Signature Symphony at TCC Announces 2016-2017 Season

Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College invites you to explore global culture during the 2016-2017 season. “World Passport: A Symphonic Excursion” will feature music from six continents: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

“The 2016-2017 season is a celebration of international music featuring collaborations with other Tulsa arts organizations and a new initiative on behalf of the orchestra,”said Andrés Franco, Signature Symphony at TCC Artistic Director and Conductor. “We invite you to experience new cultural experiences as we showcase the depth and breadth of our collective artistic endeavors.”

The Classics series will be a celebration of global music featuring composers from Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, France, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and United States. Signature Symphony will premiere new works in Tulsa as well as showcase some of the most beloved composers, including Copland, Dvořák, Mahler, Mozart, and Mussorgsky. In addition, the orchestra will collaborate with the Tulsa Ballet, the Tulsa Opera, the Signature Chorale as well as the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum, and the Tulsa Youth Opera.

The 2016-2017 season begins a new, multi-year Signature Symphony initiative, entitled “The Mahler Project”. Every season, the orchestra will perform a Mahler symphony in concert, preceded by a multimedia exploration of his life and work. Signature Symphony launches this new project in April 2017 with his Symphony No. 1 “Titan”.

“While my passions in life include music and travel, we are incorporating my third passion, food, into the opening of the 2016-2017 Pops series “Symphony of Tango”. We have a special event outside of the performance where people can learn to Tango and enjoy Argentinean wine and food,” said Franco. “This will be a celebration and will help us mark the season opener as well as the 20th anniversary of the VanTrease Performing Arts Center for Education.”

In keeping with the musical passport theme, the Pops series begins in Buenos Aires as we experience Juno Award Winner, Quartango, and watch Argentinean dancers perform in concert. “Signature Celtic” takes us to Ireland with the American-Irish group Cherish the Ladies and Tony-award winning Debbie Gravitte brings us back to the U.S. for “Big Band Broadway”. In conjunction with the 89th Academy Awards broadcast in February, the Signature Symphony presents “Night at the Oscars” – a red carpet program featuring music from “The Godfather,” “Star Wars,” “The Mission,” “E.T.” and many more films. Finally, a Tulsa holiday tradition returns with “Christmas in Tulsa”. The evening features Christmas carols from all corners of the world and honors Tulsa’s own Larry Dalton with performances of some of his favorite arrangements. Dalton served for more than 25 years as Signature Symphony’s resident arranger/composer before his death in 2009.

Signature Symphony at TCC continues its music education outreach program with free Open Rehearsals prior to each Classics performance. This is a chance for music lovers of all ages to experience an orchestra rehearsal and see professional musicians in action. Open Rehearsals take place on the Thursday before every Classics series concert from 6:30 to 7 p.m. with Signature Symphony Artistic Director and Conductor Andrés Franco and our guest artists, followed by the chance to observe the first hour of an actual rehearsal on stage from 7 to 8 p.m. Open Rehearsals will take place on Sept. 22, Nov. 10, Jan. 19, March 9 and April 20.

Signature Symphony, in collaboration with Tulsa Public Schools and TCC,operates the Higher Scale Music Outreach Program. The program makes possible music instruction and experiences as part of the traditional school experience for students of all ages as part of our mission to enrich arts in Tulsa. Professional musicians from Signature Symphony teach viola, violin and cello classes twice a week to elementary students in Tulsa Public Schools. The program engages students for up to four consecutive years, for a total of approximately 200 music lessons over the course of their instruction. In addition, members of the Signature Quartet offer coaching sessions and performances for students in elementary, middle and high schools throughout each school year in Tulsa Public Schools and neighboring school districts.

The Signature Symphony at TCC is made possible in part by a grant from the Oklahoma Arts Council.

Season tickets are on sale now for the Classics and Pops series. Season ticket prices start at $60. Individual ticket prices start at $12 for a performance. Student tickets are available at discounted prices. For information on the 2016-2017 season including performance dates and times, go to www.signaturesymphony.org or call (918) 595-7777.