The Des Moines Symphony will launch its 85th Season, “City of Music,” in September at the Civic Center.

The 2022-2023 Season includes beloved favorites like Stravinsky’s Firebird, Holst’s The Planets, Gershwin’s An American in Paris, and a Season Finale celebrating the 150th birthday of Sergei Rachmaninoff. Alongside these classics, Music Director and Conductor Joseph Giunta has created concert programs that highlight new voices and ideas, including several works by diverse and underrepresented composers. Of the 26 pieces in the Symphony’s 85th Masterworks season, nearly half have never been performed on the Civic Center stage.

“Every program in our 85th Season blends familiar favorites with new experiences, incorporating a wide variety of sounds and colors to create a musical tapestry as unique and special as Des Moines itself,” said Maestro Joseph Giunta. “We truly believe that this great music is for everyone, and that all are welcome at the Symphony.”

Along with its 85th Season, the Symphony today announced two major new artistic initiatives that will enable the organization to continue growing its standard of artistic excellence well into the future. The Symphony’s September Season Debut marks the first Harriet S. and J. Locke Macomber Concert, an annual series aimed at presenting once-in-a-lifetime works and internationally renowned soloists. As part of the new Charlotte & Fred Hubbell Artist in Residence program, violinist Kevin Zhu will spend five days working with Academy students, leading master classes and visiting classrooms before performing with the Des Moines Symphony. This yearly initiative offers unique opportunities for deeper engagement within the community, creating exceptional experiences for Central Iowa audiences.

The Symphony’s Masterworks series is comprised of seven Classical programs performed on Saturday evenings at 7:30pm and Sunday afternoons at 2:30pm. Seven-concert subscriptions start at $105 per person with half-price student tickets available in all sections. The Symphony’s Flex Packages, consisting of four vouchers to be used in any combination throughout the season’s Masterworks concerts, start at $68 per person or half-price for students.

The Symphony’s Pops series will return in 2022-2023 for a trio of concerts featuring the music of Queen and a New Year’s Eve concert celebrating Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and more with artists Tony DiSare and Capathia Jenkins. In May 2023, Broadway star Kelli O’Hara sings with the Des Moines Symphony as part of an annual collaboration with Des Moines Performing Arts. Three-concert Pops subscriptions start at $101 per person. Pops Pair tickets, including one ticket each for The Music of Queen and New Year’s Eve Pops, start at $65.

Subscriptions for the Symphony’s Masterworks and Pops series go on sale at 10am Monday, April 11 and are available at dmsymphony.org/subscribe, by calling the Civic Center Ticket Office at 515.246.2300, or by visiting the Ticket Office at 221 Walnut Street.

Single tickets for all concerts will go on sale in summer 2022.

2022-2023 MASTERWORKS SEASON

• SEASON DEBUT: GERSHWIN, RODRIGO & RAVEL The Harriet S. and J. Locke Macomber Concert Sharon Isbin, called “the pre-eminent guitarist of our time,” joins the Symphony for a dazzling Season Debut packed with new and familiar classics, including Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Rodrigo’s virtuosic Fantasia para un gentilhombre, and Ravel’s rapturous, passionate Daphnis et Chloe. (Sep 24 & 25, 2022)

• THE FIREBIRD Grammy-nominated pianist Joyce Yang returns to Des Moines in a brilliant showcase of stunning moments and orchestral thrills. Hear Rachmaninoff’s ravishing Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, then the colorful, evocative tale of the Firebird raises the rafters of the Civic Center. (Oct 22 & 23, 2022)

• THE PLANETS Holst’s exuberant evocation of our solar system, The Planets, conjures our unfathomable universe in a swirling, spirited concert that features Adolphus Hailstork’s joyous Fanfare on Amazing Grace, James MacMillan’s eloquent Larghetto for Orchestra, and Elgar’s cheerful, rowdy Cockaigne Overture. (Nov 19 & 20, 2022)

• MAHLER 5 Our February concerts open with Valerie Coleman’s Seven O’Clock Shout, an anthem celebrating the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising star Kevin Zhu performs Tchaikovsky’s bold and romantic Violin Concerto; finally, experience the tragedy and triumph of Mahler’s monumental Fifth Symphony. (Feb 4 & 5, 2023)

• ST. CLAIR CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY Renowned conductor Carl St. Clair leads the Orchestra in a dramatic program beginning with John Wineglass’s profound Alone Together. Aubree Oliverson plays Bruch’s beloved First Violin Concerto; finally, the wild euphoria and desolate despair of Tchaikovsky’s ethereal “Pathétique” Symphony. (Mar 11 & 12, 2023)

• APRIL IN PARIS Franco-Belgian sensation Camille Thomas joins the Des Moines Symphony for an all-French program featuring Berlioz’s bright Roman Carnival Overture, Lili Boulanger’s ‘On a Spring Morning’ and the colorful can-can from Offenbach’s Gaite Parisienne. But first, experience Saint-Saëns’s passionate First Cello Concerto. (Apr 22 & 23, 2023)

• SEASON FINALE: GIUNTA CONDUCTS RACHMANINOFF Season Finale! Hear Rachmaninoff’s glorious, lyrical Second Piano Concerto played by one of classical music’s most exciting new artists, Gabriela Martinez. Anna Clyne’s mysterious This Midnight Hour begins a program which concludes with Rachmaninoff’s rapturous, romantic Second Symphony. (May 13 & 14, 2023

2022-2023 POPS SEASON

• THE MUSIC OF QUEEN Back by popular demand! Experience all your favorite Queen hits from “Under Pressure” to “Bohemian Rhapsody” and more performed by the Des Moines Symphony and a soaring rock band. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind tribute to one of the most iconic bands in history! (Oct 15, 2022)

• NEW YEAR’S EVE POPS: FRANK & THE GREAT LADIES OF SONG Broadway brass meets old school class in a fresh take on songbook classics with award-winning vocalists Capathia Jenkins and Tony DeSare. Ring in the New Year with timeless classics made famous by legendary singers Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and more! (Dec 31, 2022)

• AN EVENING WITH KELLI O’HARA In collaboration with Des Moines Performing Arts One night only! Tony Award-winning singer and actress Kelli O’Hara, hailed by The New York Times as “Broadway musical’s undisputed queen,” joins the Des Moines Symphony for an intimate program of American Songbook classics and modern Broadway favorites. (May 6, 2023)

Visit dmsymphony.org for complete season details.