The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra recently announced its 43rd Season, to include nine Orchestra Series programs; two Symphony Under The Stars Outdoor Pops concerts to launch the season and another in April; the Hilton Head International Piano Competition; the fourth annual Jazz In The Park series; Coastal Home Supper Club and Gullah Geechee Cultural Series offerings at SoundWaves, and much more.

“The HHSO aspires to be the ‘go-to’ place for all things musical in the Lowcountry,” said HHSO President and CEO Alan Jordan. “Renowned for its exceptional performances and passion for music, the Orchestra’s dedication to musical excellence and community engagement has solidified its reputation as a cultural cornerstone of Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, and beyond.”

The HHSO’s fourth annual Jazz In The Park series launches the season, with six free outdoor concerts at Lowcountry Celebration Park, beginning at 7:30 pm on Tuesdays, June 25, July 9 and 23, August 6 and 20, and September 3, 2024. The series will open with Saturday Night Live’s keyboardist, Tuffus Zimbabwe, and his quartet, with subsequent concerts featuring the Junior Jazz Foundation’s Jazz Camp students and faculty; the Eric Jones Quartet; Folderol; the John Brackett Quintet; and the Martin Lesch Band. Jazz In The Park concerts are presented for free thanks to the generous support of co-sponsors Coligny Plaza, The Beach House, CharterOne

The fall season kicks off with two free outdoor Symphony Under The Stars pops concerts; the first on October 17, 2024, at 7:30 pm at Martin Family Park in Bluffton—an affiliated event of the Historic Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival. On October 18, 2024, at 7:30 pm, the HHSO will perform at Lowcountry Celebration Park at Coligny.

The Orchestra Series begins that same weekend on October 20 and 21, 2024, at First Presbyterian Church with violinist Melissa White performing Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. The MD Theatre Guide noted, “White’s playing was breathtaking. I have no other words for the grace, precision, and warmth she brought to the stage.” The program opens with Mikhail Glinka’s Ruslan und Lyudmila Overture and concludes with Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

On November 10 and 11, 2024, the HHSO celebrates American Music Month with “The American Experience,” featuring Duke Ellington’s The River and Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From The New World.” “Dvořák and Ellington represent the past, present, and future of American music,” said John Morris Russell. “Their infectious rhythmic drive, soulful harmonies, and rich, nuanced orchestration define the American sound.”

The HHSO’s traditional Holiday Pops concert will serve as the third Orchestra Series program. John Morris Russell will be joined by the 2024 HHSO Youth Concerto Competition winner, cellist Jaia Alli from Atlanta, GA; members of the HHSO Chorus; and the Hilton Head Dance Theatre for a program of holiday favorites that will include a suite of music from The Nutcracker. A special Holiday Pops concert will take place at St. Gregory The Great Catholic Church’s Parish Life Center in Bluffton on Saturday, November 30, 2024, at 7:00 pm. The Orchestra Series concerts will be held December 1 and 2, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church, Hilton Head Island.

On January 19 and 20, 2025, one of the greatest living violinists, Jaime Laredo, will be joined by cellist Sharon Robinson and pianist Anna Polonsky for a soloist showcase. Laredo will perform as soloist on Johann Sebastian Bach’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Robinson will perform the Elegy by Gabriel Fauré and Polonsky will perform Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1. On the second half, all three soloists will perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s groundbreaking Concerto for

The February 2 and 3, 2025, concerts will place drama and pathos front and center with a program that focuses on the Jewish Immigrant Experience. The program opens with an Overture for Small Orchestra by Han Krása, to open his children’s opera, Brundibár, which was written in the Terezin (Theresienstadt) concentration camp. Krása died at Auschwitz. Darius Milhaud and Kurt Weill both escaped war-torn Europe. Milhaud’s The Creation of the World drew influence from his 1920 trip to Harlem where he experienced “authentic” jazz. He went on to teach many composers including Burt Bacharach and Dave Brubeck. Known for The Threepenny Opera (which featured the ballad “Mack the Knife”) and the song-play, Mahagonnny, Weill composed Seven Deadly Sins, a sung ballet which brings the worlds of voice, dance, and orchestra together. In a collaboration with Wolf Trap Opera, the same cast performing the work there on June 1, 2024, under the direction of John Morris Russell, will perform at these concerts.

“Get Happy – A Judy Garland Celebration” will be presented on February 16 and 17, 2025 with songstress, Joan Ellison. Ellison notes, “Judy Garland was more than a singer—she was an icon, a trailblazer and the preeminent purveyor of the Great American Songbook.” “Joan Ellison IS Judy Garland,” stated the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I have never experienced anyone who can come close to capturing Garland’s unique artistry and essence as she does.” Highlights of the program include, “The Trolley Song,” “But Not For Me,” “Get Happy,” “Stormy Weather,” and (of course!), “Over The Rainbow.”

On March 2 and 3, 2025, the Claflin University Concert Choir and HHSO Chorus will reunite (following their triumphant 2023-2024 season finale, Beethoven Symphony No. 9) to perform Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. “One of the most deliciously decadent and thrilling works for chorus and orchestra, Carmina expresses a kaleidoscope of emotions and enchantment,” said John Morris Russell. The cantata draws inspiration from medieval poetry and themes. The lyrics of “O Fortuna” express the idea of fate, the wheel of fortune, and the capriciousness of life.

Violinist Adé Williams, who first appeared with the HHSO in 2013 as a Sphinx Young Artist, returns to perform Antonio Vivaldi’s timeless The Four Seasons on April 6 and 7, 2025. Guest

The Orchestra Series closes on April 27 and 28, 2025 when John Morris Russell and the HHSO present two masterworks by the French composer, Claude Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and La Mer (the Sea). Sandwiched in between will be a performance of Piano Concerto No. 17 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with the eminent Uruguayan pianist, Enrique Graf, whom The Washington Post described as “One of the brilliant pianists of our times.”

The 27th annual Hilton Head International Piano Competition featuring twenty of the world’s finest pianists, ages 18-30, will take place March 10 through 17, 2025. Four exciting rounds of competition over eight days before an internationally renowned panel of jurors will lead to a performance of three complete concertos with the HHSO and three finalists. “The Road to Carnegie Hall begins on Hilton Head!”

On April 1, 2025, John Morris Russell and the HHSO will present their Spring Symphony Under The Stars outdoor pops concert at Lowcountry Celebration Park. Details will be announced later.

The season will also feature the HHSO Youth Concerto Competition, attracting the most talented young string players from throughout the southeastern United States with finals taking place January 25, 2025. The 10-day Hilton Head Chamber Music Institute is in June, 2025, where 16 string students from across the U. S. learn from, and work with, top faculty from Vanderbilt, Florida State, and Michigan University with public performances and master classes.

The Coastal Home Supper Club, running monthly from September through June, and the four- concert Gullah Geechee Cultural Series, will all be part of the offerings at SoundWaves, the HHSO’s intimate dinner-performance venue in Coligny.

All Orchestra Series concerts will take place at First Presbyterian Church on Hilton Head Island, with Sunday performances beginning at 4:00 pm and Mondays beginning at 7:30 pm. All classical concerts are preceded by a pre-concert chat with John Morris Russell, guest conductors, and soloists. These informative, thought-provoking, and engaging presentations open the door to the composers and their music, as well as the personal and professional lives of the performers.

Orchestra Series subscriptions in 9, 6, and 3-concert packages are available by calling the HHSO office at (843) 842-2055. Single tickets will go on sale beginning September 1, 2025.

For more information, visit hhso.org, or call the HHSO at (843) 842-2055.