News
May 7, 2021
NWS announces 2021-22 Season
Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony announce the groundbreaking 2021-2022 season. The season builds on New World Symphony’s mission to prepare young musicians for leadership roles in orchestras and ensembles around the world, and its vision of an inclusive and dynamic future for classical music. NWS is a laboratory for generating new ideas about how music is taught, presented, and experienced and its commitment to inclusion and access defines the 2021-2022 season.
Top Row: Joyce Yang, Aaron Diehl, Gil Shaham, Michael Tilson Thomas, Dashon Burton, Measha Brueggergosman, Augustin Hadelich
Bottom Row: Christian Reif, Ronnita Miller, Roderick Cox, Marin Alsop, Thomas Wilkins, Stéphane Denève, Christian Tetzlaff and Gabriela Montero
The 2021-2022 season features celebrated classical artists including Measha Brueggergosman, Augustin Hadelich, Gabriela Montero, and Gil Shaham, alongside artists making their NWS debuts including mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller, baritone Dashon Burton, and pianist Joyce Yang, as well as artists not traditionally seen on classical stages including jazz phenom Aaron Diehl, and global music collective People of Earth. In addition to Michael Tilson Thomas, conductors taking the podium with the NWS include Marin Alsop, Roderick Cox, Stéphane Denève, and Thomas Wilkins, and NWS alumni Kazem Abdullah, Teddy Abrams, and Christian Reif.
Harlem Renaissance, Primous Fountain and Jörg Widmann
Season highlights includes a Clarinet Festival with instrument greats Martin Fröst, Anthony McGill, and Jörg Widmann, and works by Claude Debussy, Nina Shekhar, and Tōru Takemitsu. This festival builds on NWS’s season-long instrument festivals launched in 2019 with Viola Visions and 2021’s Percussion Perspectives. The season also includes a focus on the work of composer Primous Fountain, with whom MTT has had a long relationship, and a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary celebration of music and art from the Harlem Renaissance.
New World Symphony Co-Founder and Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas shared, “The new season will be a joyous reunion of our New World Symphony Fellows, our audience, and our community. Together we look forward to continuing exploration of our rich tradition.”
The New World Symphony redoubles its commitment to accessibility with a streaming concert series. Additionally, several season concerts will be presented as free WALLCAST® Concerts and streamed onto the New World Center’s iconic 7,000-square-foot projection wall. A Mobile Wall will be unveiled in Fall 2021. The 9x16 foot projection wall and a state-of-the-art sound system will serve neighborhoods across Miami with WALLCAST® content and Fellows as ambassadors. Together this will create new cultural centers of gravity across the community.
Of the upcoming season, New World Symphony President and CEO Howard Herring said, “The currency of relevance is shared experience, musicians and audiences coming together in a communal setting. In an inclusive world, sharing takes on a new significance. The NWS 2021-2022 season is all about sharing and inclusion. We imagine a strong and secure future for classical music and will reimagine, reaffirm, express, and share its traditions with as many people as possible.”
Tickets
Subscriptions to NWS’s 2021-22 season are currently only available to renewing subscribers. To join the waitlist for new subscriptions, please email tickets@nws.edu with your request. Doing so does not guarantee NWS will accommodate your request, but you will be the first to know if there is availability. Waitlist requests do not require payment until you confirm your order with a Box Office representative.
For Renewing Subscribers: NWS will be operating at a reduced seating capacity for performances at both the New World Center and Adrienne Arsht Center. This may result in a temporary change to your seating location. We will make every effort to minimize any changes and apologize in advance for any inconvenience. Final seat locations will be confirmed by September 1, 2021.
For press inquiries contact Kathleen Drohan at 917-309-3100 or Kathleen.Drohan@nws.edu.
NWS Fellowship
The New World Symphony is dedicated to the artistic, personal and professional development of outstanding instrumentalists. The NWS fellowship program provides graduates of music programs the opportunity to enhance their musical education with the finest professional training. A laboratory for musical education and expression, NWS, through a wide range of performance and instructional activities, seeks to develop in participants the full complement of skills and qualifications required of musician leaders and agents of change. Under the artistic direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, the program offers in-depth exposure to traditional and modern repertoire with the active involvement of leading guest conductors, soloists and coaches. The relationships with these artists are extended through NWS’s pioneering experimentation with distance learning via Internet2. NWS provides opportunities for Fellows to create their own performance opportunities and projects.
