San Antonio Symphony to 'Spring' Into Action with Abba, John Williams, Handel's MESSIAH and More

Following the acclaimed Strauss Festival that wrapped up its winter season, the San AntonioSymphony is closing out its year with a stellar series of musical performances ranging from the always popular Pops series featuring ARRIVAL from Sweden performing The Music of ABBA, a musical tribute the John Williams to an exploration of Baroque, with Handel's Messiah.

"Coming off of the Strauss Festival and the winter series, concert goers should expect an exciting array of musical styles and performances, from the more serious pieces to the downright fun," said David Gross, president of the San Antonio Symphony. "Whether your musical tastes run from the 17th century symphonic to 21st century pop, there is something for everyone to enjoy. We would love for every San Antonio resident experience the musical joy that is your San Antonio Symphony."

Spring highlights:

- The Music of ABBA features the music of what is arguably Sweden's most popular export. Make plans to attend performances from March 6-8, at the H-E-B Performance Hall at the Tobin Center, with Conductor Akiko Fujimoto and special guest ARRIVAL from Sweden.
- Petrushka, Stravinsky's astonishingly inventive work about a melancholy puppet that springs to life and yearns for love is the centerpiece of this performance that celebrates the sound of Russian folk music. Petrushka takes place March 20-21 at the H-E-B Performance Hall at the Tobin Center with Daniel Raiskin conducting and featuring Alexei Volodin on piano.
- Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II celebrates the world's most beloved Looney Tunes. Marvel at the magnificent scores behind your favorite cartoon characters as Bugs, Daffy, Sylvester and all of your beloved favorites are projected on the big screen. Bugs Bunny comes to life April 3-4, at the Majestic Theatre, with George Daugherty conducting.
- Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez - Known for his exquisite expressiveness, guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas performs Rodrigo's most popular work, Concierto de Aranjuez, a work the composer described as reminiscent of "the hidden breeze that stirs the treetops" on April 10-12 at the H-E-B Performance Hall at the Tobin Center.

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COMPLETE LIST OF CONCERTS:

LANG LANG IN RECITAL
March 2, 2015, 7:30 p.m. | H-E-B Performance Hall at The Tobin Center

J. S. Bach Italian Concerto BMV 971 in F major
Tchaikovsky The Seasons
Chopin Scherzo No. 1 B minor Op. 20
Scherzo No. 2 B-flat minor Op. 31
Scherzo No. 3 C-sharp minor Op. 39
Scherzo No. 4 E major Op. 54

Co-Presented by The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

H-E-B POPS SERIES PRESENTS
ARRIVAL FROM SWEDEN | THE MUSIC OF ABBA
March 6 & 7, 2015, 8:00 p.m., March 8, 2015, 3:00 p.m. | H-E-B Performance Hall at The Tobin Center
Akiko Fujimoto, conductor

Experience the musical excitement of one of the world's most popular and best-selling ABBA show bands, ARRIVAL from Sweden. The band has toured over 50 countries, having embarked on 30 sold-out tours in North America since 2005, and they have appeared on TV and radio shows all over the world. ARRIVAL from Sweden delivers hits such as Mamma Mia, Voulez Vous and Dancing Queen with such accuracy that you'll almost believe it's the real ABBA.

VALERO CLASSICS SERIES PRESENTS
PETRUSHKA
March 20 & 21, 2015, 8:00 p.m., March 22, 2015, 3:00 p.m. | H-E-B Performance Hall at The Tobin Center
Daniel Raiskin, conductor | Alexei Volodin, piano

PETER LIEUWEN Samba Spirits
TCHAIKOVSKY Voyevoda, Symphonic Ballad
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2
STRAVINSKY Petrushka (1947 version)

Revel in the sounds of Russian folk tunes with Stravinsky's astonishingly inventive work, Petrushka, about a melancholy puppet that springs to life and yearns for love.

BAROQUE SERIES
HANDEL'S MESSIAH
April 2, 2015, 7:30 p.m. | Empire Theatre **Note new venue
Akiko Fujimoto, conductor
San Antonio Symphony Mastersingers, John Silantien, director
Sherezade Panthaki, soprano | Kirsten Sollek, alto
Scott Mello, tenor | Sumner Thompson, bass

What could be better than hearing the greatest story ever told, set to the most exalted music, during the season when it was meant to be heard? You heard it right-the San Antonio Symphony, four vocal soloists and the Mastersingers are joining forces to bring Handel's most famous work, Messiah, to the Empire Theatre during the week before Easter. Don't worry, we will be sure to perform your favorite selections from its Christmas portion, too!

SPECIAL EVENT
BUGS BUNNY AT THE SYMPHONY II
April 3 & 4, 2015, 8:00 p.m. | Majestic Theatre
George Daugherty, conductor

Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II celebrates the world's most beloved Looney Tunes and their legendary stars are projected on the big screen - Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Pepe Le Pew, Tweety, Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote, and Road Runner - while their extraordinary original scores are played LIVE by the San Antonio Symphony. Conducted and created by George Daugherty, this new concert has delighted concertgoers around the world, and spotlights acclaimed classics such as What's Opera, Doc?, The Rabbit of Seville, and Rhapsody Rabbit, along with the eye-popping brand-new Warner Bros. 3D theatrical shorts I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat and Coyote Falls. Plus special guest stars Tom and Jerry will make an appearance! Join us for an evening of family fun at the Majestic Theatre.
TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
TM & © Turner Entertainment Co.
(s.14)

VALERO CLASSICS SERIES PRESENTS
RODRIGO: CONCIERTO DE ARANJUEZ
April 10 & 11, 2015, 8:00 p.m., April 12, 2015, 3:00 p.m. | H-E-B Performance Hall at The Tobin Center
Pedro Halffter, conductor | Pablo Sáinz Villegas, guitar | Octavio Moreno, baritone

PEDRO HALFFTER American Prelude
HALFFTER Las campanas de Gran Canaria
RODRIGO Concierto de Aranjuez for Guitar and Orchestra
GINASTERA Estancia

Known for his exquisite expressiveness, guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas performs Rodrigo's most popular work, Concierto de Aranjuez, a work the composer described as reminiscent of "the hidden breeze that stirs the treetops."

