Albany Symphony Unveils 2026-2027 Season with Beethoven, Mozart, and World Premieres

The two-time GRAMMY Award-winning Albany Symphony has unveiled its 2026-2027 season, an expansive musical journey that bridges centuries, continents, and traditions. From the cinematic splendor of Respighi's Pines of Rome and Strauss' monumental Ein Heldenleben to Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto and Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 1, the season pairs beloved masterworks with bold new voices shaping the future of American music.

Audiences will experience world premieres by Viet Cuong, Celka Ojakangas, and Sam Wu, as well as recent works by Albany Symphony favorites Reena Esmail, Jennifer Higdon, and Gabriela Lena Frank. Internationally celebrated artists including Emanuel Ax, Michelle Cann, Time for Three, and Timothy McAllister share the stage with extraordinary rising stars such as violinist Amaryn Olmeda and cellist Sterling Elliott.

Concerts take place at the region's acoustically magnificent venues, including the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, EMPAC in Troy and the Palace Theatre in Albany.

The season opens in October with a program that immediately establishes the scope and imagination of the year ahead. Respighi's Pines of Rome transforms the orchestra into a technicolor soundscape, depicting scenes of the Eternal City with cinematic grandeur that still feels modern nearly a century later. Violinist Amaryn Olmeda, an 18-year-old artist already attracting international attention, performs Korngold's sumptuous Violin Concerto, beloved for its sweeping lyricism and golden-age romanticism. The evening also includes the world premiere of a new work by Celka Ojakangas, a wildly creative composer known for blending vivid orchestral color with deeply personal storytelling, and Rossini's thrilling classic, the William Tell Overture.

November turns inward to music of warmth, reflection, and emotional power. Brahms' Symphony No. 3 is often considered his most intimate symphony, filled with autumnal beauty and noble restraint. Sterling Elliot, making his Albany Symphony debut, is one of today's most compelling young cellists. He brings profound expressiveness to Elgar's Cello Concerto, a piece forever associated with longing and quiet dignity. Aaron Copland's bracing Orchestral Variations brings the program back to our own time, as does the world premiere by Sam Wu, whose work draws inspiration from science, design, and the cosmos, offering a contemporary counterpoint to the Romantic masterworks.

December's holiday concerts return audiences to the elegance and brilliance of the Classical era. Emanuel Ax, one of the world's most revered pianists, performs Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25, a work of regal beauty and joyful sophistication. In addition extraordinary young composers including Isaac Santos and Elise Winkler will offer short new works for spoken word and orchestra, celebrating America's future. Handel's Sinfonia from Messiah, a sparkling Vivaldi bassoon concerto, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 complete a program that celebrates clarity, balance, and timeless musical grace in the warm and brilliant acoustics of the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. The Magic of Christmas will return in early December, celebrating the best and brightest Capital Region artistic groups served up with a big dash of holiday spirit for all to enjoy.

January's concert at the Palace Theatre embraces grandeur and heroism on a sweeping scale. Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries opens the evening with thunderous energy, followed by Kevin Puts' Contact, performed by the genre-defying, extremely fun, GRAMMY award-winning trio, Time for Three. The work explores human connection and the vastness of space in a style that blurs classical and contemporary boundaries. Strauss' monumental tone poem Ein Heldenlebencloses the program, portraying the life of a hero in a virtuosic tour-de-force of extraordinary richness and orchestral brilliance.

Valentine's Weekend in February overflows with passion and drama. Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy and Francesca da Rimini frame the concert with two of the composer's most emotionally charged works. In addition, virtuoso saxophonist Timothy McAllister performs two concertos, the world premiere of the Saxophone Concerto by Albany Symphony favorite Viet Cuong, and Jennifer Higdon's beautiful Saxophone Concerto from 2007.

March welcomes a brilliant guest conductor, Rei Hotoda and acclaimed pianist Michelle Cann for Beethoven's majestic Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor," a work of triumphant grandeur and noble lyricism. The program also includes Sibelius' Symphony No. 5, inspired by the Finnish landscape and filled with expansive melodies and stirring orchestral textures, alongside Juan Pablo Contreras' Alma Monarca, a vibrant work inspired by Mexican tradition.

In April, the orchestra explores deep emotional and cultural connections through the music of Reena Esmail and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Esmail's works Vishwas and My Sister's Voice blend Hindustani and Western classical traditions while exploring themes of sisterhood and shared humanity. Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 1, once misunderstood and now recognized as a powerful early statement from the great Romantic composer, brings sweeping intensity and lush orchestration to the program.

The season concludes in June at EMPAC with the Albany Symphony's signature American Music Festival, celebrating America's 251st anniversary. Barber's Symphony No. 1 anchors a program of vivid contemporary voices, including new works by Viet Cuong, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Tanner Porter. Sandbox Percussion and the Takács Quartet join the orchestra for a festival finale that reflects the global influences and diverse perspectives shaping American music today.

Rome, Romance, and a Rising Star

Palace Theatre | October 3, 7:30pm

David Alan Miller, conductor
Amaryn Olmeda, violin

Gioachino Rossini: William Tell Overture
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Violin Concerto
Celka Ojakangas: New Work (World Premiere)
Ottorino Respighi: Pines of Rome

Passion & Power: Brahms & Elgar

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall | November 7, 3:00pm and 7:30pm

David Alan Miller, conductor
Sterling Elliot, cello

Sam Wu: New Work (World Premiere)
Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto
Aaron Copland: Orchestral Variations
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 3

Mozart & Manny: A Classical Holiday

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall | December 19, 7:30pm and December 20, 3:00pm

David Alan Miller, conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano
Lauren Henning, bassoon

Georg Friderich Handel: Sinfonia from Messiah
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 25
Antonio Vivaldi: Bassoon Concerto
Isaac Santos, Elise Winkler, composer TBD: Three Poems for a New World (World Premiere)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 2

A Hero's Journey

Palace Theatre | January 23, 7:30pm

David Alan Miller, conductor
Time for Three

Richard Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries
Kevin Puts: Contact
Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life)

Romeo & Viet Cuong

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall | February 13, 7:30pm and February 14, 3:00pm

David Alan Miller, conductor
Timothy McAllister, saxophone

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy
Viet Cuong: Saxophone Concerto (World Premiere)
Jennifer Higdon: Saxophone Concerto
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini

The Emperor & Sibelius

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall | March 20, 7:30pm and March 21, 3:00pm

Rei Hotoda, conductor
Michelle Cann, piano

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor"
Juan Pablo Contreras: Alma Monarca
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 5

Rachmaninoff & Reena Esmail

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall | April 10, 7:30pm and April 11, 3:00pm

David Alan Miller, conductor
Saali Oak, soprano
Lucy Fitz Gibbon, soprano

Reena Esmail: Vishwas
Reena Esmail: My Sister's Voice (Meri Sakhi Ki Avaaz)
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 1

American Music Festival Concert

EMPAC in Troy | June 12, 7:30pm

David Alan Miller, conductor
Sandbox Percussion
Takács Quartet

Samuel Barber: Symphony No. 1
Viet Cuong: New Work for Percussion Quartet and Orchestra
Gabriela Lena Frank: Kachkanaraqmi (I Still Exist)
Tanner Porter: Palimpsest

Additional Concerts

Subscribers have early access to these concerts at discounted pricing.

Magic of Christmas
December 6, 2027 | Palace Theatre

Star Wars and More: The Music of John Williams
May 1, 2027 | Palace Theatre

Dogs of Desire
June 11, 2027 | EMPAC in Troy