The Waterbury Symphony Orchestra (WSO) proudly presents its 86th season, 'Centuries of Sound: Messiah to Swift'.with the launch of three new concert series, fresh and innovative twists on traditional favorites, world renown guest artists and the Symphony’s first ever candle quartet concert with WSO’s string quartet bathed in candlelight performing the music of Taylor Swift. We are also thrilled to be partnering again with the Palace Theater to present our ever popular Annual Cinema & Symphony - this year, the marvelous BACK TO THE FUTURE on Saturday, March 15th.
With its season opening concert on Sunday October 6th, a full orchestra MasterWorks Concert entitled “Tales of 1001 Nights, WSO’s Artistic Director and Conductor Leif Bjaland celebrates his 30th Anniversary with the Symphony.
The three concert series, each featuring three performances throughout the season - include the traditional full-orchestra MasterWorks series at the NVCC in Waterbury, a brand-new Edmond Town Hall Series in Newtown, and finally, a Litchfield Chamber Series at the Litchfield Community Center.
New and available througut the entire season this year, WSO is offering a Flex Package Option—a MIX & MATCH option for any three or more concerts from the full 9-concert season. Flex Package orders enjoy 10% discount on all tickets and waived 'per ticket' booking fees. Available throughout the entire season, prices start as low as $73 for 3 concerts.
To learn more and/or purchase single tickets online visit waterburysymphony.org. To purchase tickets or take up the Flex Package Option, call WSO’s box office partner, the Palace Theatre Box Office at 203-346-2000.
The new Edmond Town Hall Series, will showcase our very first - what we are calling a Candle Quartet Concert featuring the Music of Taylor Swift on Saturday, November 2nd at 7pm, a 1920s Great Gatsby era Big Band Jazz concert, and 'Strings Attached', with world-renowned violinist Marissa Regni joining WSO on stage for an exciting blend of classical and contemporary works. Edmond Town Hall is located at 45 Main St, Newtown, CT and has ample parking in its onsite lot.
The Litchfield Series will feature unique chamber performances and small ensembles - opening the series on Sunday Oct 20th at 4pm with ‘October Octets’ at the Litchfield Community Center [LCC] featuring members of the orchestra’s wind and brass sections. The Litchfield Community Center also has ample parking in its onsite parking lot.
Finally, with our signature MasterWorks Series, WSO will showcase traditional full orchestra performances at the Fine Arts Center, NVCC, now called CT State College, Naugatuck Valley. This season, the WSO will present timeless classics such as Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Handel’s Messiah, and Ravel’s iconic Bolero. The Fine Arts Center of NVCC is located on 750 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, has both a covered parking garage and elevator access directly to the concert hall.
Our Three Series Line-Up: See Full Concert Programs Below!
MasterWorks Series: Sun, Oct 6 • Sun Dec 8 • Sun Jun 1
Maestro Leif Bjaland and the WSO have lined up a real treat this year and our MasterWorks Series will not disappoint! Enjoy traditional full orchestra performances at the
Fine Arts Center, NVCC, now called CT State College, Naugatuck Valley.
750 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, CT
Full concert programs detailed below.
Season Subscriptions offered through September 1st - Enjoy priority seating, 15% discount on each concert and $0 per ticket booking fees.
Three Seating Levels as per previous years:
Premium [$65] Choice [$45] Value [$25]
Litchfield Series: Sun, Oct 20 • Sun Jan 26 • Sun Apr 6
Delightful chamber ensembles crafted by our one and only WSO Music Director Leif Bjaland, at the Litchfield Community Center in Litchfield, CT
[General Admission $30]
WSO's Edmond Town Hall Series: Sat, Nov 2 • Sun Feb 23 • Sun Apr 27
WSO is pleased to also announce its three concert series at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, CT. Innovative performances with a twist, including our very first Candlelight Concert, a 1920s Great Gatsby era Big Band Jazz concert, and Strings Attached, with world renown Violinist Marissa Regni joining WSO on stage.
