Concertmaster Holly Mulcahy begins the season with Jim Stephenson’s Violin Concerto, subtitled “Tributes.” The composer states the music is a tribute to those who inspired the work - composers and performers, past and present. As we open the season, we’ll let the music be a tribute to our audience for supporting and attending your Wichita Symphony for seventy-nine years.

In Richard Strauss’s opera Der Rosenkavalier, the tribute comes in the form of a silver rose sent by an aging and boorish Baron to his young betrothed via a middleman, a young, handsome count. We can guess what happens next, but in the captivating music of this orchestral suite, Strauss imbues his music with wit, affection, and the glorious Viennese waltz. It’s a gorgeous orchestra sound to sweep you off your feet.