Orchestra Opens 67th Season

Thursday night the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra opened its 67th season.

Music Director Robert Spano launched the new season with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at the orchestra's home in Midtown. The 2011-2012 season will be Spano's (as well as Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles') 11th year with the orchestra. 

"Working with this orchestra has always been one of my greatest joys," Spano said in a release.

The new season "will welcome great premieres, wonderful friends of the orchestra as conductors and soloists, and musical experiences I’m certain our audiences will enjoy sharing with us," Spano said.

Here are some highlights of the 2011-2012 season:

• The new season will offer three world premieres, one U.S. premiere and 14 Atlanta premieres.

• Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will be one of 12 American orchestras to perform at Carnegie Hall during its 125th anniversary season. The concert is set for Nov. 5. The orchestra has performed at Carnegie Hall 22 times in its history, including 12 times with legendary conductor Robert Shaw who first brought the orchestra there in 1971. 

• The orchestra will present two "Theater of a Concert" presentations during the season. During those events, visual elements such as film, art and lighting are intertwined with the musical performance "to enhance the concert experience in powerful ways,” said Spano, who will close the season in June with one of the special-format performances.

• The orchestra will welcome 19 instrumentalists and 17 vocalists during the new season.

• On Jan. 12, 2012, the orchestra will perform its 20th tribute concert for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma will join the orchestra for the anniversary performance of "A King Celebration," which will be broadcast to 250 radio stations. 

Tickets are on sale now. For more information, call the ticket office at 404-733-4800 or visit the website.