Beethoven’s Ninth with Yannick

Philadelphia Orchestra Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin returns to SPAC to anchor the 60th anniversary season with the return of the piece that opened the Orchestra’s first season at SPAC in 1966, Beethoven’s iconic Ninth Symphony, featuring a star-studded cast of soloists—soprano Leah Hawkins, mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, tenor Issachah Savage, and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green — joined by Albany Pro Musica. 

The evening opens with the SPAC premiere of William Grant Still’s rarely performed Wood Notes, a pastoral suite inspired by the American South and the poetry of Joseph Mitchell Pilcher. This performance continues SPAC’s and the Orchestra’s ongoing commitment to restoring and presenting works by underrepresented composers. 

Tickets go on sale to the public on Wednesday, March 25 at 10AM. ​

​SPAC Member presale takes place March 16 through 24, tiered by membership level: ​

• President’s Circle, Premiere Patron, & Corporate Visionary: Monday, March 16 at 10AM​
• Golden Patron, Corporate Innovator, & Corporate Pioneer: Thursday, March 19 at 10AM​
• Patron, Corporate Leader, & Corporate Mentor: Monday, March 23 at 10AM
• Bravo & Encore: Monday, March 23 at 10AM​
• Applause & Ovation: Tuesday, March 24 at 10AM

Not a member? Join today for presale access!

Please note: All e-tickets for The Philadelphia Orchestra will be sent one week prior to the performance date. Please contact the Box Office with any questions at 518-584-9330.

*Please note that web & phone ticket purchases will incur a $7 service fee; no fees are applied for in-person ticket purchases at our Box Office.

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Program

*Indicates SPAC premiere 

This program is approximately 90 minutes long, with no intermission. 

Performers

Yannick Nézet-Séguin | conductor
Leah Hawkins* | soprano
J’Nai Bridges | mezzo-soprano
Issachah Savage* | tenor
Ryan Speedo Green* | bass-baritone
Albany Pro Musica | chorus 

*Indicates SPAC debut 

Canadian-born conductor and pianist Yannick Nézet-Séguin is currently in his 14th season with The Philadelphia Orchestra, serving as music and artistic director. An inspired leader, Yannick is both an evolutionary and a revolutionary, developing the mighty “Philadelphia Sound” in new ways. His collaborative style, deeply rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm have been heralded by critics and audiences alike. The Philadelphia Inquirer has said that under his baton the Orchestra is “at the top of its considerable form”; the Associated Press has called it “a premier orchestra at its peak”; and the New York Times wrote, “the ensemble, famous for its glowing strings and homogenous richness, has never sounded better.” 

Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most thrilling and sought-after talents of his generation. He became the third music director of New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 2018. In addition, he has been artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000. In 2017 he became the third-ever honorary member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He served as music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic from 2008 to 2018 (he is now honorary conductor) and was principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic from 2008 to 2014. He has made wildly successful appearances with the world’s most revered ensembles and at many of the leading opera houses. 

Yannick has shown a deep commitment to expanding the repertoire by embracing an ever-growing and diverse group of today’s composers and by performing and recording the music of underappreciated composers of the past, including Florence Price, Clara Schumann, William Dawson, Lili Boulanger, Louise Farrenc, and William Grant Still. In 2018 he signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Under his leadership The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to recording with 15 releases on that label, including Florence Price Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3, which won a GRAMMY® Award for Best Orchestral Performance in 2022.  

A native of Montreal, Yannick studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at Montreal’s Conservatory of Music and continued his studies with renowned conductors, most notably Carlo Maria Giulini; he also studied choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. Among Yannick’s honors are an appointment as Companion of the Order of Canada; Companion to the Order of Arts and Letters of Quebec; an Officer of the Order of Quebec; an Officer of the Order of Montreal; an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; Musical America’s 2016 Artist of the Year; ECHO KLASSIK’s 2014 Conductor of the Year; a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; Canada’s National Arts Centre Award; the Prix Denise-Pelletier; the Oskar Morawetz Award; and honorary doctorates from the University of Quebec, the Curtis Institute of Music, Westminster Choir College of Rider University, McGill University, the University of Montreal, the University of Pennsylvania, Laval University, and Drexel University.  

