The 2025-26 Season Announcement

The 2025-2026 Season Announcement

Save the dates!
Season Subscriptions will be available for renewal and sale starting on July 1, 2025.

Where Our Stories Meet: The music that binds us all.

Dear Friends,

It is with great excitement and pride that I invite you to experience the Canton Symphony Orchestra’s 2025–2026 season: Where Our Stories Meet. This year’s theme speaks not only to the music on our stage but to the process behind it—a season built on collaboration, shaped by the collective voices of our musicians, board members, and administrative team. It has been a joy to witness this organization come together in conversation, in planning, and in shared purpose to bring forth a season that reflects our deep commitment to artistic excellence while building connections within and beyond our community.

As we welcome an incredible lineup of guest conductors, each bringing their own voice and vision to our stage, we also welcome the unique stories that come with them. Their perspectives offer us a rare and beautiful opportunity to see and hear the music we love in new and inspiring ways. This season will be rich with fresh interpretation, bold programming, and the unmistakable energy that comes from creative exchange. This season will be reflective of us all.

We believe music is one of the most powerful ways to understand each other, to reflect on where we have come from, and to imagine where we might go together. We hope this season brings you joy, connection, and a sense of belonging—whether you are returning for your hundredth performance or joining us for the very first.

In music,

Rachel Hagemeier, President & CEO

Musical Collaboration

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Saturday, August 16, 2025 | 7:30 PM

Featuring the Players Guild Theatre and the Canton Symphony Chorus

Following the success of Ragtime: The Symphonic Concert, the Canton Symphony Orchestra once again joins forces with the Players Guild of Canton for a symphonic staging of Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

A stirring blend of theatrical storytelling and symphonic scale, The Hunchback of Notre Dame will be a production of epic scale.

The MasterWorks series serves as the cornerstone of the Canton Symphony Orchestra’s mission as a nonprofit performing arts organization. Delving into the expansive repertoire of orchestral music, we present a diverse array of traditional favorites, contemporary compositions, and pieces by overlooked or underappreciated composers from throughout history.

Classical music embodies a wealth of depth and diversity, spanning centuries, continents, and cultural landscapes. Within its vast tapestry, there are endless treasures waiting to be explored and appreciated. We extend a warm invitation for you to join us on this enriching musical journey!

For those eager to experience the full spectrum of our MasterWorks series, we offer the option to purchase concert tickets as a package, providing a convenient and cost-effective opportunity to enjoy these captivating performances with a discount of 15%.

Season subscriptions will be available for renewal and sale starting on July 1, 2025 through October 3, 2025.

MasterWorks I: Six Strings & A Symphony

Saturday, October 4, 2025 | 7:30 PM

Saturday, October 4, 2025 | 7:30 PM
Wesley Schulz, conductor
Meng Su, guitar

The 2025–2026 MasterWorks season begins in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month with a program rooted in cultural exchange, classical tradition, and artistic dialogue—an ideal starting point for Where Our Stories Meet.

El sombrero de tres picos, Suite No. 1 – Manuel de Falla
Concierto de Aranjuez – Juaquin Rodrigo
Overture to The Marriage of Figaro – W.A. Mozart
Symphony No. 4 – Ludwig van Beethoven

MasterWorks II: Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto

Saturday, November 1, 2025 | 7:30PM

JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Nikki Chooi, violin

Themes of resilience, lyricism, and identity shape this program led by JoAnn Falletta. The concert opens with Adolphus Hailstork’s Fanfare on Amazing Grace, a bold meditation on a timeless hymn, followed by Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, performed by Nikki Chooi, blending urgency and intimacy. The evening closes with Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6, last conducted here by Falletta in 1994—a rich tribute to Bohemian spirit and musical heritage.

Fanfare on Amazing Grace – Adolphus Hailstork
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 – Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 6 – Antonín Dvořák

MasterWorks III: Tchaikovsky’s Romeo & Juliet

Saturday, November 22, 2025 | 7:30 PM

Tito Muñoz, conductor
Mark Kosower, cello

As part of a season shaped by shared stories and human connection, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo & Juliet explores love in its many forms—romantic, fragile, and transformative. A masterclass in thematic development and dramatic pacing, the piece distills Shakespeare’s tragedy into pure symphonic narrative. Few composers have captured emotional extremes so completely—or so devastatingly.

“This Midnight Hour” – Anna Clyne
“The Guises of Love” (world premiere) – Daniel Perttu
Rococo Variations – Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Romeo & Juliet Fantasy – Pyotr Tchaikovsky

MasterWorks IV: Orchestral Kaleidoscope

Saturday, January 24, 2026 | 3:00 PM

Roger Kalia, conductor
Averi Ellis, narrator

Designed to engage listeners of all ages, Orchestral Kaleidoscope invites audiences into a colorful afternoon of musical storytelling, virtuosity, and cultural dialogue—reflecting the season’s theme, Where Our Stories Meet, through works that showcase the orchestra’s full expressive range.