Sat, Nov 2nd, 7pm Candle Quartet Concert
- Three Sections [Tiers] of General Seating [$25, $45 & $60] *
Sun, Feb 23 -The Jazz Age, The 1920's Great Gatsby Era
- General Seating [$45]*
Sun Apr 27 - Strings Attached,
General Seating [$45]*
Plus....
Annual Cinema & Symphony Concert at the Palace Theater -
BACK TO THE FUTURE! Sat, March 15th, 2pm
At the Palace Theater, Waterbury
Thrilled that our Cinema and Symphony concert sold out last year...!
Tickets for this concert are sold by our venue partner, The Palace Theater HERE!
Flex Package Options Available this year!
This year we are also offering a ‘FLEX PACKAGE’ option. Select any 3 or more concerts* and enjoy a 10% discount on each of those concert tickets and $0/ticket booking fees.
* The Flex Package Offer excludes the March 15th Cinema & Symphony Concert, which sold out last year - please do order your Cinema & Symphony Tickets early to not be disappointed.
Our 2024 - 2025 Season!
Tales of 1001 Nights
MasterWorks Series -Season Opener,
Fine Art Center, CT State Community College, Waterbury [formerly NVCC]
We open the season with the Sultana Scheherazade as she spins her tales of mystery and wonder over 1001 nights, and celebrate the 150th birthday of CT’s own Charles Ives in collaboration with local composer Paul Frucht who brings a captivating rendition to The Unanswered Question. Pianist, Andrew Armstrong joins for Rachmaninoff’s thrilling 2nd piano concerto.
Ives/Frucht: Grace and the Unanswered Question
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto no.2, op.18 in C minor
Andrew Armstrong, piano
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, op.35
Sun, Oct 20, 2024 4 PM
October Octets:
Handel, Mozart, Stravinsky & Beethoven
Litchfield Series: Litchfield Community Center
With wind octets being the preferred form of outdoor entertainment in Mozart and Beethoven’s Vienna, and as the days turn golden in the Litchfield Hills, it’s time for a last captivating musical celebration of the late summer glorious air!
Handel/Campbell: Entrance of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon
Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
Stravinsky: Octet (1923)
Beethoven: Octet in Eb, op.103
Candlelight Concert: Music of Taylor Swift
Edmond Town Hall Series: Edmond Town Hall, Newtown
Kicking off our new Edmond Town Hall Series of three concerts over our 2024 - 2025 Season- we dive into the clarion call we have heard from new audiences - yet are on a course which will surprise our classical audiences! WSO Concertmaster Alyce Cognetta Bertz at the helm, this concert will not disappoint. Experience a candlelight concert like no other - WSO’s classical string quartet performs the music of Taylor Swift!
Sun, Dec 8th 2024 3pm
Messiah & Magnificat
MasterWorks Series
Fine Art Center, CT State Community College, Waterbury [Formerly NVCC]
Our 2nd of our MasterWorks Series, here comes a holiday favorite with a delightful twist, WSO and friends perform beloved selections from Handel’s Messiah. Bach’s festive Magnificat rounds out this joyful program.
J.S. Bach: Magnificat in D major BWV 243
Jack Pott, Conductor, Hartford Chorale
-----
Handel: Messiah, Part the First *
Handel: Hallelujah from Part the Second*
* with Hartford Chorale & CT State College Choir
Sun, Jan 26 2025 4pm
WSO's Clark Chamber Concert
Litchfield Series: Litchfield Community Center
Endowed by WSO’s new Board Chair, Thomas C. Clark, and through our enduring collaboration with Yale School of Music, WSO each year presents an “award winning” young artist chamber ensemble.
Stay tuned for the announcement of the selected artist.
Sun, Feb 23 2025 4 pm
The Jazz Age
Edmond Town Hall Series: Edmond Town Hall, Newtown
The second of our WSO Edmond Town Hall 24/25 series, we mark the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby. It’s said that F. Scott Fitzgerald invented the term “Jazz Age,” so it is perfectly fitting that we celebrate with this ‘jazz orchestra’ concert featuring swinging hits of the 1920’s.
