JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Courtney Lewis takes the podium with the Jacksonville Symphony for the final concert on the Florida Blue Masterworks Series. The performances Thursday and Friday evenings in Jacoby Symphony Hall at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts includes Joseph Haydn's "Oxford" Symphony, Three Studies from Couperin by modern British composer Thomas Adès, and Bela Bartók's monumental Concerto for Orchestra.
An abbreviated program takes place at 11 a.m. Friday on the Mayo Clinic Coffee Series, including Haydn's "Oxford" Symphony and Adès' Three Studies from Couperin.
"This program is very much a springboard for next season," said Lewis. "Each piece represents an area of repertoire we want to develop: classical repertoire, contemporary repertoire, and big repertoire the orchestra hasn't played for quite some time."
Lewis begins his inaugural season this fall as Jacksonville Symphony music director. For much of the past year, Lewis has been working behind the scenes in planning the 2015-16 season.
One hour prior to each Masterworks concert is "Words on Music," an informal dialogue from the stage with conductor Courtney Lewis about the evening's program. The Coffee concerts feature a Coffee hour starting at 10 a.m. in the lobby hosted by the Jacksonville Symphony Guild.
Tickets and information are available online at JaxSymphony.org. Tickets and information are also afailavle through the Jacksonville Symphony Ticket Office at 904.354.5547. Ticket Prices range from $25-$72 for the Masterworks Concert and $16-$26 for the Coffee concert.