A Message From The President
From the President
REV. WILLIAM P. PROCTOR
2022-2023 SASS Board President
Your San Angelo Symphony’s 2022-2023 season promises to bring yet another outstanding series of concerts for every taste and style of music.
Our season begins in November with a remarkable work entitled, “The Planets.” Working in partnership with Angelo State University’s Planetarium, this piece, by the English composer Gustav Holst, will feature an all-female chorus, along with a multimedia presentation of our solar system. Spanish concert pianist, Daniel del Pino, will join the orchestra as our guest artist, all of which promises an evening of great music.
December brings with it the Symphony’s “A Merry Little Holiday Pops” concert. Local talents, Mark Covey, Assistant Professor of Music at ASU, and Angela Gossett will be our featured soloists. Along with all the music of the holidays, Mark and Angela will help us sing along with the Symphony as we usher in the holiday season in West Texas.
Our January concert, “The Spirit of the Django Reinhart,” will get us off to a jazzy start in 2023! Jean Reinhardt, known by his Romani nickname “Django,” was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe, which is noteworthy, as jazz is traditionally seen as a uniquely American style of music.
In February, yet another unique musical experience will take place as your San Angelo Symphony presents the well-known and celebrated music of “West Side Story” – complete with the film itself. We will feel the tension between the Jets and the Sharks – and the challenges of young love – in this classic American adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
Finally, in March, our annual First Financial Family Pops Concert will feature the well-known Gatlin Brothers! Their beautiful harmonies and classic American Country sound have entertained generations of country western music fans. Their many hit songs, from “All the Gold in California” to “Broken Lady” are classics of the genre and I can hardly wait to hear them live with our San Angelo Symphony.
The San Angelo Symphony does far more for our community than present an outstanding concert series. We offer “Music in Literature,” which brings music to the children of the Concho Valley, and “Music and Wellness,” which takes music to area nursing homes and retirement facilities.
The annual Youth Concert brings thousands of students from across the Concho Valley into the Murphey Performance Hall to see, hear, and feel the power music has to entertain and enrich our lives. Your San Angelo Symphony offers “Know the Score,” “The Instrument Petting Zoo,” “Traveling Trunks,” and “Santa’s Musical Workshop” – all of which help to introduce music to the young people of San Angelo and beyond.
Your local Symphony also hosts wonderful parties throughout the year – featuring fantastic food and drinks in some of the most beautiful homes in San Angelo. Be sure to get put on the guest list for this new season!
As always, I want to thank our special concert sponsors and guest artist sponsors who help to make possible each and every performance. You will see their names listed throughout this program. I also thank you, our patrons, for supporting great music here in West Texas. Without your support and presence at each concert our wonderful symphony would not exist. Music can change lives – thank you for your part in making that possible.