Fort Worth Symphony celebrates new season with ovation-worthy evening

"The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra has a lovely tradition of opening each new season with an exhilarating concert followed by an elegant dinner that brings together the orchestra musicians and passionate patrons who keep the music playing.

Opening Night of the 2024/2025 Season recognized another vital part of FWSO's composition for success: the instruments played onstage. Specifically, one very special instrument on loan from a Fort Worth family."

- Stephanie Allmon Merry

Photo credit: Jill Johnson

"Led by Robert Spano, starting his third season as music director, every section of the orchestra played with pizzazz where called for, well-bred finesse everywhere."

- Scott Cantrell

Photo Credit: Randal Vanderveer

"La orquesta creó un marco adecuado y un acompañamiento esencial para las voces. Ya desde el preludio se escuchó la energía y frenetismo que a la partitura orquestal le imprimió el maestro Spano, nunca sometiéndose al leitmotiv, sino enfocándose y apuntando hacia la expresividad y el drama."

- Ramón Jacques

*English translation on page 6 and 7

"Conductor Spano beautifully commands the intricacies here, demonstrating and communicating a deep love and respect for this relatively neglected score. The orchestra supplies a magnificently radiant tone from the strings and solid response from the other sections."
- Wayne Lee Gay

A beloved Broadway ballad performed on stage during the Fort Worth Symphony Gala Concert quite perfectly summed up the event: "Some Enchanted Evening."

Per tradition, the FWSO Gala had many parts, and the performance was just the start. After the concert's triumphant conclusion (Fleming and Gilfry's hilarious duet "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)" from Annie Get Your Gun), patrons scooped up their gowns and boarded shuttle buses for a quick ride to the Worthington Renaissance Hotel, where a reception and dinner-dance awaited.

"Every move made to expand the symphony's reach has been purposeful, a consistent theme throughout Cerny's tenure." -Tori Couch

For senior and double bass player Ava Hoyt, it was exciting to work with a larger ensemble — including a four-person bass section.

“I’ve been watching the symphony and all their work since I was a little girl,” she said. “So it’s really nice to be able to work with people that you’ve been looking up to and almost see as celebrities.”

The number of Hispanic and Latino orchestra members across the country is low, but growing.

Over the summer, the League of American Orchestras released a study of 156 orchestras that showed growth in the number of Hispanic and Latino musicians: 4.8% today, up from 2.5% during the 2013-14 season.

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra is just one group working to address diversity both within its ranks and in its audiences. 

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra’s 2022-23 season raises the curtain on a transformative “new vision,” defined by heightened artistic excellence and directed at international acclaim.

The driving force behind this ambitious initiative is philanthropist Mercedes Bass, chairwoman of the orchestra board and a longtime classical music aficionado.

“There is no reason that Fort Worth should not have the best,” she said in an interview. “You can’t just have a vision. You have to have a plan and it is our hope that we will reach our goal.”

Principal Guest Conductor Kevin John Edusei and Principal Bassoon Joshua Elmore speak with WFAA Reporter Scoop Jefferson on their careers with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.