​Litha Symphony Proudly Presents:

We couldn't be more pleased to announce our 2021 season, Wanderlust. 

The road was difficult, but we've made it! After more than a year on hiatus, Litha Symphony is returning this summer with three wonderful concerts, adapted for the changing times of course. In addition to some well-known and familiar works, this year we're delving into music that takes us to far-off places. We'll take a hot air balloon ride across France and camp out in Bohemia before heading right back to where it all began—home.

All of our performance for our 2021 season will be streamed live, with the addition of a limited audience in our season Finale.

Saturday, June 26 - 8pm

To kick things off, we’re going to go up, up, up and away in a hot air balloon across France with a purely Provençal program. We'll get things started with Marche militaire française from Camille Saint-Saëns' Suite algérienne, Op.60 followed by Mozart's 'Paris' Symphony and a sweet Lullaby for strings by Hofeldt.

After a quick break, we'll be joined by guest conductor Veronica Jackson as she conducts Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2, Op. 11 by French fencing master ​and violin virtuoso Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George. Our trip to France will end
​with the ever-beautiful Petite Suite by Debussy.
​

Veronica Jackson

​CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS (arr. Mouton)
March militaire française from Suite algérienne, Op. 60
 
WOLFGANG A. MOZART
Symphony No. 31, K. 297/300a ‘Paris’
 
WILLIAM HOFELDT
Lullaby
 
JOSEPH BOLOGNE
Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2, Op. 11
Veronica Jackson, conductor
 
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
​Petite Suite

Tickets

Saturday, July 31 - 8pm
Church of the Holy Apostles
296 9th Ave, at 28th St, Chelsea

Next up, we'll trek through the Black Forest and spend an evening camping with artists and beatniks. Opening our July concert will be Rossini's ever popular Il barbiere di Siviglia Overture. Then, our very own principal clarinetist, Brian Schatz, will take the stage with Weber's Clarinet
​Concerto No. 1, Op. 73.

Once we're back from a quick intermission, we'll hear Czech composer Antonín Dvořák's hauntingly beautiful Nocturne in B Major, Op. 40 by Litha's strings and guest conductor Conrad Chu. Then we'll be joined by vocal soloist Lynn Atkins as assistant conductor Zach Nicely guides us through selections from a salon orchestration of Schumann's Dichterliebe, Op. 48 followed by Overture, Scherzo, and ​Finale in E Major, Op. 52 also by Schumann.

GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Il barbiere di Siviglia: Sinfonia
sponsored by Dale Jezwinski
 
CARL MARIA von WEBER
Clarinet Concerto No. 1, Op. 73
Brian Schatz, clarinet
dedicated to Mircea Ionescu
 
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK
Nocturne in B Major, Op. 40
Conrad Chu, guest conductor

ROBERT SCHUMANN (arr. Dubois)
Dichterliebe, Op. 48 selections from
Dr. Lynn Atkins, voice
Zach Nicely, assistant conductor

ROBERT SCHUMANN
​Overture, Scherzo, and Finale, Op. 52

Tickets

Brian Schatz

Conrad Chu

Dr. Lynn Atkins

Saturday, August 28 - 8pm
Church of the Holy Apostles
296 9th Ave, at 28th St, Chelsea

Once we've satisfied our Wanderlust, there's only one place left to go. Back to where it all began...home. To get there, we need to travel through the Wild West with Zach Nicely conducting a medley of Western film themes in Go West!  by Ralph Ford. Afterwards, we're joined by narrator Rebecca Young and guest conductor Eric Mahl as they guide us through the forest in Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67. The road home isn't complete until we hear Aroop Kar's magnificent work, ​Fantasy for Strings & Piano, featuring pianist Dr. Paul Lee.
​
This year quite special for Litha. It's our 10th year! ​To celebrate this milestone, we'll end our Finale with a piece that we played in the very beginning: Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, Op. 92. This season will surely take us on an adventure, and we hope to see you there!

Rebecca Young

Eric Mahl

RALPH FORD ​(arr.)
Go West!
Zach Nicely, assistant conductor

SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67
Rebecca Young, narrator
Eric Mahl, guest conductor

AROOP KAR
Fantasy for Strings & Piano
Dr. Paul Lee, piano
 
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
​Symphony No. 7, Op. 92

Tickets

Dr. Paul Lee

*Artists, dates, and programs subject to change.