BOSTON CIVIC SYMPHONY CONTINUES ITS
100TH SEASON SUNDAY MARCH 9TH AT JORDAN HALL
Works by Wagner, Walker, and Sibelius
Pay Homage to Civic’s History
(Boston, MA January 21, 2025) The Boston Civic Symphony continues its 100th anniversary season as Music Director Francisco Noya leads the orchestra in a program of works by Wagner, Walker and Sibelius on Sunday March 9th at 3pm at Jordan Hall in Boston. Tickets and information about all Boston Civic Symphony concerts can be found at bostoncivicsymphony.org.
“For this concert, we are delighted to share musical memories of two of my predecessors who led this wonderful orchestra, Paul Cherkasky (1944-1961) and Max Hobart (1979-2017)” said Noya. “Maestro Hobart had the tradition of starting the first rehearsal of every season by playing the Overture to Meistersinger by Richard Wagner, and so in homage to his leadership and influence, we will proudly open the March 9th concert with that wonderful work.”
Violinist Paul Cherkasky, who was a long-time member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in addition to leading Civic for 17 years, emigrated to the US from Finland in 1923. In Europe, he had been friends and a musical collaborator with the great composer Jan Sibelius, premiering several of his works.
“Cherkasky introduced a significant amount of Sibelius’ music to the Boston Civic,” explained Noya. “To commemorate that influence and his contribution to the orchestra, we will perform two works by Sibelius.” Civic will play incidental music composed for Shakespeare’s The Tempest and his 7th Symphony, both pieces written in 1924 and 1925, the first seasons of the Boston Civic Symphony.
The program will also mark the Boston premier of George Walker’s Trombone Concerto with the BSO’s principal trombone Toby Oft as soloist. “In addition to being a wonderful musician, Toby Oft is a vibrant example of the century-long relationship that we’ve had with our colleagues at the Boston Symphony,” declared Maestro Noya.
Oft is the 12th principal trombone in the history of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Appointed in 2008 by then-music director James Levine, he is in his ninth season with the BSO, where he has performed both as a soloist with the orchestra and as a chamber musician with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. Oft previously held principal trombone positions with the San Diego Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Sarasota Orchestra. International career highlights as a concerto soloist have included acclaimed performances of such works as Launy Grøndahl’s Concerto for Trombone and Ferdinand David’s Concertino for Trombone with a diverse variety of ensembles on several continents.
Francisco Noya is a prominent figure in the Boston and New England music scene, where he has earned a reputation as a versatile interpreter of symphonic and operatic literature. Noya began his professional career in his native Venezuela, as conductor of the Youth Orchestra of Valencia, one of the original ensembles of “El Sistema.” After earning advanced degrees in composition and conducting from Boston University, Noya was appointed to serve as assistant conductor of the Caracas Philharmonic and assistant to the music director of the Teatro Teresa Carreño, one of the most prestigious theaters in Latin America.
In addition to serving as music director of the Empire State Youth Orchestra in Albany, New York for ten seasons, Noya has appeared as guest conductor of the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Baltimore, Nashville, San Antonio, and Omaha Symphony Orchestras, among others. He has been a member of the Conducting faculty at Berklee College of Music for nearly 24 years.
About Boston Civic Symphony
Founded in 1924 by the late educator, conductor, and composer Joseph Wagner, the Boston Civic Symphony is one of Boston’s most respected musical organizations. At the time, Wagner was director of music in Boston public schools and had formed an all-high school orchestra of Boston students. Those musicians became the nucleus of the Boston Civic Symphony that performed during the 1924-25 season.
Over the past century, Civic has distinguished itself from other community classical music groups by building on Wagner’s model of engaging exceptionally skilled student musicians alongside classically trained amateur performers. Leonard Bernstein and Yo-Yo Ma are two notable soloists who performed with Civic, during their time as undergrads at Harvard.
Boston Civic Symphony performs Sunday March 9th at 3pm at Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston. Tickets and information can be found at bostoncivicsymphony.org.