H-E-B POPS SERIES PRESENTS
FIESTA POPS
April 17 & 18, 2015, 8:00 p.m., April 19, 2015, 3:00 p.m. | H-E-B Performance Hall at The Tobin Center
Akiko Fujimoto, conductor | Mariachi Campanas de America
Guadalupe Dance Company | Sebastien De La Cruz, vocalist

Join the San Antonio Symphony for the annual Fiesta Pops concert featuring the music, dance and culture of San Antonio and South Texas. Enjoy the beautiful sounds of Campanas de America and a colorful corps of dancers with the Guadalupe Dance Company. And delight in the singing of Sebastien De La Cruz as he delivers beloved songs with his whole heart and soul. This program is sure to get you into the Fiesta spirit!

VALERO CLASSICS SERIES PRESENTS
BEETHOVEN 7
May 1 & 2, 2015, 8:00 p.m. | H-E-B Performance Hall at The Tobin Center
Steven Sloane, conductor | Evelyn Glennie, percussion

ARTURO MÁRQUEZ American Prelude
CORIGLIANO Conjurer: Concerto for Percussionist and String Orchestra
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7

Evelyn Glennie, percussion virtuosa, plays Corigliano's 2014 Grammy-award-winning Conjurer, which is paired with Beethoven's 7th Symphony, whose slow movement provided a magnificent backdrop for King George's radio delivery in The King's Speech.

H-E-B POPS SERIES PRESENTS
CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE
May 8 & 9, 2015, 8:00 p.m., May 10, 2015, 3:00 p.m. | H-E-B Performance Hall at The Tobin Center
Akiko Fujimoto, conductor

Back by popular demand! The magic of Cirque returns to the Symphony for an evening filled with high-flying aerialists, daredevil cyclists, jugglers, and more, performing incredible acrobatic feats of wonder, all choreographed to classical music favorites performed by the San Antonio Symphony.

VALERO CLASSICS SERIES PRESENTS
MOZART VIOLIN CONCERTO
May 15 & 16, 2015, 8:00 p.m. | H-E-B Performance Hall at The Tobin Center
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor | Jennifer Koh, violin

DANIEL BERNARD ROUMAIN American Prelude
KODÁLY Dances of Galánta
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 4
BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra

Jennifer Koh, returns to San Antonio to give a sparkling performance of Mozart's 4th Violin Concerto: a grand contrast to Bartók's virtuosic Concerto for Orchestra spotlighting the entire orchestra.

H-E-B POPS SERIES PRESENTS
STAR WARS AND MORE: THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS
May 22 & 23, 2015, 8:00 p.m. | H-E-B Performance Hall at The Tobin Center
Stuart Chafetz, conductor

Guest conductor Stuart Chafetz leads this all-orchestral extravaganza in a program featuring Hollywood's greatest composer of all time, John Williams. The program will highlight music from Star Wars, Schindler's List, Harry Potter, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. and much more.

VALERO CLASSICS SERIES PRESENTS
TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO
May 29 & 30, 2015, 8:00 p.m. | H-E-B Performance Hall at The Tobin Center
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor | Alexander Gavrylyuk, piano

DETLEV GLANERT American Prelude No. 3
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10

Pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk takes command of Tchaikovsky's incredibly popular Piano Concerto No. 1. Expressing "human emotions and passions," Shostakovich's monumental Symphony No. 10 is in response to the oppressively brutal Stalin era.

DISCOVER CASUAL CLASSICS
DISCOVER - TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO
May 31, 2015, 3:00 p.m. | H-E-B Performance Hall at The Tobin Center
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor | Alexander Gavrylyuk, piano

Discover why Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with its sweeping melodies and extraordinarily Russian spirit is so universally popular with audiences today. The performance will include video close-ups of the orchestra with insights from Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing.

VALERO CLASSICS SERIES PRESENTS
PEER GYNT & SCHEHERAZADE
June 5 & 6, 2015, 8:00 p.m. | H-E-B Performance Hall at The Tobin Center
Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor |

Michael Daugherty American Preludes No. 14
Grieg Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46
Grieg Peer Gynt Suite No. 2, Op. 55
Borodin Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade, Op. 35

Grieg's suite from Peer Gynt, a boasting fellow, who must choose between sweet love and a land of grotesque trolls, is the centerpiece of this program of musical tales. Borodin's Polovtsian Dances displays the brilliance of dances played for Russian Prince Igor upon his capture by the Polovtsians, and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade paints musical landscapes as tales that she recounts over 1,000 nights to save her own life.

Programs and artists are subject to change without notice.

About the San Antonio Symphony: The San Antonio Symphony is a non-profit performing arts organization with the mission to inspire and enrich our community by vigorously influencing the artistic fabric of San Antonio through excellent symphonic performance, education and service. The San AntonioSymphony, with more than 70 professional musicians, serves over 130,000 people per year including 45,000 students. To purchase tickets, call the Tobin Center Box Office at (210) 223-8624.