The city’s largest orchestra is set to kick off its much-anticipated 2026-2027 concert season this month by featuring an internationally acclaimed violinist and performing a euphonic mixture of local compositions, Duke Ellington classics and selections from Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story.”
Chattanooga Symphony and Opera’s opening show is planned for 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 24 at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium in downtown Chattanooga.
The group will perform the first half of its season at the auditorium before returning to the Tivoli Theater in February.
“It’s our home hall,” Julia Milrod, the symphony’s communications director, said in a phone call. “It’s the hall that the orchestra has performed in pretty much since they became a professional orchestra, and we just can’t wait to get back there.”
For its opening show at Memorial Auditorium, the orchestra will host featured violinist Randall Goosby. At 30 years old, the California-born musician has a long list of accomplishments including feature performances with New York Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra among others.
“The fact that he’s coming here to join us with the Chattanooga Symphony is extremely exciting for us,” Milrod said. “He’s really at the center of the program.”
The program will premiere Chattanooga-based composer Ben Van Wickle’s latest work titled “Pura Musica.” Van Wickle kicks off a string of local composers whose works will be featured at every classical concert this season, Milrod said.
Selected works from Ellington’s jazz symphony, “Black, Brown and Beige,” and Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story” will also be performed by the 70-piece orchestra.
“This season is more rooted in the moments that make music special and that connect all of us to being in the present,” Milrod said.
Of the 70 musicians, 31 are local, according to Milrod. The orchestra will divide their instrumentation into 35 string players, 27 wind players, six percussionists, a harpist and a pianist for the opening show.
The 2026-27 season is the second chapter of a three-year “artistic vision” created by the orchestra’s music director, Ilya Ram. The three-year arch is called “Unspoken: Our Stories Through Sound” and centers around music that conveys the past, present and future.
“Moments,” which is the name of this year’s season, will help the audience feel rooted and connected to the present day, Milrod said. Chattanooga Symphony’s website states the goal of this season’s programming is to capture the “vibrant pulse” of music that connects listeners to the world.
“This season is a celebration of who we are now, where diverse voices and local compositions come together to resonate with our shared experiences,” the website says.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga Symphony and Opera is feeling reenergized going into 2024-25 season)
Performances from the professional orchestra start this month and will end in April. The Chattanooga Youth Symphony’s season ends in May.
RETURN TO TIVOLI
Chattanooga Symphony’s long-awaited homecoming performance at the Tivoli Theater will be Feb. 18, about halfway through the season.
“Memorial Auditorium is a fantastic venue for a lot of things,” said Milrod, who also plays bass for the orchestra.”But it wasn’t necessarily designed with acoustic orchestral music in mind. It’s been challenging to get the orchestra to fill the hall.”
The auditorium, which seats 3,866 people, is much larger than traditional theaters used for non-amplified, orchestral performances, according to Milrod. The renovated Tivoli Theater will seat just over 1,600 once it reopens.
To compensate for the larger venue, the orchestra has experimented with microphones and musician orientation throughout their five-year stay at the auditorium. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has also donated portable band shells that help redirect and amplify the music toward the audience.
“Its been a challenge in Memorial,” Milrod said. “We can’t just say how grateful we are for our patrons and their flexibility and understanding throughout all of it.”
The base ticket price is $35 for general admission, according to the orchestra’s website. More expensive ticket options, which include box seats and front-center options, range from $60 to $120.
Music educators can purchase $15 tickets, Milrod said, and students can receive up to a 50% discount on their choice of ticket.
The Chattanooga Symphony and Opera will host 19 shows during the 2026-2027 season. The full event calendar can be viewed on its website.
Contact digital producer Sam Kohn at skohn@timesfreepress.com.