Ashland Symphony Orchestra returns to the stage Sept. 18 to open its 52nd season

ASHLAND - The Ashland Symphony Orchestra will open its 52nd concert season with “Welcome Back!,” on Saturday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Robert M. and Janet L. Archer Auditorium, according to a news release from ASO.

The ASO is auditioning five candidates for the position of music director/conductor. Each will program and conduct a concert during the 2021-22 season, the release said.

First on the podium is Darwin Aquino. He has selected Beethoven’s “Fidelio Overture,” Max Bruch’s “Violin Concerto No. 1” featuring soloist David Halen, and “El Amor Brujo” by Manuel de Falla. In addition, Aquino has composed an original work titled “Lunga Pandemia,” which will have its world premiere with the ASO. This program is presented without intermission.

Dominican conductor and composer, Aquino appears internationally and is regarded as among the most accomplished Latin American artists of his generation, in both symphonic and operatic fields. For the 2020-21 season, Aquino has been appointed as the new music director of the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra. He serves as music director for the Música Sacra concert series in Santo Domingo, Music Director of the Gateway Festival Orchestra, Conductor-in-Residence for the Washington University Symphony Orchestra and Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Missouri St. Louis.

Halen is recognized as one of the most esteemed musical leaders of an American orchestra

Concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Halen is recognized as one of the most esteemed musical leaders of an American orchestra, according to the release. 

Halen began playing the violin at the age of 6, and earned his bachelor’s degree at the age of 18 studying with his father, the late Walter Halen. In that same year, he won the Music Teachers National Association Competition and was granted a Fulbright scholarship for study at the Freiburg Hochschule für Musik in Germany, the youngest recipient ever to have been honored with this prestigious award.

In addition to the 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in-person performances, this program will be available to stream on demand from Sept. 24 to Oct. 23.

Tickets for live and virtual concerts are $24 for adults, $21 for seniors and $5 for children and students and may be purchased at the ASO office located at 331 College Ave, or by calling at 419-289-5115 or online at ashlandsymphony.org. Season ticket packages are still available.

At this time, the ASO is asking all patrons to wear masks. Patrons may also request socially distanced seats at the time of purchase.

Samaritan Hospital Foundation is the season sponsor

According to the release, season sponsor is Samaritan Hospital Foundation; and program supporters are Packaging Corporation of America, Ann K. Guthrie, and Ron and Carolyn Marenchin. Additional support provided in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council, a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.