Press Release: Saratoga Performing Arts Center Announces 2025 Philadelphia Orchestra Season with Music and Artistic Director YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN
February 23, 2025
Saratoga Performing Arts Center Announces
2025 Philadelphia Orchestra Season
with Music and Artistic Director YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN
With appearances by female powerhouse vocalists:
GRAMMY®-winning “Gen Z It Girl” LAUFEY
Three-time Oscar nominee & Tony, Emmy, GRAMMY Award-winner CYNTHIA ERIVO
Five-time GRAMMY-winning soprano RENÉE FLEMING
MARIN ALSOP returns to Saratoga to lead three performances including:
Tchaikovsky Spectacular, Holst’s The Planets and Gershwin & Bernstein
“2022 Musical America Conductor of the Year” TEDDY ABRAMS makes SPAC debut to lead
genre-bending trio TIME FOR THREE in new concerto
by contemporary composer MASON BATES
Next generation of star soloists featured including:
violinist RANDALL GOOSBY, cellist SHEKU KANNEH-MASON,
pianists CLAYTON STEPHENSON and BEATRICE RANA
Iconic masterpieces highlight the season including:
Verdi’s Requiem with stars from the Metropolitan Opera stage and ALBANY PRO MUSICA
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Stravinsky’s Suite from The Firebird, and Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite
Popular film nights return with HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE™ in Concert and
a 40th Anniversary Celebration of BACK TO THE FUTURE in Concert
Saratoga Springs, NY (February 23, 2025) – Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) announces the return of The Philadelphia Orchestra to its summer home in Saratoga for a three-week residency from August 6–August 23. The artistically ambitious season will feature a mix of masterworks from the classical canon alongside SPAC premieres and appearances by a diverse and international slate of today’s most exciting artists and conductors.
“Our 2025 Philadelphia Orchestra season is marked by a strong presence of today’s most exciting and acclaimed female artists. From the return of Marin Alsop, one of the great conductors of our time, to the appearance of three world-class vocalists from across the sonic spectrum – Laufey, Cynthia Erivo, and Renée Fleming – we look forward to bringing the unparalleled artistry of these women to our stage,” said Elizabeth Sobol, SPAC’s President & CEO. “Once again, our community can look forward to a jam-packed summer filled with iconic works that showcase the Orchestra’s virtuosity alongside SPAC premieres that spotlight both contemporary pieces and rarely performed works by underrepresented composers.”
Philadelphia Orchestra Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin (AUG 13 & 14) will return to the podium to lead two programs exclusive to SPAC. On August 13, he will conduct an evening featuring Stravinsky’s Suite from The Firebird and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for piano and orchestra with Italian pianist Beatrice Rana. The program will culminate with William Grant Still’s rarely performed Second Symphony (“Song of a New Race”) in its SPAC premiere, as part of SPAC’s and the Orchestra’s ongoing efforts to restore and perform works by underrepresented composers. The following evening, Nézet-Séguin will lead Verdi’s Requiem, marking the first time the piece has been performed at SPAC in 35 years. Called “one of the most sublime and terrifying works in the repertoire” (NPR), the masterwork will feature soprano Ailyn Pérez, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, tenor Matthew Polenzani and bass-baritone Alfred Walker alongside Albany Pro Musica.
Highlighting the season are appearances by GRAMMY-winning female vocalists that span the sonic spectrum. Returning to SPAC following her 2024 Saratoga Jazz Festival appearance is Laufey (AUG 9), a 25-year-old Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Called a “Gen Z It Girl” by The New York Times, her album Bewitched earned her a 2024 GRAMMY Award and broke the record as the biggest debut for a jazz album on Spotify in history. Known for her songwriting inspired by jazz greats and classical masters like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Chet Baker, she possesses a point of view that could only be conveyed by a 21st-century twentysomething. Laufey (pronounced lāy-vāy) will make her Philadelphia Orchestra debut with her “Night at the Symphony” program, which premiered with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and was made into a film directed by Sam Wrench (Taylor Swift |The Eras Tour).
