TOLEDO ALLIANCE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS ANNOUNCES 2023/2024 SEASON 

Branford Marsalis, Rachel Barton Pine, Blake Pouliot, Olga Kern, and Lara Downes headline TSO season. Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, and more for Toledo Ballet. TJO continues strategic partnership. 

TOLEDO, OH – On Monday, April 17, 2023, Toledo Symphony Orchestra (TSO) and Toledo Ballet, together as the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), announced its 2023/2024 performance season. Subscriptions are now available for purchase by calling the TAPA Box Office at 419.246.8000. Single tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. For a full listing of events, visit toledosymphony.com or toledoballet.com. 

The 2023/2024 season marks the 80th season of the Toledo Symphony. Formed in 1943 as The Friends of Music and incorporated in 1951 as Toledo Orchestra Association, Inc., TSO has grown from a core group of twenty-two part-time musicians to a regional orchestra that employs sixty-nine professional musicians who consider Toledo Symphony their primary employer. Additionally, TSO utilizes supplemental professional musicians as repertoire demands.   

“What an amazing landmark – to have stayed at the apex of arts in our community for over eight decades,” says Toledo Symphony Music Director Alain Trudel. “The Toledo Symphony is not just an orchestra in Toledo. It is truly Toledo’s orchestra!” 

The Toledo Symphony season opens with legendary saxophonist Branford Marsalis and includes a world premiere by Barbara Assiginaak, an Odawa First Nations composer. This original score will celebrate Toledo’s very own Glass City Wall, the largest public mural in North America. The piece will focus on the three indigenous women represented in the mural and is inspired by Duke Ellington’s The Three Black Kings. The program will also feature Prokofiev’s Saxophone Concerto and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. 

The 80th season celebration continues with a birthday bash featuring music that pays tribute to Toledo Symphony’s very first public performance. In the spring of 2024, when Toledo is in the direct path of the total solar eclipse, TSO will present Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Complementing this audience favorite is a world premiere of nine new “planets” commissioned from ADJ•ective New Music, a composers’ collective with roots in Northwest Ohio.  

The ProMedica Masterworks series features renowned guest artists which include violinist Rachel Barton Pine performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto; violinist Blake Pouliot performing works by Shostakovich; pianist Olga Kern performing Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto; spoken word artist Aaron Dworkin performing An American Rhapsody; organist Paul Jacobs performing Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony; and pianist Lara Downes performing New World A-Comin'. Performances will also include some of the largest orchestral works in the repertoire, including Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Mahler’s Ninth Symphony.  

The KeyBank Pops series features an eclectic mix of instrumentalists and vocalists performing the music of Coldplay, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Otis Redding, Fleetwood Mac, and more. Visionary composer, conductor, producer, and songwriter Steve Hackman melds the music of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony with the melodies and lyrics of Coldplay for a perfect modern pairing. Redefining what it means to be a cross-over artist, Daniel Emmet’s vocals burst with operatic power, yet are mellowed by pop sensitivity. Pianist Tony DeSare headlines Christmas at the Peristyle. Kings of Soul and Landslide: The Music of Fleetwood Mac kick off our spring 2024, concluding with a tribute to the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Eyes of the World honors Veterans, the young men who landed on the beaches of Normandy, and the all-Black 761st Tank Battalion.  

The Andersons Inc. Charitable Foundation Family Series includes the annual Halloween Spooktacular featuring dancers of the Toledo Ballet performing Danse Macabre alongside the Toledo Symphony. The series continues with Buckets ‘n Boards, a comedy percussion duo with a unique brand of clean comedy and theatrics. The series culminates in two performances by Toledo Ballet of Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, The Sleeping Beauty.  

The Buckeye Broadband and The Blade Chamber Series will feature five performances curated specially by TSO musicians. Dates and programs will be announced this summer.  

Special events in the 2023/2024 season include Toledo Ballet’s 83rd production of The Nutcracker and Handel’s Messiah at the Rosary Cathedral. Additional special events to be announced.  

This season, Toledo Ballet marks its 84th anniversary of inspiring the passions and spirit of the Toledo community through dance education and performances. Eric Otto will celebrate his first full season as Toledo Ballet’s Artistic Director by lending his imprimatur to the nation’s longest running annual production of Tchaikovsky’s celebrated Nutcracker.  

“I am thrilled for the 2023-2024 season after our success this year,” says Otto. “We celebrated a record-breaking Nutcracker, and the Toledo community is very excited that we are bringing full-length classical ballet back to our spring productions. I am so grateful that, in this upcoming season, we are able to expand our collaboration with the wonderful Toledo Symphony and highlight our audience’s love of music through dance.” 

In addition to Toledo Ballet’s signature Nutcracker, Otto will partner with TSO in creating original choreography for the Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns as part of the orchestra’s October 2023 Halloween Spooktacular. “This will be a preview of a future full-length Sleepy Hollow ballet,” points out Otto, who is planning to make Sleepy Hollow a future fall family tradition.  

In 2024, Otto is eager to produce his very own version of Tchaikovsky’s lush and timeless The Sleeping Beauty. “Like this year's Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty will be a classic fairytale which will give us the opportunity to bring in professional guest artists from the ballet world while also featuring students of all ages from Toledo Ballet.” 

The 2023/2024 Season will continue TAPA’s strategic partnership with the Toledo Jazz Orchestra (TJO) and will officially inaugurate Jazz Series sponsorship by Hartmann Bogan Financial Planning.  

In addition to opening the Toledo Symphony’s season, celebrated saxophonist Branford Marsalis will remain in residency to lend his talents to the TJO’s season opener as well.  

