2nd-year conductor appreciates support

Changing up its schedule with Sunday afternoon and Saturday evening performances, Richmond Symphony Orchestra will offer seven concerts during the 2024-25 season.   

Andrés Lopera returns for his second season as RSO’s music director and has planned a variety of music for youth and adults. 

“I am incredibly thankful for the overwhelming support from the community at the end of my first season with the Richmond Symphony,” Lopera said. “With record attendance, high energy and enthusiasm from both the musicians and the audience, this season has set the tone for an exciting future ahead.”

The season opens Saturday, Sept. 14, with some familiar tunes, including “The Star-Spangled Banner.” 

Saxophone will be featured in two of the pieces, Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances” from “West Side Story” and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” Clarinet solos can be heard in Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Capriccio Espagnol.”

Audiences might notice guest concertmaster Stacey Woolley tuning the orchestra on opening night. Woolley also served in that role when Lopera auditioned to lead RSO.  

In total, RSO is offering three Masterwork concerts on Saturday nights (Sept. 14, March 29 and May 10) and two on Sunday afternoons (Nov. 10 and Feb. 16). Two family concerts are on Sunday afternoons. 

The Oct. 20 Halloween concert, “All Treats, No Tricks!” is especially designed for families, as is “A Holiday Celebration” on Dec. 15 featuring RSO brass and percussion. 

The Nov. 10 concert, “A Celebration of Democracy,” showcases Sibelius’ “Finlandia,” Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 3 (Eroica).”  

After the new year, the Feb. 16 concert “Decoding the Composers” features Lena Frank’s “Elegía Andina,” Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella Suite” and Mozart’s “Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter).” 

When “Richmond Voices Unite” on March 29, RSO welcomes soprano soloist Jessica Rivera and baritone Thomas Dreeze for Faure’s “Requiem in D minor Op. 48.” Indiana University East and Earlham College choirs will join the RSO Singers. Prokofiev’s “Symphony No. 1 (Classical)” and Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll” are scheduled too. 

The season ends May 10 with “A Finale Fantastique.” Soloist Bridget Kibbey performs Reinhold Gliere’s “Harp Concerto.” Other selections are Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun” and Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique.”  

All Masterwork concerts will have preconcert talks one hour in advance. Monica Koechlein, RSO executive director, said Lopera has increased audience engagement during those talks, and questions are encouraged. 

To reduce walking obstacles, RSO will again offer a free shuttle bus to pick up patrons from the parking lot, deliver them to Civic Hall’s circle drive and return them to their vehicles afterward.