NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), the region’s premier and GRAMMY® Award-winning orchestra, announces its 2024-2025 season. Entering its 34th season, the LPO continues to expand upon its goals to perform ambitious, inspiring concerts; educate people of all ages about and through music; engage with diverse audiences; connect to communities through a vast range of mediums and venues; and contribute to the cultural richness of the Gulf South. The season will begin on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the Orpheum Theater with Symphonie Fantastique featuring an LPO premiere of composer Brian Raphael Nabors. For more information, visit www.lpomusic.com.
“I am thrilled to enter my second season of highlighting phenomenal orchestral music, making meaningful connections, and expanding upon the orchestra’s legacy of artistic excellence,” says LPO Music Director Matthew Kraemer. “It is an honor to continue building upon the LPO’s artistic vision and cultural contribution, and I am excited to share this thrilling season with our Greater New Orleans community.”
The 2024-2025 season marks the second season under the leadership of LPO Music Director Matthew Kraemer. The LPO podium will feature Kraemer who will also be joined by groundbreaking guest conductors including Daniela Candillari, Kyle J. Dickson, and highly talented artists including violist Antoine Tamestit, violinist Sirena Huang, and cellist Joshua Roman – all of whom are making their Orpheum stage debut.
Major support for LPO guest artists provided by Drs. Ranney and Emel Mize.
“Under Matthew Kraemer’s leadership, this orchestra is really poised to continue our trajectory of artistic success,” says LPO Executive Director Anwar Nasir. “Through this innovative and creative approach to making music in New Orleans and beyond, we invite all to experience this very best of orchestral music in our great state.”
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
This season’s repertoire showcases the depth and brilliance of classical music while pushing artistic boundaries. Season highlights include Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Tan Dun’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Concerto, Gustav Hoslt’s The Planets, and Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.
Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans native and GRAMMY® Award winner Terence Blanchard joins the LPO in an impassioned, GRAMMY® Award-winning work – A TALE OF GOD’S WILL: A REQUIEM FOR KATRINA. This emotional tour-de-force features Blanchard’s sextet and the LPO accompanied by still photos taken in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
LPO seasons feature works by some of the most beloved composers in the classical canon including Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and others. Alongside these composers, LPO amplifies living composers and celebrates their contributions ranging from traditional to contemporary. Living composers featured this season include Gabriela Lena Frank, Miguel del Águila, Michael Abels, and more.
EMBRACING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
The LPO remains committed to artistic innovation and cultural relevance by amplifying new works and composers who identify as women and/or from BIPOC communities. Over the last two seasons, BIPOC composers represented 30% of the works presented by the LPO. The upcoming 2024-2025 season presents 17 works entirely new to the LPO and 16 works by women and BIPOC composers including Brian Raphael Nabors, Carlos Simon, Jessie Montgomery, Anna Clyne, and more.
LPO PROGRAM SERIES
Throughout the Greater New Orleans region, this season will present a wide array of programs and events through the LPO’s various performance series including Music at the Museum, Family Concerts, Happy Hour, and the return of highly successful Music at the New Marigny series.
MUSIC AT THE NEW MARIGNY
LPO’s chamber music series, Music at the New Marigny, presents five intimate concert experiences with repertoire spanning 300 years for small orchestra at the New Marigny Theatre. Each program will feature works by legacy composers along with a work by a living composer with Louisianian roots to amplify their contributions to the orchestral music landscape. Curated by and under the baton of LPO Music Director Matthew Kraemer, the 2024-2025 Music at the New Marigny series features a salute to Mozart, Shakespearean incidental music, a French-themed program, and virtuosic works from South America.
NORTHSHORE CLASSICS
Chamber music performed by LPO musicians can also be experienced on the Northshore in Covington, LA at Fuhrmann Auditorium. The NORTHSHORE CLASSICS series includes programs from the Music at the New Marigny series and a select program that is exclusive to the Northshore Classics series. This series is also curated and directed by LPO Music Director Matthew Kraemer.
FAMILY CONCERTS
LPO remains committed to sharing family-accessible concerts to welcome and engage audiences of all ages. These concerts are curated with children and their families to expose young audiences to orchestral music. This season’s Family Concert Series features four concerts taking place on Loyola University’s campus.
The annual HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR (Oct. 12) brings the screams with a concert of holiday favorites and costumers ranging from fairies to monsters. Holst’s The Planets at the Orpheum Theater will be produced for families in ADVENTURES IN SPACE (November 16). In celebration of New Orleans’ Carnival season, audiences will experience the Mardi Gras culture fused with a full orchestra with LPO CARNIVAL TIME (Jan. 11). The Family Concert series concludes with FRENCH FAIRYTALES (March 22) featuring a live reading of Poulenc’s “Babar” and Ravels’ “Mother Goose Suite”
SPECIAL CONCERT EVENTS
LPO combines the big screen and orchestra music with its Live in Concert movie series. Experience the adventures of Indiana Jones with a live orchestral accompaniment for INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK at the Mahalia Jackson Theater (November 22 & 23).
Holiday celebrations return to the LPO with the annual performances of CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS – MESSIAH on December 5 and HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR (Dec. 19). Classical Christmas features the highly anticipated performance of excerpts from Handel’s Messiah and Holiday Spectacular features a performance of everyone’s favorite holiday tunes.
The beloved annual SWING IN THE OAKS returns to City Park (April 22). This is a free family-friendly concert featuring musical favorites and a special performance by LPO Academy students. The LPO Academy is a music mentor program that provides New Orleans youth the opportunity to intensively study instrumental music in one-on-one and small group settings with a Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra Music Mentor. The LPO takes their free outdoor concert to the Northshore with SUNSET SYMPHONY: AN EVENING WITH THE LPO (October 19). This concert is in partnership with the City of Mandeville and invites audiences to enjoy the beauty of nature and music together with family and friends under the stars.
TICKETS
Subscription packages begin at $144 and go on sale on Thursday, Feb. 22, at 10 a.m. CST. Single tickets go on sale in August 2024. For pricing and more information, visit www.lpomusic.com/subscribe or contact Patron Services by calling 504-523-6530. LPO Box Office hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