Baião N’ Blues – Clarice Assad
The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra – Benjamin Britten
Orawa – Wojciech Kilar
Symphony No. 9 – Dmitri Shostakovich

MasterWorks V: An Alpine Symphony

Saturday, February 28, 2026 | 7:30 PM

Jeri Lynne Johnson, conductor
Photochoreography in collaboration with
Ben Myers and Canton City School District

At the heart of this program is Richard Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony—a monumental tone poem tracing a full-day ascent through the Alps, from sunrise to storm to nightfall. This immersive performance features original photochoreography, created in collaboration with Canton City Schools and drawn from community-submitted images, offering a local visual perspective on nature, change, and resilience.

Karelia Overture – Jean Sibelius
Floridian Symphony (co-commission) – Meilina Tsui
An Alpine Symphony – Richard Strauss

MasterWorks VI: Brahms’ German Requiem

Saturday, March 28, 2026 | 7:30 PM

Mélisse Brunet, conductor
Jessica Leigh Bayne, soprano
Sunghoon Han, bass-baritone
Canton Symphony Orchestra Chorus

In keeping with Where Our Stories Meet, this program pairs two deeply personal responses to grief and remembrance on the eve of Palm Sunday: one drawn from Andean heritage, the other from the Protestant Reformation.

Andean Elegy – Gabriela Lena Frank
A German Requiem – Johannes Brahms

MasterWorks VII:
We the People - An American Celebration

Saturday, April 25, 2026 | 7:30 PM

Francesco Lecce-Chong, conductor
Zhan Shu, violin

As the nation marks 250 years since its founding, the Canton Symphony Orchestra closes its 2025–2026 MasterWorks season with a program that reflects the evolving American story through voices both historic and contemporary. We the People is an orchestral reckoning with identity, heritage, and the complexities of shared national memory.

Bal Masque – Amy Beach
Violin Concerto, Op. 14 – Samuel Barber
Hymn for Everyone – Jessie Montgomery
The Tenderland Suite – Aaron Copland

The Employers Health Pops series serves as a gateway for audiences to explore orchestral programming with music that resonates more deeply with their familiarity. From nostalgic classics accompanied by the full orchestra alongside rock bands to showcasing exceptional local talent, each performance promises to immerse you in the symphonic experience, leaving you yearning for more.

To enhance your enjoyment of the Pops series, consider purchasing concert tickets as a package, offering a 15% discount. Alternatively, you can add individual Pops concerts to your MasterWorks subscription, tailoring your experience to suit your preferences and ensuring you don’t miss out on any of the performances.

Season subscriptions will be available for renewal and sale starting on July 1, 2025 through December 13, 2025.

Holiday Pops

Saturday, December 13, 2025 | 7:30 PM
Sunday, December 14, 2025 | 3:00 PM

Samson Toe, conductor
Featuring the Canton Symphony Chorus

Ring in the season with Northeast Ohio’s favorite holiday tradition! The Canton Symphony Orchestra and the Canton Symphony Chorus return for TWO festive performances of Holiday Pops—a heartwarming celebration filled with seasonal classics, holiday favorites, and a few musical surprises along the way.

The sleigh bells will ring! Will you be listening?

The Music of Pink Floyd

Friday, March 13, 2026 | 7:30 PM

Edward Leonard, conductor
Featuring Jeans ’n Classics

Experience the groundbreaking soundscapes of one of rock’s most iconic bands reimagined with full symphonic force. The Canton Symphony Orchestra welcomes back Jeans ’n Classics for An Evening of Pink Floyd—a genre-bending fusion of classic rock and orchestral power.

Guest conductor Edward Leonard leads the orchestra alongside the rock ensemble and vocalists of Jeans ’n Classics, whose arrangements honor the original spirit of the music while elevating it to new dimensions through live symphonic performance.

Macy Gray with the Canton Symphony Orchestra

Saturday, May 16, 2026 | 7:30 PM

Jason Seber, conductor
Featuring Grammy-winning artist Macy Gray

The Employers Health Pops Series comes to a close with an epic season finale as the Canton Symphony Orchestra shares the stage with Grammy Award-winning artist and proud Canton native Macy Gray.

Known for her unmistakable voice and fearless style, Gray rose to global prominence with her smash hit “I Try” and has remained one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary soul and R&B. This performance brings a rare chance to hear her biggest hits—“Sweet Baby,” “Still,” “Why Didn’t You Call Me,” “Beauty in the World”—reimagined with the full force of the orchestra, led by conductor Jason Seber.