THSO Annual Report 2022-23

2022/2023

We’re Playing for YOU! Our 97th season was a most memorable season Celebrating the BRILLIANCE of our THSO musicians. In our opening September concert, I Love a Piano , we experienced multi talented singer/pianist/songwriter Tony DeSare as he brought down the house with his interpretations of the timeless music of piano legends such as Elton John, Ray Charles, Billy Joel, and John Lennon, culminating with Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue . The THSO also went on the road, taking this fabulous program to Paris, Illinois the day following our performance in Terre Haute. This concert was recorded and then produced by Tony DeSare and is available on Tony’s YouTube channel. Dance Around the World in November featured Principal Keyboard Tim Stephenson as he brought to life Florence Price’s extraordinary Piano Concerto, filled with American dance rhythms. Czech dances and Hungarian dances rounded out the program before closing with Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8. Due to Bowden’s unavoidable family conflict, Dr. Roger Kalia stepped in to guest conduct the program and made an immediate positive connection with the musicians and audience. Our Joyful Holidays concert was a sell-out as local soprano Caroline Goodwin joined the THSO as we performed favorites of the season and introduced some exciting new holiday pieces. Principal Tuba Glen Dimick was the featured soloist for our Musical Treasures concert on April 1, 2023. It’s rare for the tuba to be featured, and Glen brought the tuba to life as he deftly played the demanding piece, Journey, by contemporary composer Brian Sadler. Principal orchestra members also performed beautifully in solos in works including Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Fauré’s Sicilienne , and Rossini’s The Silken Ladder . Our season finale on April 29, 2023, Brahms & Tchaikovsky was spectacular, especially the Brahms Violin Concerto performed by THSO Concertmaster Elina Rubio . As reviewer Stephanie Salter wrote: When is the last time you saw a classical concert audience deliver a standing ovation after just the first movement of a work? Probably the answer is “zero”…..after a blisteringly beautiful cadenza , Rubio and the orchestra finished the 25-minute first movement of Brahms Violin Concerto. A near capacity audience responded with the ultra-rare display. But the THSO wasn’t done yet! Salter continues in her review: The evening also featured a gorgeous opening work by the Black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and what one concert attendee accurately termed a “shattering” performance of Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony. Altogether, our 97th season was a huge success – a most memorable season of sharing the transformative power of music !

Click to edit text

Letter from Dr. David Bowden Artistic Director

Dr. David Bowden Artistic Director

3 3