The Albany Symphony plans to take the holiday season to new heights with their “Magic of Christmas” concert at The Palace Theatre this December.
The award-winning Albany Symphony provides a whole lot of extra sparkle this holiday season in one of the Capital Region’s favorite holiday musical traditions. On Sunday, December 8, “The Magic of Christmas” fills The Palace Theatre with festive holiday music, family fun and special guests. The Albany Symphony and its sleigh-full of hometown talent will delight and entertain audiences of all ages with an afternoon of holiday musical favorites, a carol sing-along and a visit from the big man in the red suit.
In keeping with the Albany Symphony’s longtime role as a collaborator, the orchestra is proud to be joined by community partners, including The Music Studio, Capital District Youth Chorale, Rince go Brach (formerly Boland) School of Irish Dance, Northeast Ballet, Saratoga Springs High School Choraliers, and Schalmont High School Concert Choir.
Founded in 1930 in New York’s Capital Region, the Albany Symphony serves a diverse regional audience covering more than seven counties and parts of three states. In addition to an eight-concert subscription season, an annual multi-day American Music Festival including performances by the orchestra’s genre-bending ensemble Dogs of Desire, and a host of education and community outreach events, the Albany Symphony regularly serves as an ambassador for new music and Upstate innovation beyond the Capital Region.
“The Magic of Christmas” takes place from 3:00pm to 5:00pm on Sunday, December 8 at The Palace Theatre in downtown Albany. Conducted by David Alan Miller, prepare for an afternoon of festive family fun and cheer. Sponsored in part by Price Chopper and Market 32, the concert is jam-packed with holiday classics. Like everything the Albany Symphony does, the afternoon includes a medley of familiar and brand-new tunes, including “Joy to the World,” “Sing Noel,” “Santa’s Holly Jolly Little Christmas,” Nutcracker selections with dancers, and much more. In traditional joyful fanfare, audiences join in a Christmas sing-along to close the program.
For more information on “The Magic of Christmas” concert at The Palace Theatre on Dec 8 and to purchase tickets, click here.
Albany Symphony has unveiled its celebratory 2024-2025 season to kick off in October with concerts taking place in a wide variety of Capital Region concert venues, including the legendary Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, the Palace Theater, Proctors, and EMPAC
David Alan Miller, Music Director of Albany Symphony and Grammy-winning conductor.
The 2024/2025 season includes soloists; Yuval Chen, Raman Ramakrishnan, Bokyung Byun, Karen Hosmer, Grace Shryock, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Harmony Zhu, Amaryn Olmeda, Kala Ramnath, Stephen Williamson and Third Coast Percussion. This season’s new work will include Tania León, Joan Tower, Nicky Sohn, Daniel Roumain, Loren Loiacono, Missy Mazzoli, Reena Esmail, Bobby Ge, Clarice Assad, Sophia Jani, and Christopher Theofanidis.
The programming for this season has been curated by the award-winning conductor David Alan Miller. “We are thrilled to share our new season with you,” said Miller. “In addition to many of the greatest classics of all time, we are looking forward to introducing you to some of the most beautiful and inspirational new and recent works by the most compelling living American composers. We also look forward to working with an amazing group of guest artists, including a brilliant up-and-coming guest conductor who graduated from Guilderland High School! I promise you an absolutely unforgettable, thrilling journey of musical exploration. My brilliant Albany Symphony musician colleagues have never sounded more beautiful!”
The 2024-2025 season features several brilliant soloists. Beloved Albany Symphony oboists Karen Hosmer and Grace Shyrock will perform at the Holiday Mozart and Vivaldi concert. Harmony Zhu, a teenage prodigy who made her debut with the Albany Symphony in 2020, will perform Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Kala Ramnath, a seventh-generation violinist specializing in Hindustani (Indian) classical music, will perform. Prize-winning guitarist, Bokyung Kim will premiere a new concerto written for her by Nicky Sohn. Amaryn Olmeda will perform Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto under the baton of guest conductor, Lidiya Yankovskaya, Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, who grew up in Guilderland, NY.
The 2024-2025 season runs from October through the American Music Festival in June. The deadline to renew the subscription is April 14. Through the Nielsen Associates’ Student Access Program, students can purchase discount subscriptions and enjoy the full benefits of being a subscriber for as little as $45. To purchase a subscription online, fans can visit here or call the Albany Symphony Box Office at 518-694-3300.
Albany Symphony 2024/2025 Season:
**Artists, programs, venues, and dates subject to change
TCHAIKOVSKY’S FIRST CONCERTO
Palace Theatre, October 19, 2024
Yuval Chen, piano
Tania León: Pregón (world premiere)
Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Carl Nielsen: Symphony No. 4 “The Inextinguishable”
DVORAK’S “NEW WORLD”
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, November 16 + 17, 2024
Raman Ramakrishnan, cello
Bedřich Smetana: “The Moldau” from Má vlast
Joan Tower: Cello Concerto “A New Day”
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”
HOLIDAY MOZART & VIVALDI
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, December 21 + 22, 2024
Bokyung Byun, guitar
Karen Hosmer & Grace Shyrock, oboes
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Johann Sebastian Bach: Sinfonia from “Christmas Oratorio”
Nicky Sohn: Guitar Concerto (world premiere)
Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Oboes
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 35 “Haffner”
THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS
Palace Theatre, December 8, 2024
BEETHOVEN’S PASTORIAL
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, January 11 + 12, 2025
Mark Bamuthi Joseph, speaker
Carlos Simon: Fate Now Conquers
Daniel Bernard Roumain /
Marc Bamuthi Joseph: Forgiveness, Suite for Spoken Word & Orchestra
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral”
RACHMANINOFF’S PAGANINI RHAPSODY
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, February 15 + 16, 2025
Harmony Zhu, piano
Randall Thompson: A Trip to Nahant
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Loren Loiacono: Sleep Furiously
Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 1, “Spring”
BARBER’S BREATHTAKING VIOLIN CONCERTO
Proctors, March 8, 2025
Lidiya Yankovskaya, guest conductor
Amaryn Olmeda, Violin
Missy Mazzoli: Orpheus Undone
Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 7
BOLÉRO
Palace Theatre, April 5, 2025
Kala Ramnath, violin
Maurice Ravel: Boléro
Reena Esmail: Concerto for Hindustani Violin
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS
Palace Theatre, May 3, 2025
AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL: WATER MUSIC
EMPAC, June 14, 2025
Stephen Williamson, clarinet
Third Coast Percussion
Bobby Ge: Water Music (world premiere)
Clarice Assad: Percussion ConcertoSophia Jani: What do Flowers do at Night?
