On Saturday, Sept. 9, the Butler County Symphony Orchestra’s 2023-24 season kicks off at the Big Butler Fairgrounds with “Take Me Back to Chicago.” The show, featuring Chicago co-founder Danny Seraphine as its headline act, is being billed as the most spectacular concert in the symphony orchestra’s 75-year history.
But the Saturday concert is just the beginning of a season which will feature seven shows and last until April 13, with one concert for every month except January.
After the opening concert, every subsequent show will take place at the Butler Intermediate High School auditorium, which has served as the home of the symphony for years.
The Butler Symphony Orchestra plays a concert at Butler Intermediate High School in 2022. Submitted Photo
“This has been our standard spot,” said the symphony’s executive director, John Furman. “It has great acoustics. It's the only spot that can seat 1,200 people in Butler County. And there's free parking at the school.”
The next show after the concert with Seraphine will be Saturday, Oct. 7, and features the touring Beatles tribute show the Classical Mystery Tour. Martin Herman will serve as the guest conductor for this show.
In fact, each of the six shows in the season will feature a guest conductor, most of whom are from the Pittsburgh area. According to Furman, this is being done out of necessity. Matthew Kraemer, the symphony’s former conductor, has taken up a new position in the Deep South.
“He got a job as the music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic,” Furman said. “It was an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
Matthew Kraemer will return to Butler to serve as guest conductor for the Butler County Symphony Orchestra concert on March 2. Butler Eagle File Photo
However, Kraemer will return to serve as guest conductor for the concert on March 2 featuring Mahler’s Titan. This concert will also feature a brand-new, original piece commissioned by the orchestra, composed by Daniel Perttu, a native of Neshannock, Pa.
The season concludes April 13 with The Music of John Williams, featuring Lucas Richman as guest conductor. Richman will lead the orchestra through some of Williams’ most famous Hollywood soundtracks, including “Superman,” “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”
For all six concerts, presale tickets are $30 for adults and $10 for children and students. On concert day, tickets are $35 for adults and $12 for children and students.