New World Center @ 10
The 2021-2022 season celebrates the tenth anniversary of the New World Center. The Frank Gehry-designed concert hall and campus was notable for its integration of technology and continues to be a model of innovation with state-of-the-art technical capabilities and flexible concert spaces. The external projection wall has allowed thousands of concert-goers to experience the New World Symphony from picnic blankets and lawn chairs in SoundScape Park and has inspired similar video walls in performing arts centers around the country and world.
The Knight New Media Center
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is a strong partner in exploring digital networks for fellowship training as well as capture and distribution of NWS performances. Acknowledging their financial commitment and professional encouragement, all NWS digital expression originates in the Knight New Media Center. While NWS leadership has always envisioned an expanding digital presence, the pandemic restrictions have hastened that work. Beyond the pandemic, NWS anticipates that programs born from the Knight New Media Center will continue to have high value for Fellows, alumni, music students – local and global, and audiences for classical music.
2021-2022 Season Highlights
MTT and NWS
New World Symphony Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas leads the NWS during the 2021-2022 season in concerts including a pre-season concert highlighted by his Poems of Emily Dickinson sung by frequent collaborator Measha Brueggergosman (October 2); a Season Opening concert featuring baritone Dashon Burton (October 9/10); two evenings featuring violinist Christian Tetzlaff (February 11/12); and a Season Finale concert with violinist Gil Shaham (May 6/7). MTT also directs Clarinet Visions, this season’s instrument focused festival.
Harlem Renaissance Project
This multi-disciplinary festival will celebrate and explore the early 20th century’s dynamic intellectual and cultural movement centered in New York City’s Harlem, which also impacted the arts world-wide. The Harlem Renaissance was a significant period of artistic expression that shared what it meant to be Black in America. Michael Tilson Thomas collaborates with conductor Thomas Wilkins—Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Music Director of the Omaha Symphony—to explore the landmark era’s music, dance, spoken word, theater and more.
Clarinet Visions
Beginning with Viola Visions in 2019, the NWS has included an instrument-focused festival each season. In 2022 the spotlight turns towards the clarinet with concerts, master classes and more. Led by MTT and NWS alumnus Kazem Abdullah, this festival will feature instrument masters Martin Fröst, Anthony McGill, and Andreas Ottensamer performing works by Anthony Davis, Claude Debussy, Nina Shekhar, and Tōru Takemitsu. Jörg Widmann will join the orchestra to perform his own work.
Top Row: Christoph Koncz, George Li, Rafael Payare, Xian Zhang
Bottom Row: Mahan Esfahani, Mattias Pintscher, Andrew Grams, Teddy Abrams
Guest Conductors
The New World Symphony is led by powerful guest conductors including Rafael Payare as he leads NWS and pianist George Li in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (January 22/23), and conductor Roderick Cox is joined by cellist Zuill Bailey in works by Salonen, Herbert, and Tchaikovsky (March 26/27). NWS will be led by NWS conducting alumni in 2021-2022. Christian Reif is joined by violin great Augustin Hadelich (November 20/21) and Teddy Abrams heads up a program with global music ensemble People of Earth (April 9/10).
NWS Chamber Music Series
The Chamber Music Series kicks off with cellist Oliver Herbert performing and featuring a work of Julius Eastman (October 24). The series continues with harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani (December 19), hornist Andrew Bain (January 9), mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller (January 30), and concludes with the New World Symphony Fellows performing the Schubert Octet (May 1).
Sounds of the Times
The New World Symphony’s new music series, Sounds of the Times, kicks off with HK Gruber leading the NWS in the U.S. premiere of a recently discovered work by Kurt Weill (November 13). The series continues in a concert of works by Marcos Balter and Helmut Lachenmann (April 3). The series wraps with a concert of works by composer Primous Fountain led by MTT (April 16).
Special Concert Events
The beloved annual Percussion Consort features a collaboration with the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music (October 24). NWS celebrate the holidays with Sounds of the Season (December 17/18). Richard Kaufman conducts the orchestra in Music of the Silver Screen featuring film clips and music from Hollywood classics (March 19).
NWS Education and Family Concerts
New World Symphony has always been dedicated to serving music lovers of all ages. The 2021-2022 family concerts begin with a pair of spooky and special Halloween concerts (October 31, at 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM). The second Concert for Kids takes place on March 13.
