Plano Symphony Orchestra to Conclude Season with a World Premiere

Maestro Héctor Guzmán and the Plano Symphony Orchestra (PSO) will conclude their 2024/2025 Season, New Beginnings, with a Grand Finale! on Saturday, April 26 at 8 PM at the Robinson Fine Arts Center. Special guests include the return of internationally acclaimed pianist Alessio Bax, who wowed PSO patrons back in 2014, and the Plano Civic Chorus performing works by Strauss, Rachmaninoff, and Borodin. Tickets range in price from $23-$75, with $15 student tickets in most sections, and can be purchased through the Plano Symphony Orchestra Box Office (972-473-7262/planosymphony.org).

“Celebrating fanfare with unbridled energy and vivacity.” That’s how composer Xi Wang describes the commissioned piece making its world premiere at the PSO’s final concert of the season. Xi Wang’s original concert music has been commissioned and performed worldwide by notable orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Shanghai Philharmonic, and more. Xi Wang is the recipient of the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Currently, she’s an Associate Professor at SMU’s Meadows School of Arts where she received the Rotunda Award for Outstanding Teaching. Xi Wang’s piece is generously underwritten by Tammy and Charles Miller. 

Combining exceptional lyricism and insight with consummate technique, Alessio Bax is without a doubt “among the most remarkable young pianists now before the public” (Gramophone). He catapulted to prominence with First Prize wins at both the Leeds and Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, and is now a familiar face on five continents, not only as a recitalist and chamber musician, but also as a concerto soloist who has appeared with more than 150 orchestras, including the London, Royal, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, the New York, Boston, Dallas, and more, collaborating with such eminent conductors as Marin Alsop, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Fabio Luisi, Sir Simon Rattle, Yuri Temirkanov, and Jaap van Zweden.

 At the age of 14, Bax graduated with top honors from the conservatory of Bari, his hometown in Italy, and after further studies in Europe, he moved to the United States in 1994. He has been on the piano faculty of Boston’s New England Conservatory since the fall of 2019 and serves as co-artistic director of the Joaquín Achúcarro Foundation for emerging pianists.

Since the debut performance in 1973, Plano Civic Chorus has provided audiences in North Texas with a high caliber of choral artistry, performing a diverse repertoire of new and traditional music, including great choral-orchestral masterworks. Hailed for its powerful performances, technical precision, and creative programming, Plano Civic Chorus is led by newly appointed Artistic Director and Conductor, Dr. Randy Hooper.