The Southwest Florida Symphony, Lee County’s only professional orchestra, is excited to announce another innovative and diverse lineup of performances for the 2024-25 season. Maestro Stilian Kirov, the Symphony’s interim artistic advisor, will lead the orchestra through its 64th season of celebrated works of all genres, many of which are woven with groundbreaking pieces that allow concertgoers to expand their musical diet.
The symphony opens the season on Oct. 25 with another innovative Brave New Pops in partnership with the Alliance for the Arts. “Rock & Roll Séance” is a multimedia performance curated, arranged, and conducted by locally beloved Maestro Andrew Lipke. This concert takes place outdoors on the Alliance for the Arts lawn and incorporates video, live vocalists who will channel the spirits of rock stars from the afterlife, and audience interactivity, all made larger than life with a full symphony orchestra performing bold arrangements for iconic rock tunes by Kurt Cobain’s Nirvana, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and more.
From Dec. 6 to 11, the Symphony takes its Holiday Pops on the road throughout Southwest Florida, from Babcock Ranch to the Tribby at Shell Point and other venues in between. In keeping with the Symphony’s signature innovation, Maestro Andrew Lipke returns with unique arrangements for traditional holiday favorites, with special guest vocalist Mary Bichner, who will add even more sparkle and joy to this beloved Holiday Pops tradition.
On Jan. 17, the orchestra commences its mainstage series at the Charlotte Performing Arts Center in Punta Gorda led by Maestro Stilian Kirov with Beethoven’s glorious Symphony No. 9, along with the Fort Myers Mastersingers, then kicks off its Barbara B. Mann Hall Concert Series on Jan. 18, repeating this performance. The concert opens with a Youth Orchestra side-by-side, both of which haven’t been performed with the orchestra in a decade.
Other Barbara B. Mann Series performances include John Williams the Great on Feb. 1, with a “prequel” performance at Charlotte Performing Arts Center on Jan. 31. You’ve Got Mail: Musical Love Letters featuring Maestro Andrew Lipke and mezzo-soprano Mary Bichner, on Feb. 14, with an encore at Charlotte Performing Arts Center on Feb. 15. On March 15,, for one-night only at Barbara B. Mann Hall, the orchestra presents 2025: A Space Odyssey featuring excerpts from Also Sprach Zarathustra (the Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey), the theme from Star Trek, and Holst’s The Planets. March 29 features an unlikely fusion, with weather in common. The Four Seasons: Vivaldi and Valli, featuring Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and tunes that made lead Jersey Boy, Frankie Valli, of the Four Seasons, famous. The Barbara B. Mann Concert Series concludes on April 26 with American Beauty, featuring pieces by beloved American composers and Dvorak’s 9th symphony: From the New World, which was inspired by his infatuation with America.
Other performances include a quartet at the Alliance for the Arts Oct. 7 memorial event, commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel, a chamber concert at the Tribby at Shell Point on Nov. 7, featuring award-winning pianist Pricilla Navarro, and a Young People’s Concert, The Conductor’s Spellbook, led by Maestro Kirov, on Feb. 3 and 4.
Season subscriptions and single tickets to select concerts are currently on sale.
To purchase tickets or learn more, visit swflso.org/tickets/.
The Southwest Florida Symphony debuted as a community orchestra on April 15, 1961, playing in schools and community centers with a roster of only 24 volunteer musicians. Today, the symphony boasts a roster of 70 world-class professional musicians and is Lee County’s only entirely professional orchestra. The Southwest Florida Symphony’s 64th year continues the orchestra’s tradition of artistic excellence and innovation as Interim Artistic Advisor Maestro Stilian Kirov leads a season of spectacular performances. Maestro Kirov was selected through a brief but intense process to bridge the Symphony’s artistic gap until a Music Director search is complete.
For more information about the Southwest Florida Symphony, upcoming season performances, and subscription and ticketing information, visit swflso.org or call 239-418-1500.
