The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA Opens The 2025/26 Season With Orff's CARMINA BURANA

Following record-breaking attendance of over 21,000 at the Vancouver USA Arts & Music Festival, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA (VSO) will launch its 2025/26 season with a pair of concerts on Saturday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, September 28 at 3:00 p.m. at Skyview Concert Hall.

Music Director and Conductor Salvador Brotons, celebrating his 35th season with the orchestra, will return to the podium to lead a program featuring Mascagni intermezzi and Orff’s Carmina Burana.

The Portland Symphonic Choir, now in its 80th season, will join the orchestra for the opening concerts. Guest soloists include soprano Abigail Krawson, tenor Sam Faustine, and baritone Zachary Lenox. Both performances will also be available via simultaneous live stream at vancouversymphony.org.

The program begins with five dramatic interludes from operas by Pietro Mascagni—Cavalleria Rusticana, L’amico Fritz, Guglielmo Ratcliff, Isabeau, and Iris. These works, composed between 1889 and 1911, explore themes of revenge, love, death, and freedom. Highlights include the luminous Inno al sole from Iris, in which the Portland Symphonic Choir embodies the rising sun in music that builds to an exultant climax.

Following intermission, the VSO and Portland Symphonic Choir will perform Carl Orff’s timeless masterwork Carmina Burana. Based on medieval poems compiled in 13th-century Germany, the work combines ancient texts with Orff’s bold rhythmic style and striking percussive effects. The result is a dramatic, visceral musical experience that has made Carmina Burana one of the most popular works in the choral-orchestral repertoire.

Ticket Information

Individual and virtual tickets will be on sale beginning Tuesday, September 2, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at vancouversymphony.org or by calling (360) 735-7278. All in-person ticket holders will also have access to the live stream option.

• Saturday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m.
  Pre-concert talk with Maestro Salvador Brotons from 6:00–6:30 p.m.
  Live stream pre-show (Da Capo) begins at 6:30 p.m.

• Sunday, September 28 at 3:00 p.m.
  Pre-concert talk with Maestro Salvador Brotons from 2:00–2:30 p.m.
  Live stream pre-show (Da Capo) begins at 2:30 p.m.