Local high school musicians receive intensive mentorship and a special opportunity to play alongside the New World Symphony Fellows in the annual Side-by-Side Concert (April 23).
Jean-Yves Thibaudet with NWS at the Adrienne Arsht Center
NWS at the Arsht Center, Vero Beach and West Palm Beach
The New World Symphony’s residency at the Adrianne Arsht Center kicks off with MTT leading a concert featuring James Lee III’s Sukkot Through Orion’s Nebula, an NWS commission. The orchestra will be joined by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet (October 16). On January 15, NWS will be led by conductor Xian Zhang with pianist Gabriela Montero joining to perform her own Piano Concerto No. 1, “Latin.” On March 5, Stéphane Denève leads NWS in a program of works by Debussy, Beethoven and more. That concert will be repeated on March 6 in Vero Beach.
Marin Alsop leads NWS in the U.S. premiere of a new edition of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F with Aaron Diehl at the New World Center (December 10/11) and West Palm Beach’s Kravis Center (December 12).
WALLCAST® Concerts and Mobile WALLCASTS®
The New World Center’s 7,000-square-foot projection wall will be in full use during the 2021-2022 season with a selection of concerts projected free to audiences in SoundScape Park. These WALLCAST® concerts allow audiences to experience the glory of the Symphony in an informal setting. Additionally, beginning in fall 2021, the New World Symphony will unveil a mobile wall. The 9x16 foot projection wall and a state-of-the-art sound system will serve neighborhoods across Miami with WALLCAST® concert content.
Public Health and Safety
The New World Symphony is committed to maintaining a safe environment for Fellows, staff and audiences. NWS strives to comply with the MB Standard, a set of enhanced safety measures put in place by the City of Miami Beach. Socially distanced seating will be in accordance with recommended best practices. The building is cleaned daily, and high-touch areas are cleaned multiple times daily. Click here for New World Center's Safety Protocols.
About Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, Music Director Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony and Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony. In addition to conducting the world’s leading orchestras, MTT is also noted for his work as a composer and as a producer of multimedia projects dedicated to music education and reinventing the concert experience. He is a 12-time Grammy Award winner whose wide-ranging discography includes more than 120 recordings, including most recently a recording of his compositions on SFS Media. His television work includes series for the BBC and PBS, broadcasts of the New York Philharmonic's Young People’s Concerts and numerous televised performances. He is an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France, a member of the American Academies of Arts and Sciences and Arts and Letters, and has been profiled on CBS’s 60 Minutes and ABC’s Nightline. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts, has been inducted into the California Hall of Fame, and was a 2019 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors.
About the New World Symphony
The New World Symphony, America’s Orchestral Academy, prepares graduates of music programs for leadership roles in professional orchestras and ensembles. In the 33 years since its co-founding by Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas and Lin and Ted Arison, NWS has helped launch the careers of more than 1,150 alumni worldwide. A laboratory for the way music is taught, presented and experienced, the New World Symphony consists of young musicians who are granted fellowships lasting up to three years. The fellowship program offers in-depth exposure to traditional and modern repertoire, professional development training and personalized experiences working with leading guest conductors, soloists and visiting faculty. Relationships with these artists are extended through NWS’s extensive distance learning via the internet. NWS Fellows take advantage of the innovative performance facilities and state-of-the art practice and ensemble rooms of the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center, the campus of the New World Symphony.
NWS would like to recognize the following institutional partners: Knight Foundation and New World Symphony: Reimagining Classical Music in the Digital Age; Carnival Corporation is the Premier Sponsor of the New World Symphony; NWS concerts are presented with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; NWS concerts are presented with support of the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; Hitachi is a Technology Partner of the New World Symphony; Yamaha is the Official Piano of the New World Symphony; IDAGIO is the Official Audio Streaming Partner of the New World Symphony.
For more information about the New World Symphony’s 2021-2022 season contact Kathleen Drohan, Vice President of Public Relations and Communications, at Kathleen.Drohan@nws.edu or 917-309-3100.
All programs and schedule subject to change.
