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I am excited to present the music for the 31st season of the Parker Symphony Orchestra. 

Since our theme for this season is “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”, one might wonder if we are performing music normally played at weddings. Having performed music at scores of weddings, I can honestly say that I never heard any of the music we are presenting this season played at a wedding.

2024 marks 100 years since George Gershwin composed “Rhapsody in Blue”.  It is fitting that we perform this iconic work this year. Once it was decided to do “Rhapsody in Blue”  the challenge was to create a cohesive season of concerts. Hence the theme. It was decided that each concert would have a piece that was old, new, borrowed and blue.

“Old” is easy. As all of you who are classical music lovers know, most of what a symphony orchestra plays is old. Much if it is very old. I like to compare going to a symphony concert to going to an art museum. You may see very modern art, some of which you may or may not “get”, but you might love it. You’ll also see art from hundreds of years ago, some of which you have seen numerous times, but it still makes you feel good to see it.

“New” for those of us in the classical music business is a relative term. Many still think of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” as being modern music, even though it was premiered in 1913.

That brings us to “Borrowed”. It is not uncommon for composers to write a composition based on the music of composers who came before them. Sometimes it is to pay homage to their predecessor. Sometimes because the composer is enthralled by the music of bygone days.

“Blue” is the word that started this way of unifying our concerts. Looking at the titles, it will be obvious which pieces fit into this category.

I apologize if you were hoping to hear Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” or Pachelbel’s “Canon in D”. I hope you will love the music of our 2024 – 2025 season. I think you will enjoy the mix of well known and not so well known music.

René Knetsch
Music Director