Hear Disney's UP, All 5 Beethoven Piano Concertos and More at Grand Rapids Symphony in March

See what's coming up at the Grand Rapids Symphony!

Schedule below!

March 6-7- Richard and Helen DeVos Classical

BEETHOVEN'S PASTORAL

8 p.m. Friday and Saturday

DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Marcelo Lehninger, conductor

Larisa Martinez, Soprano

DEBUSSY: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

VILLA-LOBOS: Selections from The Amazon Forest

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"

is Beethoven at peace, amid his beloved nature. In the poetic "Pastoral" Symphony, every measure musically animates his images of country life. Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is a masterpiece of French Impressionism. Plus, a Marcelo Lehninger specialty: music of his countryman Heitor Villa-Lobos. Forest of the Amazon is drawn from the exotic, entrancing score to the Audrey Hepburn film "Green Mansions."

Tickets for the Richard and Helen DeVos Classical series start at $18 adults, $5 students.

Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 or go online to GRSymphony.org

March 13 - Holland Home Great Eras and Porter Hills Coffee Classics

CLARA'S CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

10 a.m. Friday, Coffee Classics

8 p.m. Friday, Great Eras

St. Cecilia Music Center, 24 Ransom Ave. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Ruth Reinhardt, conductor

Gabriela Martinez, piano

FANNY MENDELSSOHN: Overture in C

CLARA SCHUMANN: Concerto for Piano

BRAHMS: Serenade No. 1

Mendelssohn was muse to her brother, Felix, as Clara Schumann was to her husband, Robert, and their friend, Johannes Brahms. Both also composed quietly, each displaying a singular and profound perspective while producing the earliest such works by women ever widely heard. The First Serenade of the 24-year old Brahms is his earliest attempt in the symphonic form, serene and inspired by nature.

Tickets for the Porter Hills Coffee Classics series start at $16

Tickets for the Holland Home Great Eras series start at $26 adults, $5 students

Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 or go online to GRSymphony.org

March 15 - Choral

CHORAL CELEBRATION

3 p.m. Sunday

Calvin University's Covenant Fine Arts Center, 1795 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus

Pearl Shangkuan, conductor

Grand Rapids Youth Chorus

Sean and Leah Ivory, conductors

DAN FORREST: Requiem for the Living

SEAN IVORY: I Will Rise

Join us at the Covenant Fine Arts Center on the campus of Calvin University for a Choral Celebration featuring the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus directed by Pearl Shangkuan, and the Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Choruses, led by Sean and Leah Ivory.

Tickets for the Choral Celebration are $20 adults, $5 students.

Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 or go online to GRSymphony.org

March 20-22 - Fox Motors Pops

"UP"

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday

3 p.m. Sunday

DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

John Varineau, conductor

the Disney Pixar classic like never before with the music performed LIVE by your Grand Rapids Pops! This uplifting family favorite is an enchanting tale of a widower who attaches thousands of balloons to his home and floats to South America. Touching and inspiring, Up is fun for the children in your life, and the child in all of us.

Tickets for the Fox Motors Pops series start at $18 adults, $5 students.

Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 or go online to GRSymphony.org

March 27 - Richard and Helen DeVos Classical

BEETHOVEN CELEBRATION - THE FIVE PIANO CONCERTOS

8 p.m. Friday (only)

DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Marcelo Lehninger, conductor

Kirill Gerstein, piano

BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 2

BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 3

BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 4

Alongside his symphonies, the piano concertos of Beethoven have been towering masterworks for two centuries. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth, pianist Kirill Gerstein performs all five concertos over two nights, from the youthful First Piano Concerto, composed at age 25, to the grand "Emperor" Piano Concerto written in the war-torn Vienna of 1809. Gerstein is a pianist who "shows how virtuosity and soulfulness can go hand in hand," declares the Chicago Sun-Times.

Tickets for the Richard and Helen DeVos Classical series start at $18 adults, $5 students.

Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 or go online to GRSymphony.org

March 28 - Richard and Helen DeVos Classical

BEETHOVEN CELEBRATION - THE FIVE PIANO CONCERTOS

8 p.m. Saturday (only)

DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Marcelo Lehninger, conductor

Kirill Gerstein, piano

BEETHOVEN: Coriolan Overture

BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 1

BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor"

Alongside his symphonies, the piano concertos of Beethoven have been towering masterworks for two centuries. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth, pianist Kirill Gerstein performs all five concertos over two nights, from the youthful First Piano Concerto, composed at age 25, to the grand "Emperor" Piano Concerto written in the war-torn Vienna of 1809. Gerstein is a pianist who "shows how virtuosity and soulfulness can go hand in hand," declares the Chicago Sun-Times.

Tickets for the Richard and Helen DeVos Classical series start at $18 adults, $5 students.

Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 or go online to GRSymphony.org

March 28 - PNC Lollipop

THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT

10:30 a.m. Saturday

Calvin University's Covenant Fine Arts Center, 1795 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

John Varineau, conductor

Beatrix Potter's beloved story "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" comes to life in this live performance by the Grand Rapids Symphony.

Tickets for the PNC Lollipop series start at $15 adults, $5 students.

Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 or go online to GRSymphony.org

Coming next month to the Grand Rapids Symphony's stages in April:

April 3 - Holland Home Great Eras and Porter Hills Coffee Classics

MOZART & HAYDN

10 a.m. Friday, Coffee Classics

8 p.m. Friday, Great Eras

St. Cecilia Music Center, 24 Ransom Ave. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Marcelo Lehninger, conductor

Victoria Olson, bassoon

MOZART: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

MOZART: Concerto for Bassoon in B-flat Major

HAYDN: Symphony No. 90

more than 260 years after his birth, the music of Mozart still speaks to us and still moves us. The Grand Rapids Symphony's own Victoria Olson plays the Bassoon Concerto from Mozart's 18th year, and the strings perform the elegant "A Little Night Music." From Mozart's mentor comes a symphony by the pioneer of the form. Haydn's Symphony No. 90 is one of his brightest, sitting snuggly between the six "Paris" Symphonies and the dozen he composed for London.

Tickets for the Porter Hills Coffee Classics series start at $16

Tickets for the Holland Home Great Eras series start at $26 adults, $5 students

Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 or go online to GRSymphony.org

April 4 - DTE Energy Foundation Family

RHYTHM IN YOUR RUBBISH

3 p.m. Saturday

Forest Hills Fine Arts Center, 600 Forest Hill Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

John Varineau, conductor

Twilight is falling one crisp, autumn day when two tired and hungry homeless pals find themselves in a junkyard for the night. As they settle down to sleep, beautiful reverberations suddenly fill the air and in no time they're off on an extraordinary quest, exploring hidden sounds that live all around them. A saw plays a duet with a cello. Bottles and flutes interweave in a beautiful serenade. Pots, bowls, horns and even sandpaper transform into magical instruments as the pair waltz and play and tumble among the discarded treasure. After an enchanting black-light dream sequence, the wanderers, the orchestra and the audience finish off this mesmerizing show with an epic percussion battle.

Tickets for the DTE Energy Foundation series start at $15 adults, $5 students.

Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 or go online to GRSymphony.org

Tickets

Tickets for are available at the Grand Rapids Symphony box office, weekdays 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, across the street from Calder Plaza. Call (616) 454-9451 x 4 to order by phone. (Phone orders will be charged a $3 per ticket service fee, with an $18 maximum).

Tickets are available at the DeVos Place ticket office, weekdays 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. or on the day of the concert beginning two hours before the performance. Tickets also may be purchased online at GRSymphony.org.

Special Ticket Offers

Full-time students of any age can purchase tickets for most concerts for $5 on day of the concert by enrolling in the GRS Student Tickets program, sponsored by Calvin University. Discounts also are available to members of MySymphony360, the Grand Rapids Symphony's organization for young professionals ages 21-35.

Students age 7-18 also are able to attend for most concerts for free when accompanied by an adult. Free for Kids tickets must be purchased in advance at the GRS Ticket office. Up to two free tickets are available with the purchase of a regular-price adult ticket. Go online for more details.

Symphony Scorecard provides members up to four free tickets for most Grand Rapids Symphony concerts. Members of the community receiving financial assistance from the State of Michigan and members of the U.S. Armed Forces, whether on active or reserve duty or serving in the National Guard, are eligible. Go online for information on signing up with a Symphony Scorecard Partner Agency.

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