2021-2022 Season Event Listing
Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 7:30 PM
WELCOME BACK CONCERT WITH MTT AND MEASHA
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Measha Brueggergosman, soprano
Chad Goodman, Conducting Fellow
Emmanuel Chabrier: Joyeuse marche
Michael Tilson Thomas: Poems of Emily Dickinson
Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 9
Saturday, October 9, 2021 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 10, 2021 at 2:00 PM
SEASON OPENING WITH MTT
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Dashon Burton, baritone
Gordon Getty: Overture to Plump Jack
Gustav Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer
Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 1, “Spring”
Saturday, October 16, 2021 at 8:00 PM, Arsht Center
MTT and JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Chad Goodman, Conducting Fellow
James Lee III: Sukkot Through Orion’s Nebula (NWS commission)
Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 2
Sunday, October 24, 2021 at 2:00 PM
CHAMBER MUSIC: CELLO FANTASY
Oliver Herbert, cello
Chad Goodman, Conducting Fellow
Robert Schumann: Fantasiestücke
Julius Eastman: The Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc
Jean Sibelius: Prelude
Jean Sibelius: Tiera
Hannah Kendall: Vera
Jacques Ibert: Cello Concerto
Friday, October 29, 2021 at 7:30 PM
PERCUSSION CONSORT
John Cage: Amores
Joyce Wai-chung Tang: (Im)pulse
Andy Akiho: to wALk Or ruN in wEst harlem
Christopher Cerrone: Don’t Look Down
Sunday, October 31, 2021 at 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM
CONCERT FOR KIDS: TRICKS AND TREATS
Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 7:30 PM
SOUNDS OF THE TIMES: SYMPHONIC CABARET
HK Gruber, conductor
Jonathan Bailey Holland: Halcyon Sun
Kurt Weill: Little Magic Night Music (U.S. premiere)
Steve Reich: Quartet
HK Gruber: Northwind Pictures (U.S. premiere)
Saturday, November 20, 2021 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, November 21, 2021 at 2:00 PM
BRAHMS AND SIBELIUS
Christian Reif, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
Julia Perry: A Short Piece for Orchestra
Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1
Friday, December 10, 2021 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, December 12, 2021 (Kravis Center Runout)
SCHEHERAZADE AND GERSHWIN
Marin Alsop, conductor
Aaron Diehl, piano
Chad Goodman, Conducting Fellow
Anna Clyne: Masquerade
George Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F (U.S. premiere of new edition)
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Saturday, December 18, 2021 at 7:30 PM
SOUNDS OF THE SEASON
Sunday, December 19, 2021 at 2:00 PM
CHAMBER MUSIC: HARPSICHORD HERO
Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord
C.P.E. Bach: Quartet in A minor
Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D minor, Op. 42
Iannis Xenakis: Oophaa
Daniel Kidane: Feuersturm
Heinrich Schütz: Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes
Heinrich Schütz: Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt
Heinrich Schütz: Vasto mar, nel cui seno
Henryk Górecki: Harpsichord Concerto
Sunday, January 9, 2022 at 2:00 PM
CHAMBER MUSIC: SOUND THE HORN
Andrew Bain, horn
Chad Goodman, Conducting Fellow
Max Reger: Scherzino
Michael Tippett: Sonata for Four Horns
Errollyn Wallen: Horseplay
Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D minor, Op. 76, No. 2
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Horn Quintet
Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 8:00 PM, Arsht Center
BEETHOVEN V
Xian Zhang, conductor
Gabriela Montero, piano
Chad Goodman, Conducting Fellow
Hector Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture
Gabriela Montero: Piano Concerto No. 1, “Latin”
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 5
Saturday, January 22, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, January 23, 2022 at 2:00 PM
RACHMANINOFF’S PIANO
Rafael Payare, conductor
George Li, piano
Inocente Carreño: Margariteña
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2
Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations
Sunday, January 30, 2022 at 2:00 PM
CHAMBER MUSIC: SONGS OF STRAVINSKY
Ronnita Miller, mezzo-soprano
Joseph Boulogne: Sonata in E-flat major for Harp and Flute Obbligato
Germaine Tailleferre: Image
Darius Milhaud: Danses de Jacarémirim
Igor Stravinsky: Berceuses du chat
Igor Stravinsky: Pribaoutki
Gabriel Fauré/trans. Michael Linville: Selections from La Bonne Chanson
Gabriel Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 2
Week of January 31
HARLEM RENAISSANCE PROJECT