Making her highly anticipated SPAC debut is three-time Oscar-nominated and GRAMMY, Emmy, and Tony Award–winning actress, singer, and producer Cynthia Erivo (AUG 22). Known for her powerhouse performances on both stage and screen, she is celebrated for her transformative roles in The Color Purple, Harriet, and most recently as the star in Universal’s record-breaking film adaptation of the hit musical WICKED. Joined by The Philadelphia Orchestra, Erivo will perform beloved Broadway hits, soul-stirring standards and her own original songs.
Returning for the first time since 2016 is five-time GRAMMY-winning soprano Renée Fleming (AUG 15). Known for her sumptuous voice, consummate artistry, and compelling stage presence, she will perform her signature pieces and arias alongside works from her GRAMMY Award–winning album Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene, in which Fleming explores humankind’s evolving relationship with nature, accompanied by a projected film created by National Geographic.
Kicking off the season with three performances is Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop (AUG 6—8), returning to SPAC for the first time since 2017. She will open the residency with the popular “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” program, followed by an evening anchored by Holst’s The Planets, and concluding with a program dedicated to works by Gershwin and Bernstein.
The next generation of soloists, conductors, and composers will also be featured this season, highlighted by violinist Randall Goosby (AUG 7), cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason (AUG 20), and pianists Clayton Stephenson (AUG 8) and Beatrice Rana (AUG 13). Genre-bending trio Time for Three (AUG 21) will also return by popular demand to perform a new concerto showcasing their versatility by contemporary composer Mason Bates. Led by 2022 Musical America Conductor of the Year Teddy Abrams in his SPAC debut, the program will also feature one of Aaron Copland’s signature works, Appalachian Spring Suite. Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Conductor Naomi Woo (AUG 20) will also make her SPAC debut with a program anchored by Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
Finally, the popular film nights will return to delight audiences of all ages as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ in Concert (AUG 16) and Back to the Future in Concert (AUG 23) are projected on the screens in HD, while the Orchestra performs the scores live.
Tickets to “Laufey: A Night at the Symphony” will be available beginning on February 24 at 10 a.m. for members (tiered by level) and on February 28 at 10 a.m. to the general public.
Tickets to all other Philadelphia Orchestra performances will be available beginning on February 27 at 10 a.m. for members (tiered by level) and on March 7 at 10 a.m. for the general public. Visit spac.org for details.
THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA: August 6 – August 23
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6 @ 7:30PM: Tchaikovsky Spectacular
Marin Alsop, conductor
Hai-Ye Ni*, cello
Tchaikovsky Selections from The Nutcracker
Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme, for cello and orchestra
Tchaikovsky Hamlet Overture*
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture
THURSDAY, AUGUST 7 @ 7:30PM: The Planets
Marin Alsop, conductor
Randall Goosby, violin
Sopranos and Altos of the Albany Pro Musica
Clyne Masquerade
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
Holst The Planets
FRIDAY, AUGUST 8 @ 7:30PM: Gershwin & Bernstein
Marin Alsop, conductor
Clayton Stephenson, piano*
Gershwin Cuban Overture
Bernstein Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Gershwin Piano Concerto in F
SATURDAY, AUGUST 9 @ 7:30PM: Laufey: A Night at the Symphony with The Philadelphia Orchestra
Laufey, vocalist
GRAMMY-winning jazz singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Laufey brings a spell-binding sonic journey performing alongside The Philadelphia Orchestra for her new “Night at the Symphony” program.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13 @ 7:30PM: Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff & Still
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Beatrice Rana, piano
Stravinsky Suite from The Firebird
Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, for piano and orchestra
Still Symphony No. 2 (“Song of a New Race”)*
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14 @ 7:30PM: Verdi’s Requiem with Yannick
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Ailyn Pérez*, soprano
Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
Matthew Polenzani*, tenor
Alfred Walker*, bass-baritone
Albany Pro Musica
Verdi Requiem
FRIDAY, AUGUST 15 @ 7:30PM: Renée Fleming with The Philadelphia Orchestra
Robert Moody*, conductor
Renée Fleming, soprano
One of the most beloved and celebrated singers of our time, five-time GRAMMY-winner Renée Fleming returns to SPAC with an all-new program alongside The Philadelphia Orchestra.
