Dear Friends,

Anticipating a new season of great music is always exciting. I can tell you, though, that this time around, it feels even more special and precious. Some of you know that health issues prevented me from conducting last fall. While I greatly missed doing so, the experience deepened my appreciation for so many things, not the least of which was the privilege of making music with an orchestra like the WSO and sharing it with a community like we have in Williamsburg.

There’s a lot of orchestral “color” in our upcoming season. Right out of the blocks, we hear the incredibly vivid music from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, ranging from shattering fortissimos to music of remarkable quiet and intimacy. There’s also Debussy’s masterpiece La Mer—perhaps the quintessential work of musical impressionism—with a tonal variety as wide and expressive as we see in any painting by Monet or Renoir. 

There are also quite a few works that we could call ‘cinematic,’ beginning with Hanson’s really lush and beautiful “Romantic” Symphony. And we close our season with a commission to honor America’s 250th anniversary fusion of photography and sweeping orchestral score from Peter Boyer, the composer of Ellis Island that we enjoyed two seasons ago. Given Williamsburg’s pivotal place in colonial history, it’s very fitting that we are joining with major orchestras like the National Symphony and the Cincinnati Pops to bring this new work to life in this anniversary season. 

I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with pianist Natasha Paremski (who will be spectacular in Prokofiev’s blazing 3rd concerto) and to working with the phenomenal young violinist, Amaryn Olmeda this season. I’m also very excited to collaborate with Sandbox Percussion Quartet in a piece that should be as fun to watch as it is to hear. And our October program places four of our amazing WSO principal musicians in the spotlight for a unique “quadruple concerto,” you might call it, from Haydn. 

And you may know that Wicked: For Good will be released in November. To celebrate, we have a trio of Wicked veterans joining us—two of them for our “Broadway Divas” program and one, Tiffany Haas, making her return to the Kimball stage for our Holiday Pops concerts. And I’m delighted that Paul Loren is headlining our Cabaret and Cocktails program for an evening of Sinatra-era classics. 

Thank you for your support in this invaluable community treasure and I look forward to seeing you (and all your friends, family and colleagues, too, I hope) as we embark on another journey of great music together!

Michael Butterman