Cello Concerto Archives - El Paso Symphony Orchestra

THE EL PASO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
ANNOUNCES ITS 95^TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

2025-2026 Season features a Gold Medalist, Explores Space,
and features the Spectacular Carmina Burana!

For 95 years, EPSO has cultivated community through classical music. EPSO’s journey began in 1893 and became established permanently in 1931. Today, it proudly claims to be the longest continuously running symphony in Texas. Maestro Bohuslav Rattay, only the 6th conductor in EPSO’s 95-year history and currently in his 12^th season, will once again lead the orchestra in concerts featuring a vibrant selection of works, each carefully chosen and performed by our dedicated musicians.

“I am excited to invite you to the El Paso Symphony Orchestra’s 95th Anniversary Season—a significant milestone that celebrates our shared love for music. Music has the unique ability to bring us together, creating moments of connection that resonate long after the final note has played,” Music Director Bohuslav Rattay says.

EPSO’s 2025-2026 season begins with a special Gala fundraiser celebrating 95 years and honoring Marlene Stewart at 6:30 pm Saturday, September 13, at the El Paso Country Club. Marlene will be awarded the El Paso Patron of the Arts Award in appreciation of her more than 40 years of exemplary leadership, devotion, and unwavering support of the arts in our community. We honor her contributions and celebrate her legacy.

The classical series will begin at 7:30 PM on September 19-20 at the Plaza Theatre. The gold medal winner of the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Aristo Sham, will join the EPSO for Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor. Additionally, the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Rattay, will present Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. This symphony, often referred to as the “Fate” symphony, is a deeply personal work that reflects the composer’s life experiences and struggles. It explores themes of fate, melancholy, and ultimately finding joy amidst adversity.

EPSO is set to explore the universe on October 17-18, 2025, with a program titled “Space Odyssey.” The performances will begin with John Williams’ Adventures on Earth from E.T., followed by Eric Whitacre’s piece, “Deep Field: The Impossible Magnitude of Our Universe,” accompanied by film. This film enhances the score by combining stunning imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope, including never-before-seen galaxy fly-bys, with original animations. Together, they create an immersive and unforgettable journey from planet Earth to the farthest reaches of our universe.

The first half of the season concludes with “A Christmas Fantasia,” which will be held at 7:30 PM on December 5-6 at the Plaza Theatre. The concerts will feature the incredible voices of the UTEP Choral Union. Audiences can expect to experience an enchanting blend of Fantasia and the spirit of Christmas in this whimsical holiday concert, transporting them to a world of wonder.

Also this fall, EPSO is thrilled to continue its film series with Jurassic Park in Concert at 7 pm on November 8 at the Plaza Theatre. The El Paso Symphony Orchestra will accompany the film, featuring visually stunning imagery and groundbreaking special effects projected in HD with the symphony orchestra performing John Williams’ iconic score live to film.

The second half of the season begins January 23-24, with “Majestic Rhythms” to include Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole and Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite. The February 27-28, 2026 concerts will highlight the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and “The Seventh Symphonies” of Prokofiev and Beethoven. Our 95th season will conclude April 24-25, 2026, with Carl Orff’s spectacular Carmina Burana.

Download Season Brochure

SEASON TICKETS: Season tickets are available through the El Paso Symphony Orchestra at (915) 532-3776 or online at www.epso.org. Season ticket prices (6 classical concerts): $246, $210, $183, $102, $72 plus fees. Discounts for the season tickets are 20% seniors and active-duty military, 30% educators, and 50% students.

SINGLE TICKETS for classical concerts are on sale now. Individual prices are $49, $44, $37, $23, and $17 plus fees. Student tickets for $9 and $12 plus fees are available. Tickets may be purchased at epso.org, ticketmaster.com, or by calling the EPSO office (915) 532-3776.

LEARN MORE: Join EPSO prior to each performance at Opening Notes, 6:30pm in the Philanthropy Theatre, to get insights on the program, composers, and artists.