“When we heard that performing with Branford Marsalis was on the table, we cleared our calendars, and we are thrilled to share the stage with him as we enter our second season in partnership with the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts,” says Scott Potter, TJO Board President and trumpet player. “In the first year of our partnership, made possible by a grant from the Greater Toledo Community Foundation, we saw increased audiences at all our concerts. Our Swingin’ Christmas was the largest audience in Toledo Jazz Orchestra’s history and we’re looking forward to selling it out next season!” The Hartmann Bogan Jazz Series will also feature saxophonist Gene Parker, vocalist Ramona Collins, and a tribute to drummer Buddy Rich with Pete Siers.  

Among TAPA’s 2023/2024 Season Highlights: 

• American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Branford Marsalis performs with both the Toledo Symphony and Toledo Jazz Orchestra. 
• Toledo Symphony celebrates its 80th season with a concert paying tribute to TSO’s first performance featuring works by Brahms, Mozart, Ravel, and contemporary composer Samuel Adler. Pianist Nicholas McCarthy performs Ravel’s Piano Concerto for Left Hand.  
• Toledo Ballet will perform its 83rd presentation of The Nutcracker, the longest-running annual production in the nation. Spring 2024 will showcase Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet The Sleeping Beauty. 
• Gustav Holst’s The Planets returns to the Peristyle complemented by a world premiere orchestral composition celebrating Toledo’s path in the full solar eclipse.  
• TSO performs Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, and Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony. 
• Award winning pianist Olga Kern returns to the TSO in Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto. 
• Spoken word artist and activist Aaron Dworkin narrates An American Rhapsody. 
• Handel’s Messiah at Rosary Cathedral will awe audience members once again. 

“It’s exciting to celebrate 80 years of the Toledo Symphony with our wonderful musicians,” says Zak Vassar, TAPA President & CEO. “We celebrate this milestone with a truly incredible lineup of repertoire and artists. This will also be Eric Otto’s first full season as Artistic Director of Toledo Ballet, and he will direct two of Tchaikovsky’s most beloved ballets. And, of course, we are thrilled to continue our partnership with the Toledo Jazz Orchestra and celebrate their great season.” 

The ProMedica Masterworks series will feature twelve performances on either Friday or Saturday evening.  

The KeyBank Pops Series will feature six performances including two on Friday evenings and four on Saturday evenings. The concert start time for the KeyBank Pops series returns to 8PM.  

The Andersons Inc. Charitable Foundation Family Series will include three performances, one Thursday evening performance and two weekend matinees. 

The Hartmann Bogan Jazz Series will feature five performances including two Thursday and three Saturday evening performances. 

For full program information regarding the 2023/2024 season, visit toledosymphony.com or toledoballet.com. For questions, please contact Vanessa Gardner, Vice President, Marketing & Operations for the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts at vgardner@artstoledo.com. 

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ABOUT TOLEDO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 

The Toledo Symphony Orchestra is a community-supported organization of professional musicians and teachers who deliver quality performance and music education for all. 

Formed in 1943 as The Friends of Music and incorporated in 1951 as the Toledo Orchestra Association, Inc., the Toledo Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has grown from a core group of twenty-two part-time musicians to a regional orchestra that employs sixty-nine professional musicians who consider the Toledo Symphony their primary employer, as well as numerous extra players annually as repertoire demands. 

The Toledo Symphony reaches more than 260,000 individuals annually through performances and education programs. The series concerts (Masterworks, Pops, Chamber, and Family Series) are the critical underpinning of the orchestra’s artistic mission and regularly draw people from 135 postal zip codes. Education programs, student performances, and community concerts are held in schools, neighborhood churches, performing arts centers, and community facilities throughout the region; many are offered at no charge or provided at a reduced fee to help expand participation. 

ABOUT TOLEDO BALLET  

Toledo Ballet is a pre-professional dance company that inspires the passions and spirit of the Toledo community through dance. Toledo Ballet provides quality dance instruction and exceptional performance opportunities to over 250 students throughout northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan annually.  

Founded in 1939 by Marie Bollinger Vogt, Toledo Ballet continues to offer quality dance education spanning all ages and ability levels. Classes include ballet, contemporary, tap, tumbling, and Adaptive Dance, a unique class providing those with special needs an opportunity to learn to move in ways that come naturally to them. Acting, voice, musical theater, and conditioning are also offered at the school. In addition, Toledo Ballet brings in world-renowned, professional dancers each year to lead its summer intensive programs, drawing students from across the region seeking to advance their skills.  

Toledo Ballet students have competed at the national and international level, including the Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP), the world’s largest international student ballet competition, and many have pursued dance professionally at some of the most prestigious ballet institutions in the nation, including New York City Ballet, Chicago Ballet, and Cincinnati Ballet.  

ABOUT TOLEDO ALLIANCE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 

On January 1, 2019, the Toledo Ballet and Toledo Symphony officially merged to form the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), a new non-profit organization dedicated to providing exceptional live music and dance performances and education for the region. Stemming from an 81-year partnership and annual presentation of The Nutcracker in Toledo, this merger is one of only a few in the nation and promises to create new and invigorating programs, provide cost and revenue synergies in operations, and integrate the arts through shared educational missions.  

ABOUT THE TOLEDO JAZZ ORCHESTRA 

Since 1979, the Toledo Jazz Orchestra has worked with dozens of industry legends, including Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Williams, Clark Terry and Zoot Sims. This 18-member group also performs the works of the major big bands from the past eight decades along with arrangements commissioned specifically for the orchestra. The Toledo Jazz Orchestra has two albums to its credit titled “Groovin’” and “Out of Nowhere.” For more information about TJO, visit toledojazz.org.