Gadsden Symphony Orchestra's first of three 2023 concerts is set for Feb. 25
The Gadsden Symphony Orchestra’s 31st season kicks off Feb. 25 in Gadsden City High School’s auditorium, according to a news release from the Gadsden Cultural Arts Foundation.
That concert will be a “family concert,” according to the release, with the theme “The Musical Zoo.” The program will include works by Haydn and Rossini, and selections from “Cats,” “Jurassic Park” and “The Lion King.”
Two other concerts are scheduled: a “classics concert” on May 6 and a “pops concert” on June 24.
Themed “Mediterranean Tour,” the May concert will include works by Respighi and Saint-Saens. The June concert is themed “Showtime!” and will team the orchestra with special guests from Theatre of Gadsden.
Each concert will start at 7 p.m.
This will be the GSO’s second season as a project of the Cultural Arts Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in the Hardin Center whose other projects include fine art exhibitions, the Etowah Youth Orchestras, the Gadsden Community School for the Arts, Imagination Place Children’s Museum, the Downtown Dance Conservatory and the Gadsden Youth Chorus.
Michael Gagliardo has been the orchestra’s music director and conductor since 2016. A nationally recognized conductor and educator, he’s served in a similar role with the Etowah Youth Orchestras cince 1995.
Corey Butts, programs coordinator for the Cultural Arts Foundation, is GSO’s administrator and works with Gagliardo to organize the season.
The GSO is made up of professional and semi-professional musicians from Northeast Alabama. They include current and retired college and school educators; private instructors and faculty from the Gadsden Community School for the Arts; graduate and undergraduate music majors from area colleges and universities; members of other regional orchestras; and semi-professional musicians who live in the community. Roughly a quarter of the roster are Etowah Youth Orchestras alumni.
Single-concert tickets are $20 for adults and seniors, and $10 for students. Season passes for all three concerts are $50, and a “friends and family four-pack" that will admit four people of any ages to a concert for $50 is available. Visit the Hardin Center or www.culturalarts.org/boxoffice.
Tickets also will be available at the door, and call the Hardin Center, 256-543-2787, ext. 32, for discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more.
For more information, visit culturalarts.org or gadsdensymphony.org, email gso@culturlarts.org or call the Hardin Center.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden Symphony Orchestra kicks off season Feb. 25
