Back by popular demand, violinist Alexi Kenney makes his fourth solo appearance with The Symphony in a concert that will also feature Brahms’ First Symphony. Kenney will perform Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, a work that holds special significance to the performer as it was the concerto that initially brought him to the city when he made his debut with The Santa Fe Symphony in 2015. Since that time, Kenney has become a favorite of local listeners. But the violinist is quick to point out the affection is mutual. “The Santa Fe Symphony will always hold a dear place in my heart. The joy, passion, commitment, and positive energy of this group is something very special. I love reconnecting with my friends in the orchestra and the community. I’m so looking forward to opening their 2025-2026 Season.” Brahms’ First Symphony was more than 20 years in the making. The composer was widely assumed to be “Beethoven’s successor” and to produce symphonies of equal depth and intellectual scope. It was an expectation Brahms was uneasy about, given Beethoven’s monumental reputation. His worries proved unfounded, however — Brahms’ First Symphony was so enthusiastically received that some listeners actually nicknamed it “Beethoven’s Tenth” because “it was just that good.”

Under the direction of guest conductor Maximiano Valdés, The Santa Fe Symphony presents percussionist Svet Stoyanov in the local debut of Emmanuel Séjourné’s jazz-inspired Concerto for Marimba and String Orchestra. Critics across the U.S. are raving about Stoyanov’s virtuosity on the marimba, calling him inspired and a driving force in the world of modern percussion. Guest conductor Maximiamo Valdés, Music Director of the Puerto Rico Symphony, leads this dazzling concert of music “made in the USA,” and other ports of call in the New World — works such as Sinfonía No. 7 from Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra and the final work on this program, an homage to life in the United States at the dawn of the 20th century — Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, better known as “The New World Symphony.”

Handel’s Messiah is a glorious oratorio, full of soaring arias, memorable choruses, and all the elegance we associate with the High Baroque. This masterpiece is also one of the most enduring messages of hope in the entire choral repertoire. The Symphony’s annual performance at the Lensic is a Santa Fe tradition and a “can’t miss” event of the holiday season. Conducted by Music Director Guillermo Figueroa and featuring the full Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with choral direction by Carmen Flórez-Mansi, this year’s cast of soloists include four exceptional graduates of the Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Singers Program: soprano Elisa Sunshine, mezzo-soprano Gretchen Krupp, tenor Ryan Bryce Johnson, and bass-baritone Sam Dhobhany. The runtime for Messiah is 2.5 hours with one intermission.

Experience a brilliant program packed with winter and holiday favorites the entire family can enjoy. Led by Maestro Guillermo Figueroa, with a special appearance by guest conductor Laurie Rossi, we are thrilled to once again share the stage with our very own Santa Fe Symphony Youth Orchestra, led by William Waag, as they join us for the first side-by-side performance of the season. You’ll also hear the senior division winner of our 2025 Concerto Competition, and so much more. Join us and kick off your holiday season in style!

What better way to ring in the New Year than with an exciting program featuring all your favorites from the world of opera performed by members of The Santa Fe Symphony and Chorus. Enjoy overtures and melodies from Mozart, Rossini, Bizet and Leoncavallo alongside dances, choruses and other works from Verdi, Borodin, and Wagner. Selections from this “night at the opera” include showstopping music from The Magic Flute, Carmen, The Barber of Seville, I Pagliacci, Nabucco, Il Trovatore, Prince Igor, Lohengrin and Tannheuser.

Music Director Guillermo Figueroa conducts Romance & Rhapsody, featuring GRAMMY®-nominated pianist Olga Kern performing not only Rachmaninov’s beloved Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, but Haydn’s Harpsichord Concerto in D Major as well. With a vivid onstage presence, dazzling technique, and keen musicianship, Kern is widely recognized as one of the great artists of her generation, captivating audiences across the globe. Critics rave about her “electricity at the keyboard,” that her performances “flow through her fingers and take on voltage” while generating “an energy that’s uniquely and unmistakably her own.” Dmitri Shostakovich’s groundbreaking first symphony completes the program. Lighter in tone than his later works, it includes flashes of the music he performed while working as a pianist in vaudeville shows and silent movie houses, as well as fabulous solos for nearly every section of the orchestra, all while the music shifts between lively wit and moments of great drama and tragedy.