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Friday, February 11, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, February 12, 2022 at 7:30 PM
MTT AND BEETHOVEN’S EROICA
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Christian Tetzlaff, violin
Chad Goodman, Conducting Fellow
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Hiawatha Overture
Alban Berg: Violin Concerto
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”
Week of February 14
CLARINET VISIONS
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Kazem Abdullah, conductor
Guest Artists: Martin Fröst, Andreas Ottensamer, Anthony McGill, Andrew Marriner, Jörg Widmann
Works by: Tōru Takemitsu, Jörg Widmann, Claude Debussy, Anthony Davis, Nina Shekhar
Saturday, February 26, 2022
NWS GALA
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 8:00 PM, Arsht Center
Sunday, March 6, 2022 (Vero Beach Runout)
DENÈVE AND DEBUSSY
Stéphane Denève, conductor
Joseph Haydn: Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat
Ludwig van Beethoven: Mvt. II (Allegretto) from Symphony No. 7
Carlos Simon: Fate Now Conquers
Claude Debussy: Nuages and Fêtes from Nocturnes
Claude Debussy: Ibéria
Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM
CONCERT FOR KIDS
Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 7:30 PM
MUSIC OF THE SILVER SCREEN
Richard Kaufman, conductor
Philippe Quint, violin
Alfred Newman: 20th Century Fox Fanfare
Alfred Newman: Conquest from Captain from Castille
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: March of the Merry Men from Robin Hood
Elmer Bernstein: Theme from To Kill A Mockingbird
Maurice Jarre: Selections from Lawrence of Arabia
Bernard Herrmann: Prelude and Finale from Citizen Kane
John Williams: Theme from Schindler’s List
Charlie Chaplin: Tango Bitterness from Monsieur Verdoux
Charlie Chaplin: Smile from Modern Times
Max Steiner: The Empire State Building from King Kong
Miklós Rózsa: Parade of the Charioteers from Ben-Hur
Tan Dun: Mvt. I (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) from Crouching Tiger Concerto
Harold Arlen/Edgar Yipsel Harburg: “If I Only Had a Brain” and “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz
Dmitri Shostakovich: Galop and Volksfest from The Gadfly
John Morris: The Transylvanian Lullaby from Young Frankenstein
John Williams: The Devil’s Dance from The Witches of Eastwick
Franz Waxman: Ride of the Cossacks from Taras Bulba
Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 7:00 PM
CHAMBER MUSIC: THEN AND NOW
Grażyna Bacewicz: Quartet for Four Violins
Fernanda Navarro: Parthenogenesis
Ruth Crawford Seeger: Suite for Wind Quintet
Hannah Kendall: Verdala
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quintet
Saturday, March 26, 2022 at 8:00 PM
Sunday, March 27, 2022 at 2:00 PM
TCHAIKOVSKY’S FOURTH
Roderick Cox, conductor
Zuill Bailey, cello
Esa-Pekka Salonen: Helix
Victor Herbert: Cello Concerto No. 2
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
Sunday, April 3, 2022 at 7:00 PM
SOUNDS OF THE TIMES: SONGS OF HOPE
Matthias Pintscher, conductor
Ben Fryxell, Cello Fellow
Marcos Balter: Work TBA (NWS commission)
Bernd Alois Zimmermann: Canto di Speranza (Song of Hope)
Helmut Lachenmann: Schreiben
Saturday, April 9, 2022 at 8:00 PM
Sunday, April 10, 2022 at 2:00 PM
LATIN LOVE AND LORE
Teddy Abrams, conductor
People of Earth
Chad Goodman, Conducting Fellow
Aaron Copland: El Salón México
Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Gabriela Lena Frank: Concertino Cusqueño
Dafnis Prieto: Work TBA for Latin Ensemble and Orchestra (NWS commission)
Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 7:30 PM
SOUNDS OF THE TIMES: PRIMOUS FOUNTAIN: AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Program to be announced
Saturday, April 23, 2022 at 8:00 PM
SIDE-BY-SIDE CONCERT
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Chad Goodman, Conducting Fellow
Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 2:00 PM
CHAMBER MUSIC: SCHUBERT OCTET
George Walker: Music for Brass, Sacred and Profane
Lansing McLoskey: Specific Gravity: 2.72
Franz Schubert: Octet
Friday, May 6, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, May 7, 2022 at 8:00 PM
SEASON FINALE: MTT AND GIL SHAHAM
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Gil Shaham, violin
Chad Goodman, Conducting Fellow
Ludwig van Beethoven: Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus
Joseph Boulogne: Violin Concerto in G
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5
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Posted in: Alumni, Concerts, Events, Fellows, MTT, Wallcast Concerts
