Happenings

Dear Friends and Supporters of the Yakima Symphony Orchestra:

For the past several years, we have been performing a John Williams birthday celebration concert each time the legendary film composer reaches another milestone. We played one for his 80th birthday, his 85th birthday, and most recently, his 90th birthday. Each time it has been an overwhelming success; everyone simply loves the music of John Williams. For me personally, each time I hear a Williams tune, it brings me back to a certain time and place in my life. For example, when I hear the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark, it brings me back to the summer of 1981, when I was Indiana Jones. Just to clarify, I didn't pretend to be Indiana Jones...I was Indiana Jones! I've often thought to myself: too bad we can't play John Williams at every concert! But this year I thought: what if we could? Instead of playing one All-Williams concert, what if we played a single Williams piece on each of our concerts? This was the genesis of our 2024-25 season, in memory of Michael J. Murphy, MD: The Soundtrack to Our Lives. The next step was to formulate individual concert programs for the Yakima Valley Classical Series. Taking into account suggestions and requests from all within the YSO family, and always trying to balance standards of the symphonic repertoire with less-familiar works, I started coming up with thematic programs. Finally, I added a John Williams score that would complement each program. For example, our Gaelic Celebration program started with the Bruch Scottish Fantasy, a staple of the violin concerto repertoire that was requested by our amazing guest artist for that concert, David Kim, Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra. A lesser known but equally beautiful piece that pairs well with the Bruch is the Gaelic Symphony by Amy Beach. The perfect John Williams selection to complement this program is the Suite from Far and Away, a Steven Spielberg film about Irish immigrants that starred Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. In the case of our Opening Night concert, which features The Planets by Gustav Holst, I had tough choices to make (E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind), but I ultimately decided to include Williams' most iconic score, Star Wars!

Other highlights of the season include the Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, the Verdi Requiem, Mahler Symphony No. 1--the Titan, paired with Williams' music from Jurassic Park, and my own recent composition Giovanna d'Arco (Joan of Arc), composed in honor of my daughter, Giovanna. Local favorites Kendra Wheeler and Joshua Gianola will be featured on Williams' “Escapades” for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra from the film Catch Me If You Can, which starred Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio.

In addition to having its fair share of John Williams selections, The Gilbert Orchards Pops Series includes several very exciting events. We have Remember When Rock Was Young; The Elton John Experience, our annual Holiday Pops Spectacular, Oscar Night; A Red-Carpet Event, and Lindsay Deutsch; Violin Rock Star, with Guest Conductor Lawrence Loh. Finally, we have a very special Halloween season treat for you: a screening of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra playing the soundtrack live!

We are very much looking forward to seeing you throughout our 2024-25 season, The Soundtrack to Our Lives, and we hope that you are as excited about it as we are!

Sincerely,

Lawrence Golan

The Helen N. Jewett Music Director, Yakima Symphony Orchestra