NASHVILLE, TN (June 20, 2023) --The Nashville Symphony has announced six new presentations and concerts with the Orchestra showcasing a diverse range of genres: hip-hop legends Cypress Hill will appear with the Nashville Symphony on Tuesday, September 5; a live presentation of the award-winning podcast Stuff You Should Know on Wednesday, September 6; American Idol icons Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken on Sunday, October 8; the genre-defying The Black Violin Experience on Tuesday, October 10; Blues guitar legend Buddy Guy on Monday, November 20; and beloved Broadway star and actress Kristin Chenoweth with the Nashville Symphony on Saturday, January 20 and Sunday, January 21. Tickets for all six concerts are currently available for 2023/24 season ticket holders and donors of $500+. Tickets for Stuff You Should Know and Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken are on sale to the general public now; general public on sales for Cypress Hill, Buddy Guy and Black Violin begin June 23 at 10:00 AM; and general public on sale for Kristin Chenoweth begins July 21 at 10:00 AM. More information can be found at nashvillesymphony.org/tickets.
Hip-hop legends Cypress Hill join the Nashville Symphony on Tuesday, September 5 at Ascend Amphitheater for a live performance of their highly acclaimed album, Black Sunday. Fans can experience hits from the three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning album including “Insane in the Brain,” “I Ain’t Goin' Out Like That,” “Lick a Shot,” and many more – all performed live with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. More information and tickets at nashvillesymphony.org/cypresshill.
Stuff You Should Know (SYSK), the award-winning podcast hosted by Chuck Bryant and Josh Clark, comes to the Schermerhorn stage on Wednesday, September 6 at 7:30pm. Twice weekly since 2008, SYSK has released episodes cracking open the mechanics, history, and cultural, and scientific impact of topics ranging from Ouija boards to asteroid mining, termites, the game of horseshoes, what would happen if the Earth stopped spinning, peak oil, the effects of going without sleep, bioluminescence, disco, icebergs, the fat tax, and much more. To date, SYSK boasts more than 800 episodes and more than 15 billion downloads by listeners worldwide. More information and tickets at nashvillesymphony.org/sysk.
Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken are thrilled to reunite in Nashville on Sunday, October 8, at 7:30pm, twenty years after captivating audiences during their historic run on the second season of Fox's American Idol. Plucked from the relative obscurity of their hometowns in the South, the unlikely pair quickly became audience favorites. Combined, they have recorded twelve albums, sold more than eight million albums worldwide, toured the country 14 times, starred together on Broadway, won four Billboard Music Awards, an American Music Award, and have been nominated for two GRAMMY® Awards. “Twenty | The Tour” highlights the music that made Ruben & Clay American Idol favorites and household names. From Clay’s iconic rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” to Ruben’s soulful single ”Sorry” join America's favorite odd couple for an unforgettable evening of music and memories – spanning two decades – delivered as only these true superstars can. The Nashville Symphony will not be performing as part of this presentation. More information and tickets at nashvillesymphony.org/rubenclay.
The Black Violin Experience tour showcases the two-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated duo Black Violin, brought to life by Kev Marcus and Wil Baptiste, invoking a mystifying musical fusion of exquisite classical sounds and exhilarating hip-hop beats. On stage, Marcus gives an electrifying violin performance along with Baptiste’s magnetizing viola and vocal delivery. Joining them are Nat Stokes on drums, DJ SPS on the turntable, and Liston Gregory on keys. Together, they are reconceptualizing what a violin concert looks and sounds like, building bridges to a place where Mozart, Marvin Gaye and Kendrick Lamar harmoniously coexist. Principal Pops Conductor Enrico Lopez-Yañez will conduct the Nashville Symphony for The Black Violin’s October 10 concert at 7:30pm. The Nashville Symphony will not be performing as part of this presentation. More information and tickets at nashvillesymphony.org/blackviolin.
Nashville Symphony welcomes blues guitar legend Buddy Guy with special guests Bobby Rush and Tom Hambridge to the Schermerhorn for a rare appearance as part of his Damn Right Farewell tour on Monday, November 20 at 7:30pm. At age 86, Buddy Guy is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee; a major influence on rock titans like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan; a pioneer of Chicago’s fabled West Side sound; and a living link to the city’s halcyon days of electric blues. Buddy Guy has received eight GRAMMY® Awards, a 2015 Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY Award, 38 Blues Music Awards (the most any artist has received), the Billboard Magazine Century Award for distinguished artistic achievement, a Kennedy Center Honor, and the Presidential National Medal of Arts. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #23 in its "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." The Nashville Symphony will not be performing as part of this presentation. More information and tickets at nashvillesymphony.org/buddyguy.
The Nashville Symphony has also announced Broadway icon and actress Kristin Chenoweth’s return to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center stage for two performances with the Nashville Symphony conducted by Mary Mitchell Campbell. The concerts take place Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 7:30pm and Sunday, January 21, 2024 at 2pm. With her starring roles in Wicked, Glee, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and more, Emmy and Tony Award-winning star Kristin Chenoweth has dazzled audiences with her powerhouse vocals and delightful stage presence. Her performances with the Nashville Symphony will showcase show-stopping selections and gorgeous orchestral arrangements. Her most recent appearance with the Nashville Symphony was as the special guest star for the organization’s 19th Annual Symphony Fashion Show, a beloved annual fundraising event that combines fashion, music, and philanthropy to support the Orchestra’s education and community engagement initiatives. More information and tickets at nashvillesymphony.org/kristinchenoweth.
The Nashville Symphony has been the primary ambassador for classical music in Music City since 1946. Led by Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero, the ensemble is internationally acclaimed for its focus on contemporary American orchestral music through collaborations with composers including Jennifer Higdon, Terry Riley, Joan Tower and Aaron Jay Kernis; commissioning and recording projects with Nashville-based artists including Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Ben Folds and Victor Wooten; and for its 14 GRAMMY® Awards. In addition to the classical season, the orchestra performs concerts in a wide range of genres, from pops to live-to-film movie scores, family-focused presentations, holiday events, jazz and cabaret evenings, and more.
An established leader in the Nashville and regional arts and cultural communities, the Symphony spearheads groundbreaking community partnerships and initiatives, notably, Violins of Hope Nashville, which engaged tens of thousands of Middle Tennesseans through concerts, exhibits, lectures by spotlighting a historic collection of instruments played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. Similarly, this spring, the Nashville Symphony presented the world premiere of an epic opera commissioned from Hannibal Lokumbe, The Jonah Project: A Legacy of Struggle and Triumph. Retracing his family’s ancestry and journey from slavery to the present day, Hannibal’s story celebrates the spirit of those who endured and thrived to become Black visionaries and world changers. More at nashvillesymphony.org
In addition to support from Metro Arts and Tennessee Arts Commission, Nashville Symphony is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP5534 awarded to the State of Tennessee by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Nashville Symphony is also supported in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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