From an extension to world-class talent: The OKC Philharmonic season at a glance

From big-name soloists like Joshua Bell and Oklahoma native Kelli O'Hara to a world-premiere work memorializing Sooner State Civil Rights icon Clara Luper, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic has grand plans for its 2022-2023 season.

The new season will launch with the Classics program “Opening Night” at 8 p.m. Sept. 17 at Civic Center Music Hall, with renowned pianist Garrick Ohlsson as soloist on a concert including selections by Gabriela Lena Frank, Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Strauss. 

Music Director Alexander Mickelthwate will begin his fifth season leading the orchestra with a new multi-year contract extension, even as a search is underway for a new executive director for the nonprofit arts organization.

“An Oklahoma audience is something else to behold,” Mickelthwate said in a statement. “They are so much fun and enthusiastic about what we do. And we feel that energy on the stage. They give us love, and we give it right back. ... My wife and sons and I love it here and Oklahoma City has become our home.”

After three and a half years with the OKC Philharmonic, Executive Director Agnieszka Rakhmatullaev is leaving at the end of November to become Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

"Few people in the industry could have pulled our beloved orchestra through the pandemic, continuing to serve our audiences, like Agnieszka,” said OKC Philharmonic Board President Jane Jayroe Gamble. “She is a bright star with a big heart."

After two years of COVID-19 protocols and precautions, the orchestra's programming is returning to normal, with a full slate of Classics, Pops and Discovery Family concerts planned. Here are 10 anticipated highlights of the OKC Philharmonic's 2022-2023 season:

1. 'An Evening in the Park with the Phil'

When and where: 8:30 p.m. Sept. 23, Scissortail Park.

The orchestra will perform a free outdoor community concert with special guest J. Warren Mitchell, an Oklahoma City-based tenor who has drawn comparisons to opera icon Luciano Pavarotti. 

2. 'An Evening with Kelli O'Hara'

When and where: 8 p.m. Feb. 24-25, Civic Center.

The Tony Award winner returns to her home state and reunites with the OKC Philharmonic for a two-night Pops showcase that will include an 80th anniversary tribute to the legendary musical theater team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and their trailblazing first collaboration, "Oklahoma!"

3. 'Oklahoma Stories: Clara Luper Centennial'

When and where: 8 p.m. May 13, Civic Center.

The orchestra's Classics season closer will celebrate the legacy of the local civil rights legend with a program including Joan Tower's "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman," Leonard Bernstein's "Symphonic Dances from West Side Story" and the world premiere of Hannibal Lokumbe's "Trials, Tears, Transcendence: The Journey of Clara Luper," a new piece commissioned by the OKC Philharmonic.

Born May 3, 1923, in Okfuskee County, Luper is best remembered for leading the 1958 Oklahoma City sit-in, which will mark its 65th anniversary in 2023. 

On Aug, 19, 1958, Luper, a local history teacher and advisor for the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council, and 13 of her students walked into the then-segregated Katz Drug Store in downtown OKC and ordered Cokes, initiating one of the first civil rights protests in the country. It took place two years before the famous sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Luper, who died in 2011 at age 88, was arrested 26 times during her civil rights activities and was considered a major leader in the fight to end segregation in Oklahoma.

The design was unveiled in March for a planned $3.6 million downtown OKC monument depicting the 13 Black children who participated in the sit-in. The bronze will be joined by a likeness of Luper by local sculptor LaQuincey Reed, currently the Skirvin Hilton Hotel's artist in residence.

4. Joshua Bell

When and where: 8 p.m. April 15, Civic Center.

One of the biggest names in classical music, the Grammy-winning violinist, who previously performed with the OKC Philharmonic in 2006, will reunite with the orchestra on a Classics concert featuring Felix Mendelssohn's "Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64" and Beethoven's "Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92." 

5. 'Marvel Studios' Black Panther in Concert'

When and where: 8 p.m. April 28-29, Civic Center.

The orchestra will close its Pops season by showing the groundbreaking blockbuster on a big screen while the philharmonic plays the superheroic score live.

6. New Christmas show

When and where: 8 p.m. Dec. 2, and 2 and 8 p.m. Dec. 3, Civic Center.

After 16 years, the OKC Philharmonic will debut a new holiday show on its Pops season. Titled "Coming Home for Christmas," the yuletide spectacular will feature Grammy- and Emmy-nominated pianist, singer and entertainer Michael Feinstein, known as “The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook." 

7. 'Rite of Spring'

When and where: 8 p.m. Feb. 4, Civic Center.

The orchestra will help guide OKC out of the winter doldrums with a Classics concert featuring Igor Stravinsky's revolutionary 1913 work "Rite of Spring."

Cliburn International Piano Competition Medalist Daniel Hsu will be spotlighted in the program, which also will include Pyotr Tchaikovsky's popular "Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23" and Jonny Greenwood's acclaimed suite from the 2007 Oscar-winning film “There Will Be Blood."

8. John Williams 90th birthday tribute

When and where: 8 p.m. Nov. 4-5, Civic Center.

The OKC Philharmonic's will launch its Pops series with a special tribute to the legendary film composer, who became a nonagenarian Feb. 8. The winner of five Oscars and 25 Grammys, Williams has written some of the most beloved movies scores in cinema history, from "Indiana Jones" and "Jurassic Park" to "Stars Wars" and "Schindler’s List." 

9. 'Road Trip on Route 66!'

When: 2 p.m. April 16, Civic Center.

The countdown is on to the 2026 centennial celebration of U.S. Highway 66. The OKC Philharmonic will wrap up its three-concert Discovery Family Series by making sure youngsters and adults alike get their kicks with a musical tribute to the Mother Road.

10. The Texas Tenors

When and where: 8 p.m. March 17-18, Civic Center.

The OKC Philharmonic will join forces with the versatile Emmy Award-winning vocal trio. A fan favorite on the TV show “America’s Got Talent,” the group consists of country singer JC Fisher, classical singer Marcus Collins and opera singer John Hagen.

For tickets and information, go to https://www.okcphil.org.

Features Writer Brandy "BAM" McDonnell has covered Oklahoma's arts, entertainment and cultural sectors for The Oklahoman for 20 years. Reach her at bmcdonnell@oklahoman.com, www.facebook.com/brandybammcdonnell and twitter.com/BAMOK. Support her work by signing up for her See & Do Oklahoma newsletter and subscribing to The Oklahoman.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Highlights of OKC Philharmonic's season include Joshua Bell, Kelli O'Hara