Ah, opening night: tuxedos, long gowns, diamond necklaces, champagne in tall, elegant glasses… Oh, wait. That’s the NY Metropolitan Opera.

But in Laramie, opening night at the symphony is just as special. It’s been months since you heard the orchestra, and months since they could play for you. Everyone is excited!

UW Symphony conductor Michael Griffith’s first downbeat will start Wagner’s Meistersinger Overture. It’s a powerful, massive, and yet achingly beautiful piece of music. What an exciting way to start the season.

Dr. Griffith named the concert after the orchestra’s next work: the Symphony No. 94, nicknamed the Surprise Symphony, by Franz Joseph Haydn. Haydn was decades earlier than Wagner, part of the “Classical Era” of music history, while Wagner was firmly in the “Romantic Era.” As such, the orchestra is smaller, the sound clearer and more immediate. It’s exciting, occasionally humorous, and sometimes elegant. It’s up to you to research the nickname – no spoilers here. Or let yourself be surprised!

After intermission they’ll do a brief curtain-raiser: the “Procession of Nobles” from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mlada. As the title suggests, it’s a stately entry march, full of brass fanfares and powerful 19^th Century Russian fire.

Then comes the big piece: the world premiere of The Point for Jazz Piano Trio and Orchestra. This is a full three-movement concerto, but with decidedly jazz-influenced rhythms and harmonies. UW’s incredible faculty jazz trio, Live Edge, are the soloists. Over the past decade or two, UW’s jazz area has grown incredibly. The top student Jazz Ensemble has even twice played at Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC. So to show symphony audience this wonderful side to UW, the Symphony Association and the Music Department commissioned Wil Swindler to write this concerto. And YOU get to witness the very first performance!

What a concert…18^th century classicism…19^th century passion…and 21^st century crossover excitement. The players hope you’re as energized by all this as they are.

Get tickets here