South Dakota Symphony Orchestra Announces 2024-25 Season

The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra has announced details of the 2024-25 season, its 103rd, which will feature the greatly anticipated revival of Giants in the Earth – the Pulitzer Prize winning opera by American composer Douglas Moore (The Ballad of Baby Doe) based on Ole Edvart Rølvaag's epic novel about Norwegian settlers of the Dakota Territory in 1873.  The SDSO's production will be the first ever fully professional staging of Moore's opera.  More details on Giants in the Earth can be found at the bottom of this release.

The new season opens October 5th in the Washington Pavilion with a program featuring Symphonie fantastique of Hector Berlioz and acclaimed American violinist Rachel Barton Pine as soloist for Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy and Wynton Marsalis' “The Fiddler and the Dancin' Witch.”  Other highlights include SDSO principal cellist Robert Erhard as soloist for Dvorak's Cello Concerto (Nov. 16, 2024), the world premiere of Theodore Wiprud's Violin Concerto No. 2 on the brink (Jan. 25, 2025), Tchaikovsky's fantasy overture from Romeo & Juliet alongside a trio of works by influential women composers (Feb. 15, 2024), and a multi-media program with music of Ravel and Stravinsky created by Joseph Horowitz that explores the impact of “New World” creative icons including George Gershwin, Josephine Baker, and Woody Herman on “Old World” Europe and Russia (Mar. 1, 2025).  The South Dakota Symphony Chorus will be featured in Handel's Messiah (December 6 & 7, 2024) and Mozart's “Great” Mass in C Minor (Apr. 5, 2025).  On Sunday, February 16, the SDSO will offer a 60-minute concert specifically tailored to young listeners illustrating how classical music expresses our emotions. 

Popular presentations include vocal powerhouse Capathia Jenkins in songs made famous by the great ladies of soul, the annual celebration of the holidays – ‘Tis the Season – and a tribute to the music and culture of Ireland. 

“With the help of some extremely generous funders, we are able to bring to life some very exciting projects that have been in the planning stages for some time,” said SDSO Music Director Delta David Gier about the new season. “One of the most exciting is Giants in the Earth-an opera based on the iconic novel by Ole Rølvaag, which tells the story of Norwegian homesteaders coming right here to eastern South Dakota during the 1870s.  Of course, this new season is filled with wonderful symphonic masterworks and prestigious soloists, along with two exciting world premieres by important contemporary American composers.”

Subscription packages for the new season go on sale tomorrow, February 16th at 10am through 3e Encore Guest Services at (605) 367-6000. Open 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday – Saturday, and 11:30a.m – 5:00p.m Sunday.  A variety of options are available, including the Imperial package which features a discount equivalent to three free concerts.

2024-2025 Season

All performances begin at 7:30pm in the Washington Pavilion unless otherwise noted.

SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE

Saturday, October 5

Delta David Gier, conductor

Rachel Barton Pine, violin

SARASATE           Carmen Fantasy

MARSALIS           “The Fiddler and the Dancin' Witch”

BERLIOZ               Symphonie fantastique

SHE'S GOT SOUL

featuring Capathia Jenkins

Saturday, October 19

Vocal powerhouse Capathia Jenkins brought the legacy of Aretha Franklin to life in 2021.  She returns to Sioux Falls to perform R&B and Soul hits by superstars Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Adele and more.

ROBERT ERHARD PLAYS DVORAK

Saturday, November 16

Delta David Gier, conductor

Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano

Robert Erhard, cello

SMETANA           The Moldau from Ma Vlast

MORAVEC           A New Country (World Premiere of Orchestra Version)
COPLAND            Old American Songs
                                                Simple Gifts
                                                Long Time Ago
                                                I Bought Me a Cat
                                                At the River

DVORAK              Cello Concerto

HANDEL'S “MESSIAH”

Friday, December 6, 7:00pm

Saturday, December 7, 7:00pm

First Lutheran Church

Delta David Gier, conductor

South Dakota Symphony Orchestra Chorus

‘TIS THE SEASON

Saturday, December 14

Sunday, December 15, 2:30pm

South Dakota Symphony Orchestra Chorus

BEATS & BEETHOVEN

Saturday, January 25

Delta David Gier, conductor

Elissa Cassini, violin

Camilla Tassi, projection designer

VIET CUONG      Re(new)al:  Percussion Quartet Concerto

WIPRUD               Concerto for Violin No. 2, on the brink (World Premiere)

BEETHOVEN       Symphony No. 4

VALENTINE'S ROMANCE

Saturday, February 15

Delta David Gier, conductor

TCHAIKOVSKY                   Fantasy Overture from Romeo & Juliet

RAVEL                                   Pavane for a Dead Princess

MASSENET                          Meditation from Thais

BEACH                                  Bal Masque

CLYNE                                   Masquerade
PROKOFIEV                        The Love for Three Oranges
MASCAGNI                         Cavalleria rusticana: Intermezzo
ELGAR                                   Salut d'amour
BOULANGER                      D'un matins de Printemps
SAINT SAENS                      Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah

CONCERT FOR KIDS & FAMILIES

Sunday, February 16, 4:00pm

A special addition to this season, the Concert for Kids & Families will delight audiences of all ages.  Designed to ignite your imagination, this 60-minute concert is an introduction to the orchestra and how classical music expresses our emotions.

NEW WORLD ENCOUNTERS:  American mavericks shake up the Old World

Saturday, March 1

Joseph Horowitz, cultural historian

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, piano

Doosook Kim, violin

Joseph Horowitz, who expertly set the stage for the SDSO's triumphant performance of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony in February of 2023, returns to Sioux Falls with a multi-media extravaganza on how the popular culture of the New World - and icons such as George Gershwin and Josephine Baker - influenced the Old World.

HINDEMITH        Scherzo from Symphonic Metamorphoses (with jazz fugue)

RAVEL                   “Blues” from Sonata for violin and piano
RAVEL                   Piano Concerto in G Major

STRAVINSKY       The Soldier's Tale (excerpts)

STRAVINSKY       Symphony in Three Movements

A CELTIC CELEBRATION

Saturday, March 15

The South Dakota Symphony celebrates the magic and music of the Emerald Isle.  Featuring highlights from epic scores to Far and Away (John Williams) and Titanic (James Horner), and the most beloved of all Irish ballads, Danny Boy.

MOZART'S GREAT MASS

Saturday, April 5

Delta David Gier, conductor

South Dakota Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Dr. Timothy J. Cambell, conductor

BACH                                     Sehet, wir gehn hunauf gen Jerusalem
MENDELSSOHN                O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden

MOZART                              Great Mass in C Minor

GIANTS IN THE EARTH

The Norwegians in the Dakota Territory

Saturday, April 26

Sunday, April 27, 2:30pm

Delta David Gier, conductor

South Dakota Symphony Orchestra Chorus

MOORE

Giants in the Earth (in 3 acts, staged with imagery, costumes, and sung in English)

About the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra

The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra (SDSO) is based in the vibrant and growing city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The SDSO is the state's premier performing arts organization with the Washington Pavilion as its home.  Led by Maestro Delta David Gier, the SDSO has garnered a national reputation for innovative programming and statewide outreach.  The core of SDSO is comprised of nine full-time professional musicians who make up the Dakota String Quartet and the Dakota Wind Quintet.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!