Nashville, Tenn. (November 17, 2022) – A Music City holiday tradition returns to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center as Knoxville Symphony Orchestra conductor Aram Demirjian makes his debut with the Nashville Symphony and Chorus for three performances of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, December 8, 9 and 11. Tickets are available now at nashvillesymphony.org/messiah.
The Symphony’s annual Messiah performances are considered Nashville’s grandest presentation of Handel’s enduring and beloved masterpiece. With the resounding “Hallelujah” Chorus as the centerpiece, the libretto and glorious score recount the Old Testament stories of Luke of the annunciation of the shepherds of the birth of Christ, his passion and death, and the resurrection and ascension.
Four esteemed soloists join the Nashville Symphony and Chorus for this inspirational seasonal favorite – soprano Yulia Van Doren, mezzo-soprano Sofia Selowsky, tenor Matthew White and bass David Crawford.
“Of all of the Nashville Symphony’s holiday traditions, Handel’s Messiah, for many, is the ultimate spiritual expression of the Christmas season,” said Tucker Biddlecombe, Chorus Director of Nashville Symphony Orchestra. “The Schermerhorn provides the perfect majestic and reverential atmosphere for the telling of this miraculous story – an experience that is truly not to be missed.”
About Conductor Aram Demirjian
Recipient of The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award from The Solti Foundation U.S., conductor Aram Demirjian is widely acclaimed for his transformative work as Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO).
Aram has led the KSO to new artistic heights and national recognition for its achievements, including their selection in 2020 as one of four orchestras to be featured at SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras, presented by the Kennedy Center and Washington Performing Arts. His visionary programming emphasizes cross- disciplinary collaboration and initiatives that excite audiences and broaden the idea of what one can expect to see on the symphonic stage, with an emphasis on music by American composers, living composers and composers from groups underrepresented on the symphonic stage.
Aram and the KSO regularly perform as part of the internationally renowned Big Ears Festival, most recently in a performance with jazz saxophonist and clarinetist Shabaka Hutchings. In April 2022, Aram, the KSO and Tessa Lark premiered Michael Schachter’s Violin Concerto: Cycle of Life, jointly commissioned by the KSO and Knoxville Museum of Art. The project, inspired by glass artist Richard Jolley’s work, was profiled by the PBS show Craft in America.
Great seats are available starting at $29 (while supplies last, additional fees apply), and the Symphony’s Soundcheck program offers $10 tickets to students in K-12, college, and graduate school.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Performance Details:
Nashville Symphony & Chorus
Aram Demirjian, conductor
Tucker Biddlecombe, chorus director
Yulia Van Doren, soprano
Sofia Selowsky, mezzo-soprano
Matthew White, tenor
David Crawford, bass
Thursday, December 8 at 7:00pm
Friday, December 9 at 8:00pm
Sunday, December 11 at 2:00pm
Schermerhorn Symphony Center | 1 Symphony Place | Nashville, TN
Ticket Link: nashvillesymphony.org/messiah
Program:
Handel – Messiah
Full program notes and artist bios can be found at nashvillesymphony.org/messiah.
Tickets for Handel’s Messiah may be purchased:
- Online at nashvillesymphony.org/messiah
- Via phone at 615-687-6400
The GRAMMY® Award-winning Nashville Symphony has earned an international reputation for its innovative programming and its commitment to performing, recording, and commissioning works by America’s leading composers. With more than 140 performances annually, the orchestra offers a broad range of classical, pops and jazz, and children’s concerts, along with an extensive selection of education and community engagement programs. The Nashville Symphony has released 40 internationally distributed recordings on Naxos, which have received 27 GRAMMY® nominations and 14 GRAMMY® Awards, making it one of the most active recording orchestras in the country. The orchestra has also released recordings on Decca, Deutsche Grammophon and New West Records.
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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