March 15, 2025 - 2pm
Cinema & Symphony:
'Back to the Future' in Concert
The Palace Theater, Waterbury
Great Scott! Will Marty McFly make it back to 1985? We proudly present our 5th Annual Cinema & Symphony concert with the Palace Theater. All eyes will be on the Palace Theater’s giant screen as the WSO performs live, the masterful score by Alan Silvestri.
These tickets will go on sale - first to our Season Subscribers - on September 15th.
Last year we happily sold out for this Annual Cinema & Symphony treat.
Sun, Apr 6 2025 4pm
Jazz: Brubeck & Bolling
Litchfield Series: Litchfield Community Center
This is an afternoon of cool jazz, provided by two B’s, who happen to be among the greatest practitioners of the genre. “Take Five” and join us as we explore some Brubeck classics and feature Bolling’s fantastic suite for Flute and Jazz Trio.
Brubeck: Take Five
Brubeck: Strange Meadowlark
Brubeck: It’s a Raggy Waltz
Brubeck: Unsquare Dance
Bolling: Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio
Sun, Apr 27 2025 4pm
Strings Attached -
Edmond Town Hall Series:
Edmond Town Hall, Newtown
From the world stage, renowned Violinist Marissa Regni joins the WSO for a delightful mash-up of Bach and works of contemporary composers who admired him, with a bit of Baroque, Boccherini and bongos thrown in! We conclude our season’s Edmond Town Hall Series with this unique and exciting program crafted by Music Director Leif Bjaland.
Marais: The Bells of St. Genevieve Loussier: Concerto for Violin and Tabla
Marissa Regni, violin
Grieg: Anitra’s Dance
Boccherini: Fandango
J.S. Bach: Concerto for Two Violins in D minor BWV 1043
Marissa Regni, Alyce Cognetta Bertz, violin
Grappelli/South/Reinhardt: Concerto for Two Violins
Marissa Regni, Alyce Cognetta Bertz, violin
Sun, June 1st 2025 3pm
Season Finale: Bolero and Ballots
MasterWorks Series
Fine Art Center, CT State Community College, Waterbury [formerly NVCC]
Our Season Finale features two exceptional pieces and a special surprise. Experience the rich warm tone of the mid-19th century invention, the saxophone, in Glazunov's Concerto for Alto Saxophone, showcasing WSO’s Clark Young Artist Competition winner. The afternoon culminates with Ravel's mesmerizing Bolero. Stay tuned in the spring for the audience's chance to vote for the 3rd piece to be performed in this Season Finale concert.
Glazunov: Concerto for Alto Saxophone, Op. 109, Eb Major
Featuring the Clark Young Artist Winner, saxophone
Ravel: Bolero
Audience Selected Piece [To Be Announced]
If you would like to be mailed our new 2024/2025 WSO Season Brochure - please email us at info@waterburysymphony.org - provide your full name, address, telephone number and email address. We'd be delighted to send you this brochure.
About Waterbury Symphony Orchestra:
Creating music since 1938, the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra’s core belief is that music, music education and shared cultural experiences are essential for humanity.
Three primary strands of the WSO include its MasterWorks Classical Concerts including its annual Symphony & Cinema Concert, its prodigious satellite performances including its Music in Great Spaces series of smaller ensembles, and finally their celebrated educational programs for libraries, schools, and underserved communities.
Led by Leif Bjaland for the past twenty-eight seasons, WSO draws over one hundred talented musicians from across New England.
As orchestra in residence of the Fine Arts Center, Naugatuck Valley Community College, the Waterbury Symphony wishes to acknowledge the partnership of NVCC and the enduring legacy of the generosity and vision of Ruth Ann Leever.
For more information by telephone to WSO, call 203-574-4283 [Tue, Thu, Fri 10 - 4pm] For Tickets Online, visit: www.waterburysymphony.org. For ticketing by Phone* 203-346-2000 [Mon - Fri 10 am - 5 pm]
*Via our Box Office Partner, The Palace Theater Ticketing Office
Waterbury Symphony Orchestra Telephone: 203-574-4283