To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit philorch.org/conductor. 

Soprano Leah Hawkins is the recipient of The Metropolitan Opera’s 2024 Beverly Sills Artist Award and a graduate of their Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Additional honors include the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Women in Classical Music Career Advancement Award, Richard Tucker Foundation Career Grant and the Marian Anderson Award. 

In the 2025-2026 season, Ms. Hawkins’ makes her role and house debut as Madame Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites at The Dallas Opera followed by a reprise of the role with New Orleans Opera, she returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Serena in Porgy and Bess, and makes her highly anticipated house debut as Tosca at La Monnaie in Brussels. On the concert stage, she appears with New Orleans Opera, Opera Italiana is in the Air in Central Park for Opera Unbound: A Sunset Serenade, gives a homecoming recital at Morgan State University with pianist Kevin Miller, and presents a recital at Pittsburg State University. 

Last season, Hawkins returned to The Metropolitan Opera as Leonora in Il trovatore, made her role debut as Aida at Arizona Opera, and joined The Philadelphia Orchestra for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She also curated and performed her own recital program C’est ainsi que tu es (That is how you are) at the Park Avenue Armory, and made her debut with The Apollo Orchestra in a concert of Verdi arias. 

Leah received her Master of Music in Voice from Yale University and Bachelor of Arts in Music from Morgan State University. 

Two time Grammy® Award-winning American mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, known for her “plush-voiced mezzo-soprano” (The New York Times), and “calmly commanding stage presence” (The New Yorker) has been “marked out at an early stage as a singer headed for top flight” (Financial Times), gracing the world’s leading operatic and concert stages “with a voice both voluptuous and statuesque” (The New York Times).  

Ms. Bridges has emerged as a leading figure in classical music’s shift toward conversations of inclusion and racial justice in the performing arts. In 2022 she was announced as one of the Kennedy Center’s NEXT50 cultural leaders, and appeared with The National Philharmonic in the world premiere of Adolphus Hailstork’s A Knee on the Neck that same year. Bridges led a highly successful panel on race and inequality in opera with the Los Angeles Opera that drew international acclaim for being a “conversation of striking scope and candor” (The New York Times). Ms. Bridges was also featured in the Converse shoe brand’s All Stars Campaign for its Breaking Down Barriers collection, and performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel for two episodes of the digital SOUND/STAGE series. She was also a part of the Global Citizen movement’s Global Goal campaign, a program which also included Coldplay, Shakira, Usher and more and was featured as a “DVF” Woman, a campaign started by clothing designer Diane Von Furstenberg recognizing leading women who also love fashion.   

Bridges is a recipient of the prestigious 2018 Sphinx Medal of Excellence Award, a 2016 Richard Tucker Career Grant, first prize winner at the 2016 Francisco Viñas International Competition, first prize winner at the 2015 Gerda Lissner Competition, a recipient of the 2013 Sullivan Foundation Award, a 2012 Marian Anderson award winner, the recipient of the 2011 Sara Tucker Study Grant, the recipient of the 2009 Richard F. Gold Grant from The Shoshana Foundation, and the winner of the 2008 Leontyne Price Foundation Competition. 

Dramatic tenor Issachah Savage has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, and the Melbourne Symphony. He has collaborated with many of today’s foremost conductors, such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gustavo Dudamel, Riccardo Muti, Fabio Luisi, James Conlon, Gianandrea Noseda, Marin Alsop, Jaap van Zweden, Robert Spano, Lorenzo Viotti, and Susanna Mälkki. His wide-ranging symphonic repertoire includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Smyth’s Mass in D, Giddens and Abel’s Omar’s Journey, Mozart’s Requiem, Verdi’ s Messa da Requiem, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, and Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder. 

