tobyloftus.com

Newport Symphony - Gandelsman Returns!
2025-11-08 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-11-09 14:00 - 15:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Newport Performing Arts Center, 777 W Olive St, Newport, OR, 97365, United States
Gandelsman Returns!
Adam Flatt, conductor
Johnny Gandelsman, violin*
November 8th, 2025 – 7:30pm at the Newport Performing Arts Center – Pre-concert chat with Maestro Adam Flatt at 6:45pm
November 9th, 2025 – 2:00pm at the Newport Performing Arts Center.
Jennifer Higdon, Blue Cathedral
Felix Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64*
Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 “Pathétique”
Buy tickets online HERE FOR SATURDAY or HERE FOR SUNDAY.
We begin this evening’s concert with renowned American composer, Jennifer Higdon. Written in 1999, Blue Cathedral was commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the Curtis Institute. Titles of musical compositions are often—most often it can seem—misleading, but this one is singularly apt. Cast in a single short movement of lush, soothing cascades of orchestra sound, the over-used descriptor, “shimmering,” is more than apropos in this case. Imaginative scoring for strings and delicate percussion—including exotic bells and water glasses—are the foundation for an evocation of the atmosphere of the title. Short motives from various wind instruments provide aphoristic commentaries throughout, but generally without what would call “tunes.” The whole weft of sound seems to gently and constantly float upward without having to start all over at the “bottom.” It’s a remarkable and sensual musical experience, and justly deserves its popularity as perhaps the composer’s most performed composition.
Next up, we celebrate the welcome return of local favorite and MacArthur Genius Fellow, Johnny Gandelsman. Mendelssohn wrote several concertos for both piano and for violin. The last concerto, for violin, is one of the most important solo works of the nineteenth century. Finished in the fall of 1844, after many years of work, the concerto is the product of a man at the height of his artistic powers. At the time Mendelssohn was literally the toast of Europe, composing fervidly, visiting everywhere as guest conductor and composer, serving as music administrator of a new conservatory in Leipzig, and all the while trying to cope with the bedeviling trials of an official appointment at the Prussian court at Berlin and Potsdam. He was literally working himself to death, and his life, indeed only lasted a few more years. The concerto was premièred in 1845 in Leipzig by Mendelssohn’s friend, the great violinist, Ferdinand David, himself a noted composer (yay trombones!) but the performance of it by the very young virtuoso of violin, Joseph Joachim, one month before Mendelssohn’s death in 1847 must have been a particularly poignant one. At the time he was driven to incapacitation by the death of his beloved sister; that and his onerous professional schedule led to a series of strokes that killed him. Johnny Gandelsman’s performance is certain to move you to new emotional heights.
The evening concludes with Tchaikovsky’s massive Symphony No. 6. Maestro Adam Flatt and the Newport Symphony will take you on a powerful journey into the depths of the composer’s very soul. This symphony is Tchaikovsky’s last work—he died of cholera only nine days after its première—and it is universally hailed as one of his finest. It exhibits all of the characteristic passion and melodic beauty for which the composer justly is known, and is suffused with a dark and tragic essence. Tchaikovsky struggled all of his life with his identity, fears of social rejection, and frustrated relationships with others. By the end of his life these issues had surely come to a head, and the composer freely spoke with his brother of the reflection of his suffering in this final, gripping composition. There is even a current musicological fight over whether or not he poisoned himself to end his life (under threat of social disgrace), or deliberately drank the un-boiled glass of water during an epidemic. In any case, the circumstances of his life’s final struggles are manifest in this beautiful and tragic work. In the event, he had at first actually considered “Tragic” as a subtitle for the symphony, but his brother suggested the Russian for “pathos,” and the French equivalent, “pathétique,” is the evocative descriptor that we all know. But, be aware of inexact translations–there is nothing pathetic here.

Newport Symphony - Listening for Shakespeare
2026-03-21 19:30 - 21:00 | Newport Performing Arts Center, 777 W Olive St, Newport, OR, 97365, United States
Frank Oden, performance poet
March 21st, 2026 – 7:30pm at the Newport Performing Arts Center. Pre-concert chat with Maestro Adam Flatt at 6:45pm
Otto Nicolai, Overture to “The Merry Wives of Windsor”
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Suite from “Much Ado About Nothing”
Giuseppe Verdi, Ballet Music from “Macbeth”
Dan Kellogg, “Pyramus and Thisbe”
Leonard Bernstein, Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story”
A concert like none other! Maestro Adam Flatt welcomes performance poet Frank Oden to share the stage with the Newport Symphony Orchestra!
Mr. Oden will connect the works together with the wondrous performances of some incredible music inspired by the immortal William Shakespeare. The concert will weave together the dramas, the comedy, the tragedy, and heartfelt honesty.
Join the shenanigans of Sir John Falstaff as he tries to seduce “The Merry Wives of Windsor” for financial gain. Follow the gossipy intrigue of Claudio and Hero and Beatrice and Benedick. Can you hear the vile Don John almost ruining the whole thing?
Join the orchestra on a trip to Scotland and dance to ballet music that eases the burden of the bloody king. Next, we’re off to Greece to hear the sad story that inspired Shakespeare’s, Ovid’s “Pyramus and Thisbe”, two youths madly in love trading whispers through a crack in the wall before their sad fate is met. We close with Bernstein’s take on those star crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, in his landmark “West Side Story”. The Symphonic Dances will have you dancing in your seats, you won’t want the fun to end!
All of this connected and shared with the dramatic expertise of our guest, Frank Oden.
Enjoy!

