A Letter from Maestro David Stahl:

It’s time to celebrate as the Charleston Symphony Orchestra enters its 75th Anniversary Season, and what an extraordinary season we have planned for you! We will be delivering three amazing series – the Merrill Lynch Masterworks at the Gaillard Auditorium, McCrady’s Restaurant Pops at Memminger Auditorium, and our all-new Dock Street Theatre series. Each concert will feature imaginative programming and worldclass performances by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra’s talented professional musicians.

 

Spectacular Performances

 The Merrill Lynch Masterworks series will feature Verdi’s Requiem, the monumental Missa solemnis of Beethoven, Dvorak’s most celebrated cello concerto, contemporary American composer Philip Glass’s first violin concerto, duets and arias from Puccini’s gorgeous operas, the beautiful Golijov song cycle and a riveting all Tchaikovsky concert. The McCrady’s Restaurant Pops series will have toe-tapping fun with Broadway tunes featuring our own internationally acclaimed Charleston musicians, Dee Daniels’s evening of Ray Charles classics and the return of the talented group Five by Design performing a nostalgic and hysterical vaudeville show. We are particularly excited to return to the newly-renovated Dock Street Theatre where we will work with community partners to present innovative concerts focusing on Art and Architecture, Conservation, and the Roots of American Music. These concerts will inspire us to think of music in a new way and demonstrate how art forms are related.

 

Meet the Candidates

 At the same time, we are launching our two-season Music Director search as I move into a new role as Conductor Laureate beginning with the 2012-2013 season. I’ve been privileged to serve the Charleston community as the leader of this wonderful orchestra for the past 26 seasons and I am excited about my future role with the CSO. It is time, however, for us all to think about the next generation of leadership. I am extremely proud of the artistic accomplishments of our musicians and the CSO staff, and know a bright future is ahead. I invite each one of you to be involved in the exciting search for the Charleston Symphony’s next Music Director. Invited candidates will come to Charleston and experience the beauty of our city while conducting the orchestra. We will have an opportunity to get to know each conductor through media coverage, receptions and more. Every audience member will be welcome to offer thoughts and comments on all candidates.

 

Celebrate our 75th Ann iversary

To help us celebrate our 75th Anniversary, be sure to place October 8-10 on your calendars as the Charleston Symphony Orchestra kicks off a full weekend of events including a 75th Anniversary Ball hosted by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra League, a free outdoor public performance and more surprises! So, renew or purchase your season tickets today to reserve your seats so you are sure to be a part of this impressive season of performances and events!

 

David Stahl, Music Director, Charleston Symphony Orchestra