Operatic highlights include performances with The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, Seattle Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Opéra National de Bordeaux, Dutch National Opera, Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, and the Salzburg Festival. He has sung much of the great dramatic tenor repertoire, including the title roles in Tannhäuser, Otello, Peter Grimes, and Rienzi; Siegmund in Die Walküre; Radamès in Aida; Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos; Der Kaiser in Die Frau ohne Schatten; Manrico in Il trovatore; and Narraboth in Salome. 

Savage is the winner of the Seattle International Wagner Competition, where he earned the main prize, audience favorite prize, orchestra favorite prize, and a special honor from Speight Jenkins. He has also received awards and grants from institutions such as the Wagner Societies of New York, Washington, D.C., and Northern California; the Licia Albanese International Puccini Foundation; the Olga Forrai Foundation; the Gerda Lissner Foundation; the Jensen Vocal Competition; Opera Index; and the Giulio Gari Foundation. 

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Morgan State University and a master’s degree in Opera Voice Performance from The Catholic University of America. 

Named “the real showstopper” by the New York Times, three-time Grammy Award-winning bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green has established himself as an artist of international demand at the world’s leading opera houses and orchestras. The 2025 – 2026 season sees a return to The Metropolitan Opera for important role debuts including King Marke in a new production of Tristan und Isolde directed by Yuval Sharon, as well as his house debut in the title role of Don Giovanni; both productions conducted by music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Mr. Green also makes his role debut as Crown in Porgy and Bess at the Met, conducted by Kwamé Ryan. Additionally, Mr. Green returns to the Bayerische Staatsoper to sing the roles of Escamillo in Carmen and Don Fernando in Fidelio, and returns to the role of Wotan in Die Walküre as part of his longstanding relationship with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. 

In the fall of 2016, Little, Brown published Sing for Your Life, by New York Times journalist Daniel Bergner. The book tells the story of Mr. Green’s personal and artistic journey: from a trailer park in southeastern Virginia and from time spent in Virginia’s juvenile facility of last resort to the Met stage. The New York Times Book Review called the book “one of the most inspiring stories I’ve come across in a long time,” and the Washington Post called it a “vital, compelling, and highly recommended book.” Sing for your Life has been honored with a number of recognitions including the New York Times bestseller and editor’s choice, a Washington Post Notable Book, and a Publishers Weekly Book of the Year. 

A native of Suffolk, Virginia, Mr. Green received a Master of Music degree from Florida State University, a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hartt School of Music, and was a member of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Mr. Green currently sits on the Board of Regents at the University of Hartford and the board of Opera America. 

Albany Pro Musica (APM) is the preeminent choral ensemble in New York’s vibrant Capital Region, and is renowned for its exceptional technical competency, exquisite artistry, and purposeful programming that is relevant and meaningful in today’s society. Critically acclaimed for its performances of intimate a cappella pieces and large-scale choral works alike, APM offers four series concerts each season plus numerous special performances with distinguished local, national, and international partners, with a deliberately curated repertoire that includes classical masterpieces from the choral canon, new compositions from modern and contemporary composers, and popular selections from the worlds of Broadway, traditional, folk music and more. APM also offers several educational programs, including competitive music internships and two choral festivals for young musicians: the High School Choral Festival, held annually for regional students, and the Pro Musica International Choral Festival, which is a biennial week-long choral institute for youth from across North America.  

APM is led by Opalka Family Artistic Director Dr. José Daniel Flores-Caraballo and is Chorus-in-Residence at the historic Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, the University at Albany, and the Mostly Modern Festival. Maestro Flores-Caraballo has led the organization since 2014 and has elevated the ensemble through ambitious programming, prestigious musical collaborations, a renewed commitment to civic and educational engagement, and a bold vision for the future. albanypromusica.org

Please note, only one discount is valid per ticket.

Thank You to Our 2026 Philadelphia Orchestra Sponsors

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