Oregon Symphony Announces 2022-2023 Season

From Rachmaninoff to “Return of the Jedi,” it’s a seriously stacked season.

"Return of the Jedi" in concert. (Oregon Symphony)
By Bennett Campbell Ferguson

The Oregon Symphony has announced its 2022-2023 season, unveiling a slate of concerts that should satisfy everyone from classical music devotees to wand-waving and/or lightsaber-wielding fans of science fiction and fantasy.

“The Oregon Symphony has long been committed to moving music forward, and this season is no different,” Scott Showalter, president and CEO of Oregon Symphony, said in a press release. “2022/23 features an array of programs designed to appeal to all members of our community, celebrating and exploring music across genres and cultures.”

The season will open on Sept. 24, with music director David Danzmayr conducting the legendary soprano Renée Fleming, who will be performing Kevin Puts’ The Brightness of Light.

“I am thrilled to return for my second season with this world-class orchestra,” said Danzmayr. “This new season will be, in the most general sense, about relationships between people and countries and the connections between different works. We asked the basic question, ‘How are things related to one another?’ and then we thought about how these relationships could be expressed in music.”

Oregon Symphony Oregon Symphony rehearsal in concert dress, November 4, 2021. Photo by Jason Quigley. (Jason Quigley)

As always, the symphony plans to draw inspiration from pop culture. Its Pop Series will begin on Oct. 15 with Revolution: The Music of the Beatles, a concert that will feature hundreds of rare and unseen photos of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

There will also be plenty for film fans to savor. The symphony will live score Hocus Pocus, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and The Goonies, and present a Star Wars vs. Star Trek concert next year.

Speaking of galaxies far, far away, the symphony will also be reviving its Return of the Jedi concert, which was canceled due to the pandemic, in September. No conductor has been announced, so it remains to be seen if Oregon Symphony associate conductor Norman Huynh will re-don the Jedi robe he wore when he conducted the Symphony’s Empire Strikes Back concert.

You can purchase tickets for the symphony’s upcoming season at orsymphony.org.

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