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PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES SUMMER WITH THE SYMPHONY 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 3, 2024

Keene Carter, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, kcarter@pittsburghsymphony.org
Cally Jamis Vennare, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, cvennare@pittsburghsymphony.org
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PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES SUMMER WITH THE SYMPHONY 2024

Concerts Include Free Community Performances, Summer Shorts at O’Reilly Theater,
Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Concert, and Fiddlesticks in Your Neighborhood

PITTSBURGH, PA— The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) announces its Summer with the Symphony programming for the 23-24 season, which includes the continuation of its Summer Shorts series at the O’Reilly Theater, Fiddlesticks in Your Neighborhood at Moon and Mars high schools, Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Concert, and free community concerts. These join the PSO’s existing summer lineup of Cody Fry Live with the PSO and A Night at the Symphony with Laufey. The orchestra will also perform on Dollar Bank Main Stage at the Three Rivers Arts Festival on June 3. More summer concerts are still to be announced. 

Tickets to Star Wars: the Force Awakens in Concert and Summer Shorts: La Dolce Vita are now on presale to subscribers and donors, and will be on sale to the public on Monday, April 8 at pittsburghsymphony.org, by calling (412) 492-4900, or in person at the Heinz Hall Box Office.

“This summer’s concerts are geared toward music lovers of all ages, from those who’ve discovered Cody Fry and Laufey through TikTok to families attending Fiddlesticks and Star Wars to the soldiers and veterans we honor at our Americana Concert,” said Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra President & CEO Melia Tourangeau. “Throughout the year, PSO enriches every life with great music through unparalleled experiences, community collaborations, and educational programming. There is a seat for everyone at a PSO concert — whether you experience live music in Heinz Hall, at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, or in your neighborhood — and a ticket price for every budget. Please join us this summer!”

A NIGHT AT THE SYMPHONY WITH LAUFEY (SOLD OUT)
Raised in D.C. and Reykjavik, with Icelandic and Chinese roots, Laufey's classical piano and cello training from her mother collided with her love for her father's jazz records. Her 2022 album, described by NME as "candid self-expression wrapped in the dreamy lilt of the old jazz standards," foreshadows her captivating debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She weaves her unique storytelling and spellbinding voice with influences from Ravel, Chopin, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday.

A Night at the Symphony with Laufey
Monday, June 24, 2024, 7:30pm at Heinz Hall
Tuesday, June 25, 2024, 7:30pm at Heinz Hall

Moon Doh, conductor
Laufey

AMERICANA CONCERT
Join the Pittsburgh Symphony for its annual Americana Concert centered around American music in tribute to our military personnel and veterans. Featuring music from The Patriot by John Williams, George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, and the songs of the armed forces, this star-spangled program, led by Associate Conductor Jacob Joyce with Katy Williams as vocalist, is performed in Oakland’s Soldier’s & Sailors Memorial Hall and is free to the public, though registration is required.

Americana Concert
Friday, June 28, 2024, 7:00pm at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum

Jacob Joyce, conductor
Katy Williams, vocalist

CODY FRY LIVE WITH THE PSO
The GRAMMY-nominated singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and bona fide TikTok star makes music that sounds like the new Golden Age of orchestral pop. In his Heinz Hall debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, he brings the perfect blend of velvet-tone vocals and instrumental shades erupting in full-blown Technicolor.  

Cody Fry Live with the PSO
Wednesday, July 10, 2024, 7:30pm at Heinz Hall

Moon Doh, conductor
Cody Fry

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS IN CONCERT
Since the release of the first Star Wars movie over 45 years ago, the Star Wars saga has had a seismic impact on both cinema and culture, inspiring audiences around the world with its mythic storytelling, captivating characters, groundbreaking special effects and iconic musical scores. 
 
The GRAMMY®-winning soundtrack by legendary composer John Williams will be performed alongside the Oscar®-nominated film to thrilling effect in a live concert experience.  

The presentation is licensed by Disney Concerts.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Concert
Saturday, July 13, 2024, 7:00pm at Heinz Hall
Sunday, July 14, 2024, 2:30pm at Heinz Hall

Jacob Joyce, conductor

SUMMER SHORTS: LA DOLCE VITA
The Pittsburgh Symphony is crossing Penn Avenue again to play in the O’Reilly Theater and continue last year’s inaugural Summer Shorts series. This brisk, Italian program features a bouquet of Italian favorites in works by Rossini and Marianna Martines, plus Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony, and a rare treat in the PSO concerto debut of Principal Bass Nicholas Myers in Bottesini’s virtuosic Bass Concerto #2. Associate Conductor Jacob Joyce leads the orchestra from the playful overture to The Italian Girl in Algiers to the light and flying strings that begin Mendelssohn’s fourth symphony for a Summer Short that evokes the sweet life.

