Community Calendar

Ryan Ford, double bassist, will perform classical and modern music at 3 PM Sunday, May 3, at Unitarian Universalist Society East, 153 Vernon St. West, Manchester CT. Ford will perform with his daughter Margeaux and accompanist Lan-Ya Huang. Suggested donation (to benefit UUSE): $20. No one will be turned away.

CMS Co-Artistic Director Wu Han opens the season with Mozart’s elegant Trio in E major, Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, Gershwin’s jazz-infused Three Preludes (in Heifetz’s dazzling arrangement), and Dvořák’s youthful Piano Quintet.

Learn more and buy tickets now at spac.org

Discover Burleigh’s Southland Sketches—the music that helped shape Dvořák’s vision for American classical style—followed by Dvořák’s Trio in G minor and Beethoven’s majestic Quintet in C major.

Learn more and buy tickets now at spac.org

A globe-spanning celebration of wind instruments: Beethoven’s Horn Sonata, Barber’s Summer Music, Villa-Lobos’ spirited Trio, Taktakishvili’s lyrical Flute Sonata, and Jongen’s dramatic Rhapsody.

Learn more and buy tickets now at spac.org

The acclaimed Calidore String Quartet performs a lively program including the F-major quartet once attributed to Benjamin Franklin, Haydn’s witty “The Joke” Quartet, Mozart’s graceful “Prussian” Quartet, Wolf’s Italian Serenade, and Wynton Marsalis’s At the Octoroon Balls.

Learn more and buy tickets now at spac.org

Philadelphia Orchestra Guest Conductor Marin Alsop returns to SPAC leading the orchestra in a dazzling evening of Tchaikovsky featuring the 1812 Overture with live cannon fire and a brilliant fireworks display.
Opening the program is The Philadelphia Orchestra’s lush and romantic interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, followed by the composer’s thunderingly dramatic and achingly beautiful Romeo and Juliet, instantly recognizable thanks to its use throughout pop culture.

The Philadelphia Orchestra at SPAC returns for a three-week summer residency from August 5–22 as part of SPAC’s celebratory 60th anniversary season.

Learn more and buy tickets at spac.org

Opening the evening is Aaron Copland’s iconic Fanfare for the Common Man (1943), paired with Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (1986), a contemporary work inspired by Copland. Tower dedicated her fanfare to conductor Marin Alsop, calling it a tribute to “women who take risks and are adventurous,” a perfect introduction to an evening of bold musical statements.

The Orchestra then presents the SPAC debut of Mozart’s deeply lyrical Piano Concerto No. 23, featuring pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason in her SPAC and Orchestra debut, following recent appearances by her siblings Isata Kanneh-Mason and Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

Closing the program is Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 1, a sweeping exploration of personal journey and human emotion, rounding out an evening of timeless and powerful works.

The Philadelphia Orchestra at SPAC returns for a three-week summer residency from August 5–22 as part of SPAC’s celebratory 60th anniversary season.

Learn more and buy tickets at spac.org

Returning to SPAC for the first time since 2014, two-time Tony® Award–winning Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell leads an “American Dreams” program, highlighted by his narration of Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait — a stirring reflection on unity, equality, and democratic responsibility. In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, the program also pays tribute to Marian Anderson’s landmark performance of the work at SPAC 50 years ago, linking past and present in a celebration of American ideals.

The evening continues with Broadway favorites, including “Wheels of a Dream” from Ragtime, the role Mitchell originally brought to life, “The Impossible Dream” (Man of La Mancha), and Iryna Aleksiychuk’s Go Where the Wind Takes You…, dedicated to the courageous women of Ukraine, before concluding with Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, a masterwork inspired by American musical traditions and the nation’s evolving identity. Together, these works honor the past while inspiring hope for the future.

The Philadelphia Orchestra at SPAC returns for a three-week summer residency from August 5–22 as part of SPAC’s celebratory 60th anniversary season.

Learn more and buy tickets at spac.org

It’s time to go hunting for Horcruxes once more: part one of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ in Concert is nearly here! A live symphony orchestra performs Alexandre Desplat’s epic score as the franchise’s seventh film is projected onto a giant screen. Join all your favorite characters—and not-so-favorite ones!—as they encounter familiar dangers, new threats, and powerful friendships in this once-in-a-lifetime event.
All characters and elements © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR.

The Philadelphia Orchestra at SPAC returns for a three-week summer residency from August 5–22 as part of SPAC’ss celebratory 60th anniversary season.

Learn more and buy tickets at spac.org

Newly appointed Principal Guest Conductor of The Metropolitan Opera, Daniele Rustioni makes his SPAC debut leading Musorgsky’s evocative Pictures from an Exhibition, a work that has thrilled audiences since its 1874 premiere and inspired generations of musicians—including the 1970s rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

Experience this imaginative, powerful music brought vividly to life.

The Philadelphia Orchestra at SPAC returns for a three-week summer residency from August 5–22 as part of SPAC’s celebratory 60th anniversary season.

Learn more and buy tickets at spac.org