Message from the Maestro
Dear Redwood Symphony Patrons,
I’m very excited to be completing my 40th year with an upcoming season that’s balanced between past works I’m eagerly reprising and new works to be explored. Redwood Symphony is continuing its third complete Mahler symphony cycle with the monumental Second Symphony, “Resurrection;” the orchestra will be joined by Schola Cantorum. Other favorites to be performedinclude Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique Symphony, Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony and Brahms’ Second Symphony.
For newer works, Redwood Symphony will present Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony, written after the composer’s revelatory first encounter with Mahler’s music. It is, perhaps, Shostakovich’s truest and most fearless symphony on a grand scale!
There will also be music by Mason Bates, Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy López Bellido, Elizabeth Maconchy, Copland and Respighi. The orchestra welcomes performances by great soloists including Miranda Liu (Korngold’s Violin Concerto), Natalya Lundvedt (Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 ), Yueh Chou (Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto), Jason Lin (Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnol for violin) and a Redwood Symphony quartet (Lisa DiTiberio, Peter Stahl, Ellis Verosub, Delphean Quan) performing Concert á Quatre for flute, oboe, cello and piano by Olivier Messiaen.
Even the highly popular Halloween Concert (come in costume and learn how to conduct!) will include a world premiere: A Country Fair, written and narrated by the well-known Bay Area composer Kirke Mechem.
Redwood Symphony offers innovative and ambitious programming, pre-concert lectures and free admission for children with a paying adult. There’s also ample free parking. I look forward to seeing you soon.
Best regards,
Dr. Eric Kujawsky
Conductor and Music Director
Series concert tickets may be purchased either as a subscription or as individual performances.
Special concerts are not included in season ticket packages.
Herald, Holler and Hallelujah
Series concert
Sat September 21, 2024 at 8:00 pm
pre-concert talk at 7:00 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- Wynton Marsalis Herald, Holler and Hallelujah
- Sergey Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2
- Natalya Lundtvedt, piano
- Jean Sibelius Symphony No. 5
Our 40th season opener will leave you both shaken and stirred with three very exciting works! After Mr. Marsalis’ brilliant fanfare, Ms. Lundtvedt makes her…
Halloween Concert: Musical Pictures
Special concert
Sun October 27, 2024 at 2:00 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- John Williams Hedwig’s Theme from “Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone”
Conducted by Kyle Baldwin
- Kirke Mechem (arr. Kirke Mechem) A Country Fair
- Walter Mayes, narrator
World premiere
- Modest Mussorgsky (arr. Maurice Ravel) Pictures at an Exhibition (excerpts)
- John Philip Sousa Washington Post March
Music has the magical power to summon mental pictures that are unique to each listener. Explore this musical dimension in works like A Country Fair by Kirke Mechem in the world premiere of the new orchestrated version. Raffle tickets available to win a chance for your child to conduct the orchestra!
Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony
Series concert
Sat November 23, 2024 at 8:00 pm
pre-concert talk at 7:00 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- Felix Mendelssohn Overture in C for wind ensemble and percussion
Conducted by Kyle Baldwin
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Bassoon Concerto
- Yueh Chou, bassoon
- Dmitry Shostakovich Symphony No. 4
Shostakovich at his most miniature and massive! Almost everyone will recognize the composer’s ubiquitous and haunting waltz that opens the program. The massive Fourth Symphony…
Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony
Series concert
Sun February 16, 2025 at 2:00 pm
San Mateo Performing Arts Center
600 N Delaware St, San Mateo, CA 94401
- Aaron Copland In the Beginning
Conducted by Buddy James
- San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir
- Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 2 (“Resurrection”)
- Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano
- Raeeka Shehabi-Yaghmai, soprano
- Schola Cantorum Silicon Valley
- Cal State East Bay Singers
- San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir
Creation and Resurrection! Don’t miss this: One of the supreme emotional mountain peaks of music, Mahler’s awesome 90-minute symphony with mammoth orchestra, two vocal soloists and large chorus unleashing its full power. Maestro Eric Kujawsky and the Redwood Symphony are joined by Schola Cantorum Silicon Valley with additional singers from Cal State East Bay and the San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir. SFBACC opens with a large a cappella work by Aaron Copland, surely a wonderful discovery for most in the audience!
Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique
Series concert
Sat April 5, 2025 at 8:00 pm
pre-concert talk at 7:00 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- Mason Bates Sound Check in C Major
- Olivier Messiaen Concert à quatre
- Lisa DiTiberio, flute
- Peter Stahl, oboe
- Ellis Verosub, cello
- Delphean Quan, piano
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (“Pathetique”)
A daring and eclectic program indeed! The first half will feature modernism at its most gleaming and seductive. Mason Bates’ deft blend of orchestra and…
Miranda Liu plays Korngold
Series concert
Sat May 31, 2025 at 8:00 pm
pre-concert talk at 7:00 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- Elizabeth Maconchy Proud Thames Overture
- Erich Korngold Violin concerto
- Miranda Liu, violin
- Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 2
We’re delighted to welcome back the stunningly gifted violinist Miranda Liu, to perform Korngold’s masterpiece. Why isn’t this delightful work, written by the great Hollywood…
Outdoor Concert 2025
Special concert
Sat June 21, 2025 at 7:00 pm
Redwood City Courthouse Square
2200 Broadway, Redwood City, CA 94063
Learn More | FREE CONCERT!
Bring your lawn chairs and settle in under a warm summer sky to enjoy great music from Redwood City’s only symphony orchestra! Program TBA
Chamber Orchestra Concert 2025
Special concert
Sat July 26, 2025 at 8:00 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- Jimmy López Bellido Fiesta!
Conducted by Kyle Baldwin
- Édouard Lalo Symphonie Espagnole
- Jason Lin, violin
- Ottorino Respighi Ancient Airs and Dances No. 2
This festive concert features strains of Mediterranean/Hispanic culture, dance music and rousing good times, with a healthy dose of virtuosity thrown in. Our own Jason Lin…