Missouri Symphony reimagines its summer series with Firefly Music Festival

What sort of musicians do fireflies resemble?

Are they percussionists offering a silent but no less striking pulse? String players, creating a warm and resonant glow? Ask the members of the Missouri Symphony Orchestra, and they envision an ensemble tuning to summer.

The remarkably luminous little creatures serve as a mascot and metaphor for the newest iteration of the Symphony's significant music festival. What was Hot Summer Nights will become the Firefly Music Festival, the symphony recently announced.

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Last year, the festival doubled as a summer-long audition for a new music director following the retirement of long-time Maestro Kirk Trevor. Dynamic conductor Wilbur Lin was chosen as just the third director in the Symphony's 50-plus-year history.

"Following our Summer of Conductors in 2022, we entered a new phase and asked our musicians what helps them feel at home when visiting Missouri," the Symphony's website notes. "The answer was unanimous: fireflies! After that, MOSY had no doubt what the next iteration of our summer festival would be called."

Running June 24-July 15, Firefly promises six concerts along a spectrum from pops to new music and Romantic masters. The lineup is as follows, with concerts at the Missouri Theatre unless noted:

• June 24: Fanfare CoMo — Features the premiere of Ching-Shan Chang's commission "Fanfare CoMo"; Brahms' third symphony; and Brahms' double concerto, performed by Stefani and Hiro Matsuo

• June 30: Clara: Inspiration and Legacy — Explores the legacy of Clara Schumann through her piano concerto in A; the original work "Clara" by Gabriela Ortiz; and Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony

• July 2: Missouri's Finest, America's Best — Excellent, locally-formed talents such as Jazz Rucker and Symonne Sparks perform on the annual patriotic concert, which features the works of Sousa, John Williams and more

• July 7: Playlist at an Exhibition: A Promenade Concert at State Historical Society of Missouri — The repertoire features the likes of Mussorgsky, Rossini and Bernstein in culturally-rich environs

• July 9: Beyond the Star(War)s: Greatest Hits of the Silver Screen — Features movie music from "Star Wars," "Up," the "Indiana Jones" franchise and more

• July 15: The Schuman(n) Connection — The work of Robert Schumann and 20th-century composer William Schuman will be performed, as will a piano concerto by Edward MacDowell

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Tickets for the summer series go on sale May 1. For more information, visit https://themosy.org/firefly/.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. Find him on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri Symphony's Firefly festival promises summer of Brahms, Schumann, more