2022-2023 Season

After 132 submissions to our inaugural Composition Competition, the winning piece has been chosen! Inspired by science and nature, composer Roger Zare’s piece Neowise describes a comet that flew by the inner Solar System throughout July 2020. We then welcome David Kim, Concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra and good friend of the Kennett Symphony, to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. We finish the concert with Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, a bold and remarkable work with a musical language unique to Sibelius. One of his most popular symphonies, it begins in pastoral sunshine, soon swept away by icy winds, all while developing toward a triumphant conclusion.

In celebration of Mother’s Day and in tribute to Winterthur’s upcoming exhibit featuring Ann Cole Lowe, join us for a concert that features the beauty and artistry of women composers of the 20th Century: Women composers who created in musical form what Ms. Lowe created through her magnificent designs. This special concert features chamber music performed by Kennett Symphony musicians interspersed with insightful commentary presented by Music Director Michael Hall.

Tickets: Purchase tickets directly from Winterthur. Ticket price includes the concert and general admission to visit and enjoy the garden and galleries after the concert. $25; $20 for Winterthur Members. $10 for students.

Get ready to take in the sights of Longwood Gardens and the sounds of the Kennett Symphony. Waltzes and Galops abound as we present a collection of beloved light classical pieces including the sunny and delightful Capriccio Italien, the mercurial Flight of the Bumblebee, the heartfelt Vocalise as well as music from John William’s score to Schindler’s List.

West Coast composer Christine Donkin’s music has been described as “astonishingly beautiful”. Her Four Poems captures the essence of poetry that describes the changing of the seasons and the moods that they invoke. Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony is warm and dramatic and contains only 2 movements of a typical 4 movement symphony. It was discovered 37 years after his death, languishing in a desk drawer, before it was first performed. In Brahms’ Serenade No. 2, the violins of the orchestra are completely omitted, which is highly unusual, but gives the piece a darker hued quality. Brahms was 43 years old before he wrote his first Symphony and in order to prepare, he composed this smaller, shorter Serenade, a masterpiece in its own right.

Two timeless stories will be told accompanied by music from Georges Bizet and Gustav Mahler. Ferdinand the Bull is a favorite children’s story about a peace-loving bull who loves smelling the flowers more than bullfighting. A true classic with a message about being true to yourself accompanied by exotic music from Bizet’s opera Carmen. Our second story, called The Hummingbird and the Fire, combines the music of Gustav Mahler with an indigenous story about how a little hummingbird tries to put out a forest fire one drop of water at a time. It is a parable about respecting the land and what can be accomplished if everyone works together. Two wonderful stories with an important message told with the help of dramatic orchestral music.