This breathtaking performance begins with inspiration from the GRAMMY Award-winning album Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene, in which Fleming explores humankind’s evolving relationship with nature, performing works from ranging from Handel to Björk and The Lord of the Rings, with a beautiful projected film created for the program by National Geographic. The second half of the program features beloved arias and songs, from Puccini to Rodgers and Hammerstein.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 16 @ 7:30PM: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ in Concert
Justin Freer, conductor
Hooper Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* (complete with film)
The Harry Potter Film Concert Series returns with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ in Concert. Displayed on a giant screen and accompanied by The Philadelphia Orchestra, audiences can relive the magic of Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts™ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Watch Harry become a wiz at potions, win Felix Felicis, and uncover the meaning of Horcruxes.
Nominated for the 2010 GRAMMY Award, Nicholas Hooper returns to the Harry Potter series with this magical score that debuted at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 chart. Considered “emotionally churning” by Variety, Hooper’s score features soaring and unique motifs that could only represent the grandeur and scope of the Wizarding World.
WIZARDING WORLD and all related trademarks, characters, names, and indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20 @ 7:30PM: Beethoven’s Fifth
Naomi Woo*, conductor
Sheku Kanneh-Mason*, cello
Coleridge-Taylor Ballade in A minor*
Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1
Beethoven Symphony No. 5
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21 @ 7:30PM: Copland & Bates with Time for Three and Teddy Abrams
Teddy Abrams, conductor*
Time for Three:
Ranaan Meyer, double bass
Nick Kendall, violin
Charles Yang, violin
Barber Adagio for Strings
Copland Appalachian Spring Suite
Bates Silicon Hymnal, for string trio and orchestra*
FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 @ 7:30PM: An Evening with Cynthia Erivo & The Philadelphia Orchestra
Steven Reineke, conductor
Cynthia Erivo, vocalist
Known for her powerhouse performances on both stage and screen, Cynthia Erivo is a Tony®, Emmy®, and GRAMMY® Award-winner and three-time Oscar nominee, celebrated for her transformative roles in numerous works, including The Color Purple, Harriet, and most recently, the widely celebrated film adaptation of Wicked. Her appearance, alongside the full Philadelphia Orchestra, promises an evening of unparalleled artistry as she gives voice to music made famous by the greatest singers of all time, including Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and Tina Turner, in addition to Broadway hits and her original songs.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23 @ 7:30PM: Back to the Future in Concert
Steven Reineke, conductor
Silvestri Back to the Future in Concert* (complete with film)
Celebrating the 40th anniversary, Back to the Future is the unforgettable movie blockbuster that topped the 1985 box office chart and stamped an enduring imprint on pop culture. Join Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and a Time Machine for the adventure of a lifetime as they travel to the past, present and future, setting off a time-shattering chain reaction that disrupts the space-time continuum. Now, fans old and new will experience the thrill of Back to the Future on a big high-def screen with The Philadelphia Orchestra performing Alan Silvestri’s dazzling musical score live.
Back to the Future is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios and U-Drive Joint Venture. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLC. All Rights Reserved.
*indicates SPAC debut/premiere
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Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), located in the historic resort town of Saratoga Springs in upstate New York, is one of America’s most prestigious outdoor amphitheaters. Its tranquil setting in a 2,400-acre park preserve surrounded by hiking trails, geysers, and natural mineral springs draws lovers of arts, culture and nature for performances by resident companies New York City Ballet, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Saratoga Jazz Festival, and concerts by Live Nation. SPAC also hosts imaginative programming such as Caffè Lena @ SPAC and initiatives in culinary, literary, healing and visual arts.
SPAC is a 501c3 charitable organization. Donations and proceeds from fundraising events benefit the Center’s thriving education program, community outreach efforts, and the vibrancy of its programming. For more information visit spac.org.