Louisville Orchestra set to visit 9 Kentucky cities this summer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WBKO) – The Louisville Orchestra has announced its first round of show dates slates for this May and July.

The shows will take place across the state, including in Glasgow on the local square, a press release said. This season’s tour is called “In Harmony – The Commonwealth Tour of the Louisville Orchestra,” a two-year, free-to-experience statewide tour throughout Kentucky.

Louisville Orchestra Music Director Teddy Abrams said the tour will help create a shared experience that only music can provide.

“The Louisville Orchestra is the only orchestra in the United States committed to traveling to every corner of its state to partner in performance with artists across our communities,” Abrams said. “We couldn’t be more excited to share our treasured work with our neighbors throughout our Commonwealth very soon.”

Performances for May and July will include:

• Wednesday, May 17 – Prestonsburg – Mountain Arts Center
• Thursday, May 18 – Pikeville – Appalachian Wireless Arena
• Friday, May 19 – Harlan – Harlan County High School
• Saturday, July 8 – Ashland – Paramount Arts Center
• Tuesday, July 11 – Newport – MegaCorp Pavilion
• Wednesday, July 12 – Glasgow – Glasgow Town Square
• Thursday, July 13 – Somerset – Center for Rural Development
• Sunday, July 16 – Bardstown – The Stephen Foster Story

Additional tour stops for this fall and early 2024 will be announced at a later date, the news release said. The performances are free to the public.

For the first week of the tour, May concerts will be a celebration of Kentucky and Americana, the traditional and the new, the spirited and the serene. Kentucky elements take center stage in the program – featuring native composer Valerie Coleman, newly-adopted composer Lisa Bielawa, and Harlan’s own Lindsey Branson with new works; Richmond native superstar violinist Tessa Lark performing two virtuosic favorites; and an arrangement by Teddy Abram of a beloved Kentucky anthem. Add to that some favorites like Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Bernstein’s Candide, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, and a dash of Disney’s Fantasia.

The July concert series will include a series of overtures, they said.

“Bernstein kicks it off with his hugely popular Overture to ‘Candide,’ Teddy Abrams conducts the overture to his ground-breaking rap opera about Muhammed Ali, Rossini gives us a bit of ‘Hi Ho Silver,’ and Tchaikovsky wraps up the program with his rousing ‘1812 Overture,’” the release said.

“Along the way, we’ll float down the Moldau River through the Czech countryside, experience contemporary pieces by two composers of the LO’s Creators Corps, sing along with an arrangement of ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky,’ and revel in the jazz themes of Gershwin’s iconic ‘Rhapsody in Blue.’”

Those interested in attending the concerts should RSVP at louisvilleorchestra.org/inharmonytour.

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