Your toes will be tapping when The Santa Fe Symphony presents Symphonic Dances from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, just one of the works featured on this high-spirited afternoon of symphonic dances. In what promises to be another stunning performance led by Music Director Guillermo Figueroa, the concert also includes a side-by-side performance with members of The Santa Fe Symphony Youth Orchestra performing Moncayo’s Huapango. Gabriela Lena Frank’s Three Latin American Dances and Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 round out the program. Barber’s poignant setting of James Agee’s idyllic childhood prior to his father’s passing, and the subsequent scattering of his immediate family, paints a nostalgic picture of the American South—and the text, sung by soprano Ann Toomey, enhances the dreamlike quality of the music.

Music Director Guillermo Figueroa conducts The Santa Fe Symphony in two glorious works from the 19th century. The concert opens with Beethoven’s 1st Symphony, a beautiful glance backward to the symphonies of Haydn and Mozart. Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote: Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character, performed by guest cellist David Finckel, concludes the program. The first American student of Mstislav Rostropovich, Finckel’s 34-year tenure as cellist with the Emerson String Quartet earned him nine Grammy Awards and the highly coveted Avery Fisher Prize. Don Quixote was inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ ageless 17th-century novel. Strauss gave the solo cello the role of the knight, Don Quixote de la Mancha, providing musical lines that evoke nobility and a rueful grace as the knight travels through the enchantments, quarrels, battles, challenges, wooings, loves, and storms that enrich the Don’s fantasy life.

With its shimmering orchestration and primal rhythms, Carl Orff’s “scenic cantata” Carmina burana is already a mainstay in the canon of contemporary music for choir and orchestra. Its lyrics are based on 24 Medieval poems addressing issues as familiar to us today as they were when they were first written in the 13th century — the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the ephemeral nature of life, the joy of spring’s return, and the pleasures and perils of drinking, gluttony, gambling and, of course, love. The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus join forces with soprano Amy Owens, tenor Spencer Hamlin, bass-baritone Ed Parks, and a cadre of local singers and instrumentalists to make this season finale a veritable tour de force. This outstanding program opens with Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel’s Overture in C Major, followed by Ruxandra Marquardt, associate concertmaster of The Santa Fe Symphony, performing Mozart’s 5th Violin Concerto, also known as “The Turkish.”

Program to be announced.

Our Fall Showcase #1 features performances by students in the following ensembles:

Running Start Beginning String Orchestra
Cantate Youth Chorus
Caldera Jazz Combo
Potrillo Jazz Combo
Guaje Jazz Combo
Chamber Music Trio

Our Fall Showcase 2 features performances by students in the following ensembles:

Anima Youth Chorus
Prelude String Orchestra
Intermezzo String Orchestra
Mariachi Citlali

Fall Showcase III: All That Jazz features performances by students in the following ensembles:

Tesuque Jazz Combo
Pajarito Jazz Combo
Capulin Jazz Combo
Atalaya Jazz Combo
Quemazon Jazz Combo

Fall Showcase 4: Symphonic Splendor features performances by students in the following ensembles:

Youth Philharmonic
Youth Symphony Orchestra
Sierra String Quartet

Our Spring Showcase #1 features performances by students in the following ensembles:

Running Start Beginning String Orchestra
Cantate Youth Chorus
Caldera Jazz Combo
Potrillo Jazz Combo
Guaje Jazz Combo
Chamber Music Trio

Spring Showcase 2 features performances by students in the following ensembles:

Anima Youth Chorus
Prelude String Orchestra
Intermezzo String Orchestra
Mariachi Citlali

Spring Showcase III: All That Jazz features performances by students in the following ensembles:

Tesuque Jazz Combo
Pajarito Jazz Combo
Capulin Jazz Combo
Atalaya Jazz Combo
Quemazon Jazz Combo

Spring Showcase 4: Symphonic Splendor features performances by students in the following ensembles:

Youth Philharmonic
Youth Symphony Orchestra
Sierra String Quartet