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra is supported in part by the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra (EPSO) led by conductor Bohuslav Rattay will ring in the New Year with Grammy award-winning cellist Zuill Bailey in concerts fittingly titled A Grammy Performance. Zuill Bailey, sponsored by Mrs. Robert M. Graham, Sr., and EPSO will take the Plaza Theatre stage on January 17 and 18, 2020, 7:30pm. These concerts celebrate the 15^th annual collaboration between the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and El Paso Pro-Musica, whose joint mission is to present world-renowned artists to perform on multiple stages throughout El Paso, reaching a broader audience.

The concerts first half feature two of the pinnacles of the romantic classical repertoire: Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. The concerts open with Bailey and EPSO performing Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto which is one of the best-loved of 19^th-century concertos. Next is Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, which he wrote while going through a severe depression. Learning to escape depression through his work, Tchaikovsky wrote the Rococo Variations for Cello and Orchestra, one of his most nostalgic affirmations of love to what he perceived as the virtuousness of the eighteenth century.

The second half of the performances highlight the orchestra in Dvořák Symphony No. 7, op. 70 in D minor. Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society in 1883 and is a departure from the composer’s usual musical style, which is known for its brightness and folk theme-filled melodies. While still containing some Slavic elements, the Seventh Symphony is a little less bright and contains less folk material than his earlier works, with prevalent tragic and dark themes.

LEARN MORE: Join EPSO and Dr. James Welsch, EPSO Assistant Conductor, prior to each performance at Opening Notes, 6:30pm in the Philanthropy Theatre, to get insights on the program, composers and artist.

ABOUT ZUILL BAILEY: Zuill Bailey, widely considered one of the premiere cellists in the world, is a Grammy Award winner, distinguished soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, Artistic Director and teacher. His rare combination of celebrated artistry, technical wizardry and engaging personality has secured his place as one of the most sought after and active cellists today. Recent highlights include appearances with orchestras such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, Israel, San Francisco, Toronto, Nashville, North Carolina, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and the Philharmonia (UK) with conductors Itzhak Perlman, Carlos Kalmar, Neeme Jarvi, Jun Markl, Stanislav Skrowaczewski, Alan Gilbert, Andrey Borekyo, Krzysztof Urbanski, Giancarlo Guerrero, Andrew Litton, Grant Llewellyn and James DePriest. He was honored as the distinguished Alumnus of 2014 by Johns Hopkins University Peabody Institute.

Zuill Bailey is an internationally renowned recording artist with over 20 titles. His extensive discography includes the Bach Cello Suites, the newly released Schumann, Haydn Cello Concertos and Britten Cello Symphony/Cello Sonata CD’s, all of which immediately soared to the Number One spot on the Classical Billboard Charts. The Grammy Award-winning Tales of Hemingway swept the board with three Grammy Awards including Best Solo Performance by Zuill Bailey. Mr. Bailey performs on the “rosette” 1693 Matteo Gofriller Cello, formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet. He is the Artistic Director of El Paso Pro-Musica (Texas), the Sitka Summer Music Festival/Series and Cello Seminar, (Alaska), the Northwest Bach Festival (Washington), guest Artistic Director of the Mesa Arts Center (Arizona) and Professor of Cello at the University of Texas at El Paso.

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra is supported in part by the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

RECAP:
Opening Notes: Friday, January 17 & Saturday, January 18, 2020, 6:30pm Philanthropy Theatre (Free)
Concerts: “A GRAMMY PERFORMANCE”

Friday, January 17 & Saturday, January 18, 2020, 7:30pm Plaza Theatre
El Paso Symphony Orchestra
Bohuslav Rattay, Conductor
Zuill Bailey, Cello
Saint-Saëns Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1, op. 33 in A minor
Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme, op. 33
Dvořák Symphony No. 7, op. 70 in D minor
Tickets: $46, $41, $35, $22, $16 and $9 and $12 for students plus applicable fees. Tickets may be purchase at epso.org, ticketmaster.com or by calling the EPSO office at (915) 532-3776.