Wichita Symphony Orchestra’s new season was informed by lessons learned during COVID

In both its artistic selections and its concert structure, the 2022-23 season for the Wichita Symphony Orchestra will reflect lessons learned during the COVID pandemic.

“One thing we were sure of during this pandemic was that everything was unpredictable,” music director and conductor Daniel Hege said. “We had to be very flexible, and in doing so, were able to discover some new works, which was very nice.”

Responding to what Hege called the “twin pandemics” of 2020, COVID and the escalating racial tension nationwide, the symphony in its current season added selections from largely unheralded composers of color, which will continue next season.

“It pushed people to think about how we could bring out these voices that should be heard,” Hege said. “We’ve been bringing in BIPOC (Black, indigenous and people of color) composers, female composers who are very well-deserving of getting some prime-time time with the orchestra.”

The symphony is also breaking with tradition by offering single concerts instead of two performances in one weekend.

“We’ve sort of been watching that coming down the pike for many years,” symphony CEO Don Reinhold said.

The symphony is offering a “Super Pass” for all eight concerts of the season or “Compose Your Own” packages of at least three performances.

“The structure of the season is still the same: buy it all or choose your own,” Reinhold said.

The Wichita Symphony will continue outdoor concerts, returning to Wichita parks beginning in May, and offering spring and fall concerts in 2022 at Botanica.

“We’ve usually done pops at the beginning and the end of the season indoors. But this new setup at Botanica is worthy of our exploration of it,” Reinhold said. “It’s a real partnership.”

Hege said the thought of a summer pops concert is interesting, but the reality of June-through-August heat and unpredictable weather caused a change of plans.

“If you look at late spring or early fall, those are times that actually work quite well,” he said.

Reinhold said that according to recent surveys nationwide, slightly more than half of symphony audiences are ready to return to indoor performances.

“That means there’s another (one-)third to 50% still out there, trying to assess their safety and health risk,” he said. “The numbers are obviously heading in the right direction.”

Reinhold said the WSO attendance figures mirror those national numbers.

“It’s coming back slowly,” he said.

Inside the Century II Concert Hall, several soloists return to WSO concerts, including three pianists.

“We try to make as rich and diverse of an offering as possible,” Hege said. “We have this brand-new piano (a 2018 Steinway) we like to show off, so we like to bring in some great pianists.”

The 2022-23 season offers variety while maintaining the standards, Reinhold said.

“There are some pieces here that any symphony audience would recognize, and between our experience in the past season, some of the most interesting stuff is things we’re discovering for the first time,” he said.

Here’s a look at the coming season:

Oct. 30: Symphonie Fantastique. The Berlioz piece in the concert’s title is a “perfect fit” for its Halloween Eve performance, Hege said. “It’s a mainstay of the repertoire and a perfect time to revisit that.”

Pianist Joyce Yang returns to perform Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.”

“There are certain pianists who make a great impression with us, with the orchestra, with the audience,” Hege said. “And Joyce is one of those pianists who have done extremely well.”

Nov. 19: Mozart Requiem. The Wichita Symphony Chorus will be featured in the Requiem; principal trumpet David Hunsicker will be featured on Haydn’s “Trumpet Concerto in E-Flat Major,” which Hege calls “one of the greats for that instrument.” Modern composer Caroline Shaw’s work will open the concert.

Dec. 4: Christmas Fantasies. In a family concert, the orchestra will play Howard Blake’s soundtrack to the award-winning British Christmas special “The Snowman” as it shows on screen. “It’s humorous and it’s sweet and it’s very, very moving,” Hege said. It will be bookended by Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel: Prelude” and selections for Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” mostly from the second act, Hege said.

Jan. 22, 2023: Afternoon in Paris. An all-French concert opens with composer Louise Farrenc (“another treasure we discovered,” Hege said), as well as Ravel and Saint-Saens, the latter featuring pianist Orion Weiss.

Feb. 11, 2023: Blue Electra. Michael Daughtery’s violin concerto “Blue Electra” was written about native Kansan Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed plane, which gives it “an important connection” to Wichita, Hege said. It will be performed by violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, for whom it was written. A piece by William Grant Still, whom Hege called the “dean of African American composers” opens the concert, which is concluded by Schumann’s “Rhenish” symphony. “It’s such a rich and colorful, amazing piece of music,” Hege added.

Feb. 18, 2023: Aretha: A Tribute. Broadway veteran Capathia Jenkins and three-time Grammy nominee Ryan Shaw perform Aretha Franklin standards including “Respect,” “Think,” “Natural Woman,” “Chain of Fools” and “Amazing Grace.” Pops concerts like this, Hege said, shows the orchestra’s variety: “The Wichita Symphony is a very versatile orchestra. We can do pops or classics, whatever is written for orchestra.”

March 26, 2023: All Things Majestic. The concert begins with the show’s title piece, written by Jennifer Higdon, “one of the most sought-after composers in the country,” Hege said. Composer Jessie Montgomery’s “Rounds for Piano and String Orchestra” will be performed by pianist Awadigan Pratt, “written with him in mind,” Hege said. It will conclude with Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.” “People coming to that can expect to hear some new things they will like a lot and something very familiar,” Reinhold said. Rei Hotoda will be the guest conductor.

April 22, 2023: Prokofiev 5. Prokofiev’s fifth symphony —as well as Wagner’s “Tannhauser Overture” and Jimmy Lopez Bellido’s “Peru Negro” – “are just orchestra blockbusters that really feature the (WSO).”

Season tickets start at $75, with tickets to individual concerts going on sale in mid-August.

Information about several additional concerts in the WSO schedule will be available within the next few weeks, Reinhold and Hege added.