to “Almightly God.”

Swan Songs

Celebrate Black History Month with this exceptional cross-curricular opportunity.  A performance and slide show by the KSO’s Newport Ragtime Band surveys the roots of American musical heritage. The program features ragtime, blues, Dixieland and early jazz from 1898-1933, with tunes by legendary black musicians/composers Scott Joplin, James Reese Europe, W.C. Handy, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller and others. The program also highlights many local Cincinnati connections to this music’s national popularity and historical significance.  The Q & A session at the end of the concert allows students and teachers the opportunity to ask questions of any musician on-stage.

Rags to Riches

Inspired by The Carpenter’s 1978 album — A Christmas Portait, the KSO, with vocalist Denise Parroco, will offer a similar continuous mix of sacred, secular, classical, and pop yuletide favorites sure to have you singing throughout your happy holidays.

The KSO opens its 32nd season with classical party music, serving up a tray of divertimenti — light-hearted orchestral entertainment — from 1776 to 1988.  Let’s play!

Dr. Divertimento

This program 0ffers a 300-year history of the orchestra and western music, with selections from the early 1700s (e.g. Handel’s Water Music) to popular movie scores. At the performance students will see and hear how the orchestra grew in size and sound, receive interesting facts about the composers and learn how their environment impacted their musical works.  Those in attendance will also see and hear a fabulous young violinist, Erica Nam.

“Back in My Day”

Florence Baptist Church

Nostalgia is always reflected in fashion, pop music, hairstyles, cars and furnishings, but nothing zaps folks back in time like the television programs of their youth. The KSO pulls out TV themes from the 1950s through 1990s (heavy on the ‘60-70s).  Following intermission, the KSO re-lives the age of Saturday morning cartoons with themes from the Animaniacs to Rocky and Bullwinkle. The evening ends with the KSO accompanying full length Pink Panther, Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry cartoons live on screen.

TV Guide – Tower Park

Nostalgia is always reflected in fashion, pop music, hairstyles, cars and furnishings, but nothing zaps folks back in time like the television programs of their youth. The KSO pulls out TV themes from the 1950s through 1990s (heavy on the ‘60-70s).  Following intermission, the KSO re-lives the age of Saturday morning cartoons with themes from the Rocky and Bullwinkle to the Animaniacs. The evening ends with The Pink Panther, Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry.

TV Guide- Devou Park

The KSO sets the “Way Back Machine” to early 18th c England and the music of Georg Friedrich Handel.  Everyone knows Handel’s hit tunes, often heard at weddings, on television and associated holidays and with many advertised products over the past 70 years. Pack your squirts guns or spritzers for Handel’s Water Music. Invite your choir buddies to join you on the lawn for a sing-a-long of the “Hallelujah Chorus”.  Then sit back, as the sky darkens, for some Royal Fireworks Music! A classical night with Rozzi Fireworks!

Too Hot to Handel

With the mid 1970s nearly 50 years in the rearview mirror, the music, fashion, true diversity and common groove of Disco made every night out a party, where no one felt excluded. Time travel with the KSO’s Boogie Band and vocalists to the era of bell-bottoms, platform shoes, and the music of Donna Summer, KC & the Sunshine Band, ABBA, The Village People, The Bee-Gees and many more (program list below).  You will be dancing.

Boogie Nights

The KSO’s annual Rare Bourbon Raffle returns this year with three separate raffles to enter! Each ticket purchase helps fund the KSO’s free park concerts & free education outreach programs, impacting nearly 23,000 people annually. Limited number of tickets are available for sale.  Please help us keep the music playing.

Three Rare Bourbon Raffles

The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra

For 28 years the KSO has offered free education programs to schools throughout Northern KY.  Children have access to a comprehensive program as the KSO alternates “Getting to Know You” (An introduction to instruments of the orchestra) with “Back in My Day” (the history of the orchestra and its music).  This program focuses on the musical instruments that comprise a symphony orchestra. Instruments are heard individually, in families and as part of the entire orchestra. “Getting to Know You” addresses some central music core concepts about instruments and how they make sounds. The Q & A session following the concert gives students and teachers the opportunity to ask questions of any musician or the conductor. Bus ingress and egress is simple and parking is ample. Bus drivers can actually attend the program too.

“Getting to Know You”

The KSO’s “Devou-Doo Daddies” which specialize in the swing revival movement of the early to mid 1990s will make its subscription series debut, adding a 2020s swing component to its high-energy swing dance music. Today’s Electro Swing infuses elements of Hip-Hop inside its swing sound, making it fair game for KSO incorporation and evolution. (The thought may sound dreadful, but you would be surprised). The KSO invites patrons to grab a dance partner and prepare for a new and old way to swing at the Newport Car Barn.

Swing Revival meets Electro Swing

Fedders Construction

The KSO recalls the seige of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg — Russia’s second largest city), where and when Dmitri Shostakovich’s war time Symphony No. 7 was premiered. The image of a patron buying a ticket to the premiere, as Axis troops surrounded and bombarded the city for 900 days, is a testament to the arts’ impact and the will of people to persevere and survive. Sergei Prokoviev’s War and Peace Overture fittingly opens the program.

Back in the USSR

Since 2000 the KSO has collaborated with UK and CCM’s Opera Theater programs to bring concert grand opera to NKY with complete performances of Tosca, Otello, La Boheme, Rigoletto, Samson and Delilah, and Turandot to rave reviews.

Teaming up for the first time with NKU’s School of the Arts (SOTA) and their music, theater, dance and prep departments, the KSO and SOTA will bring Georges Bizet’s Carmen to Greaves Concert Hall for two performances with a cast and orchestra of 200. Nationally and internationally acclaimed leads Kirstin Chávez (Carmen), Richard Trey Smagur (Don José), and Morgan Smith (Escamillo) will join the partnership for this semi- staged, concert presentation of Carmen in French with projected English supertitles. Plenty of “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves” — just no Cher.

Carmen in Concert

Those who frequent the KSO (indoors and out), know that all forms of jazz fit comfortably within the KSO’s wheelhouse. Stumbling upon intriguing jazz orchestrations of Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Dvorak, Gershwin, Holst, Suppe, Verdi, led James Cassidy to assemble an All-Star Big Band to end the 33rd season with a bang.

The concert opens with the jazz piano stylings of Eugen Cicero and his take on C.P.E. Bach’s Solfeggio in C minor. Consummate 1950s-60s arranger Billy May’s no-holds-barred approach to Hungarian Dance No. 5, Poet and Peasant Overture, Humoresque and others, paired with today’s big band guru Gordon Goodwin’s interpolations of the Two-part Invention in D minor, Symphony No. 40 in G minor and Rhapsody in Blue, and Jeremy Levy’s re-imagining of The Planets sets the stage for a veritable “hornucopia” of in your face classics à la jazz to close the KSO’s 33rd campaign.

Kentucky Symphony Orchestra

Jan 25, 2025

Back in the USSR

Feb 25, 2025

Rags to Riches

Feb 25, 2025

Rags to Riches

28 - 30 Mar, 2025

Carmen in Concert

May 10, 2025

Swingin’ the Classics

13 - 14 Dec, 2024

Merry Christmas, Darling

12 - 13 Nov, 2024

Getting to Know You Education Concert

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