Summer Shorts: La Dolce Vita
Thursday, July 18, 2024, 7:00pm at the O’Reilly Theater

Jacob Joyce, conductor
Nicholas Myers, contrabass

FIDDLESTICKS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra returns to Moon Area and Mars Area High Schools in July for a summer adventure with Fiddlesticks, the PSO’s seven-foot, cuddly feline ambassador. Led by PSO Associate Conductor Jacob Joyce, Fiddlesticks and vocalist Katy Williams will explore Fiddlesticks’ favorite summer activities through music, movement, singing, and imagination. Musical highlights will include the Fiddlesticks Theme Song, “Music Can Make Your Life Complete” by Lucas Richman, Thunder and Lightning Polka, “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, “Hoedown” from Aaron Copland’s Rodeo, and more.  A family fun adventure for all, join Fiddlesticks and make some musical memories this summer.

Fiddlesticks’ Summer Adventure
Saturday, July 20, 2024, 11:15am at Moon Senior High
Sunday, July 21, 2024, 2:30pm at Mars Area Senior High School

Jacob Joyce, conductor
Katy Williams, vocalist
Fiddlesticks

WITH GRATITUDE

• The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is grateful for overall support provided by local and state government entities: the Allegheny Regional Asset District, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
• Pittsburgh Brewing Company is the Presenting Sponsor of 2024’s Americana Concert.
• Fiddlesticks concerts are endowed by Gerald and Audrey McGinnis, honoring the Center for Young Musicians.
• Diehl Automotive Group is the official auto dealer of the Pittsburgh Symphony.
• Fairmont Pittsburgh is the official hotel of the Pittsburgh Symphony.
• Delta Air Lines is the official airline of the Pittsburgh Symphony.
• WQED 89.3 FM is the official media sponsor of the Pittsburgh Symphony. 

ABOUT THE PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 
Now in its 128th season, the internationally acclaimed Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) engages audiences of all ages through unparalleled live musical experiences, community collaborations, and educational programming that enrich every life with great music.

The GRAMMY® Award-winning symphony has been led by worldwide acclaimed Music Director Manfred Honeck since 2008. Past music directors have included many of the greats, including Fritz Reiner, William Steinberg, André Previn, Lorin Maazel, and Mariss Jansons. The Pittsburgh Symphony has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and live radio broadcasts dating back to the 1930s. Lauded as the Pittsburgh region’s international cultural ambassador, the orchestra began touring in 1896 and has embarked on scores of domestic and international tours. Heinz Hall, PSO’s home located at 600 Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh, is also owned and operated by the Pittsburgh Symphony. Follow the Pittsburgh Symphony online at pittsburghsymphony.org, on Facebook, on Instagram, and on YouTube.

ABOUT PSO'S POPULAR PROGRAMMING
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s history with popular programming goes back to its early days with Victor Herbert. In the following decades, Pops performances were often billed as “light programs and popular soloists,” with guest conductors and stars of the era such as Benny Goodman, Henry Mancini, Ethel Merman, Phyllis Diller, and Doc Severinsen. With the advent of the Marvin Hamlisch era, the venerable Pops series was infused with a new injection of excitement and “razzle-dazzle” as he welcomed memorable programs like “Love Nights” and “Prom Nights,” and stars like Bernadette Peters. With the unexpected passing of Hamlisch in 2012, the symphony’s Pops programming continued under the baton of leading guest conductors, welcoming star guest artists like Chris Botti. 

In 2020, Pittsburgh Symphony appointed Byron Stripling as Principal Conductor for PNC Pops. Under Stripling’s leadership, PNC Pops brings fresh vitality and relevance to orchestral music through contemporary artist collaborations, new arrangements of classic tunes, and films with live orchestra — introducing legions of new fans to the PSO and Heinz Hall each season.  

ABOUT DISNEY CONCERTS
Disney Concerts is the concert production and licensing division of Disney Music Group, the music arm of The Walt Disney Company.  Disney Concerts produces concerts and tours, and licenses Disney music and visual content to symphony orchestras, choruses and presenters on a worldwide basis. Disney Concerts’ concert packages include a variety of formats, such as “live to picture” film concerts, and themed instrumental and vocal compilation concerts that range from instrumental-only symphonic performances to multimedia productions featuring live vocalists and choirs.  Featuring concerts from the largest movie franchises in the world – from Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Pixar and 20th Century Studios – current titles include the Star Wars Film Concert Series, Toy Story, Aladdin, Disney Princess – The Concert, Coco, The Lion King, Up, Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Muppet Christmas Carol.