Newport Symphony - Listening for Shakespeare
2026-03-22 14:00 - 15:30 | Newport Performing Arts Center, 777 W Olive St, Newport, OR, 97365, United States
Frank Oden, performance poet
March 22nd, 2026 – 2:00pm at the Newport Performing Arts Center. Pre-concert chat with Maestro Adam Flatt at 6:45pm
Otto Nicolai, Overture to “The Merry Wives of Windsor”
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Suite from “Much Ado About Nothing”
Giuseppe Verdi, Ballet Music from “Macbeth”
Dan Kellogg, “Pyramus and Thisbe”
Leonard Bernstein, Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story”
A concert like none other! Maestro Adam Flatt welcomes performance poet Frank Oden to share the stage with the Newport Symphony Orchestra!
Mr. Oden will connect the works together with the wondrous performances of some incredible music inspired by the immortal William Shakespeare. The concert will weave together the dramas, the comedy, the tragedy, and heartfelt honesty.
Join the shenanigans of Sir John Falstaff as he tries to seduce “The Merry Wives of Windsor” for financial gain. Follow the gossipy intrigue of Claudio and Hero and Beatrice and Benedick. Can you hear the vile Don John almost ruining the whole thing?
Join the orchestra on a trip to Scotland and dance to ballet music that eases the burden of the bloody king. Next, we’re off to Greece to hear the sad story that inspired Shakespeare’s, Ovid’s “Pyramus and Thisbe”, two youths madly in love trading whispers through a crack in the wall before their sad fate is met. We close with Bernstein’s take on those star crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, in his landmark “West Side Story”. The Symphonic Dances will have you dancing in your seats, you won’t want the fun to end!
All of this connected and shared with the dramatic expertise of our guest, Frank Oden.
Enjoy!

Oregon East Symphony - Summer Concert
2026-06-07 14:30 - 16:00 | Vert Auditorium, 480 SW Dorion Avenue, Pendleton, OR, 97801, United States
Program:
Buetti – Odyssey Overture for OrchestraBach – Concerto for oboe and violinStravinsky – Petrushka (1947)

Newport Symphony Free 4th of July Concert
2026-07-04 16:00 - 17:00 | Newport Middle School, 825 NE 7th Street, Newport, OR, 97365, United States
Join the Newport Symphony on Saturday, July 4th at Newport Middle School for this free concert.
Celebrate the 250th Birthday of the United States with your friends at the Newport Symphony Orchestra. Enjoy music inspired by a handful of rebels who built a revolution. Not only will you hear the patriotic favorites, but also some familiar tunes from movies and much, much more. There will even be a couple of fun surprises.
We’ll see you there!
This free concert is provided to the community by the Newport Symphony Orchestra and its donors in partnership with the Lincoln County School District, and with the generous sponsorship of Oregon Coast Bank and Georgia-Pacific.

Newport Symphony - Siren Song
2026-09-26 19:30, 2026-09-27 14:00 - 17:00 | Newport Performing Arts Center, 777 W Olive St, Newport, OR, 97365, United States
SEPTEMBER 26 and 27, 2026

Siren Song
Adam Flatt, Conductor
Women of the Willamette Master Chorus*
Claude Debussy: Nocturnes*
Robert Lowry: “How Can I Keep from Singing?” – Willamette Master Chorus*
Jessie Montgomery: Coincident Dances
Igor Stravinsky: Suite from “The Firebird” (1945)

Newport Symphony - Songs for the Homeland
2026-11-07 19:30 - 21:00, 2026-11-08 14:00 - 15:30 | Newport Performing Arts Center, 777 W Olive St, Newport, OR, 97365, United States
Adam Flatt, conductor
Rodolfo Leone, piano*
William Schuman: New England Triptych
Jean Sibelius: Finlandia
Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16*
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-flat minor, Op. 82
November 7th, 2026 @ 7:30pm – Preconcert chat at 6:45pm
November 8th, 2026 @ 2:00pm

Newport Symphony - The Unanswered Question
2027-01-16 19:30 - 21:00, 2027-01-17 14:00 - 15:30 | Newport Performing Arts Center, 777 W Olive St, Newport, OR, 97365, United States
Adam Flatt, conductor
Giuseppe Verdi: Overture to “La Forza del Destino”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550
Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question
Franz Liszt: Les Preludes
January 16th, 2027 @ 7:30pm – Preconcert chat at 6:45pm
January 17th, 2027 @ 2:00pm

Newport Symphony - Harp of Ages
2027-03-20 19:30 - 21:00, 2027-03-21 14:00 - 15:30 | Newport Performing Arts Center, 777 W Olive St, Newport, OR, 97365, United States
Adam Flatt, Conductor
Courtney Hershey Bress, harp*
Walter Piston: The Incredible Flutist
Michael Daugherty: Harp of Ages*
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
March 20th, 2027 @ 7:30pm – Preconcert chat at 6:45pm
March 21st, 2027 @ 2:00pm

Oregon East Symphony - Season Finale
2027-05-23 14:30 - 17:00 | Vert Auditorium, 480 SW Dorion Avenue, Pendleton, OR, 97801, United States
The season concludes with Strauss’s sweeping Alpine Symphony and special side-by-side performance of Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain with the OES Youth Orchestra-bringing students and professionals together on stage.
