Classical Music for All

Dallas Symphony fills expansive 2022-23 season with premieres and debuts

Fabio Luisi, Dallas Symphony Orchestra music director

Conductor Fabio Luisi and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will return for an expansive season in 2022-23.

Photo by Barbara Luisi Photography

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra has announced the programs for its 2022-23 concert season, one featuring over 40 different events highlighting the past, present, and future of classical and orchestral music.

According to the DSO release, the Classical Series will include composers heard for the first time at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, the home for the majority of DSO concerts. Pops and family programming will celebrate many genres of music, from jazz and blues to radio hits and film music.

“We are thrilled to present a diverse range of music and to explore classical music in new ways and from new perspectives,” said Ross Perot President & CEO Kim Noltemy in a statement. “The DSO welcomes everyone to its performances, and we hope that audiences will discover something new or rediscover some favorites.”

The season, running September 2022 to June 2023, will kick off on the weekend of September 2-4 with a screening of Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, with the orchestra playing John Williams' iconic score live.

Music Director Fabio Luisi, now in the third year of his tenure with the DSO, will lead nine concert programs during the season, starting with a classical program and the 2022 Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gala on the weekend of September 30-October 2. That classical program, featuring Richard Strauss' tone poem Don Quixote, will feature cellist Jan Vogler in his DSO debut as soloist.

In one of his final concerts of the season, taking place May 4-7, 2023, Luisi will lead the DSO in Brahms’s Fourth Symphony, which will be the final installment in its recording project of the complete Brahms Symphonies. That concert will also include the world premiere of composer-in-residence Angélica Negrón's Arquitecta.

In addition to Vogler, a number of other musicians and conductors will make their DSO debuts during the season. On the musician/singer side, soprano Jeanine De Bique will solo in a concert featuring Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (September 22-24); and violinist Randall Goosby will take on Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto (January 27-29, 2023).

On the conductor side, Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena will lead works by Haydn, Ginastera, and Debussy (October 20-23); LA Opera Music Director James Conlon will make his postponed debut with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 (January 5-8, 2023); Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste will lead a program of Russian music (April 27-30, 2023); and Spanish conductor Jaime Martín will finish the DSO Classical season with works by Hungarian composers (May 26-28, 2023).

The fourth annual Dallas Symphony Women in Classical Music Symposium will return, November 6-9, offering networking events, performances, and opportunities for peer engagement on the unique experiences of women in classical music. Soprano Julia Bullock will be presented with this year’s Award of Excellence during the symposium.

The Pops Series, featuring three concerts led by Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik, will feature a variety of popular and movie music. Popular music concerts will include Kings of Soul, showcasing the music of Marvin Gaye, James Brown, The Temptations, and more (March 10-12, 2023); Back to the '80s, with music by Madonna, Huey Lewis & The News, Queen, and more (April 14-16, 2023); and Nothin’ But the Blues!, which pays tribute to people like Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Ma Rainey, and Louis Armstrong (June 23-25, 2023). There will also be Aretha: A Tribute, solely dedicated to the iconic work of Aretha Franklin (October 14-16).

The DSO is obviously a huge fan of John Williams, as — in addition to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial — each of the other movie-focused concerts will feature his work. There will be a screening of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (October 28-30); a holiday screening of Home Alone (December 16-18); and an evening celebrating the music of Williams, including Jaws, Star Wars, Schindler’s List, and Munich (February 17-19, 2023).

Subscriptions are now on sale at dallassymphony.org, with packages starting at $176. Single tickets will go on sale to the public in June.

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A Familiar Face

Dallas Theater Center names Jaime Castañeda as new artistic director

Photo courtesy of Dallas Theater Center

Jaime Castañeda is the Tony-winning theater's new artistic director.

The Tony Award-winning Dallas Theater Center has found its next artistic director: Jaime Castañeda, who has a long history with both DTC and North Texas, will become the regional theater's sixth artistic director beginning July 2026. The 2026-27 season will be the first chosen by him.

Jonathan Norton, DTC’s resident playwright, is currently serving as interim artistic director and will continue to lead the remainder of the 2025-26 season, which culminates in the world premiere of his play Malcolm X and Redd Foxx Washing Dishes at Jimmy’s Chicken Shack in Harlem in May.

“DTC is committed to artistic excellence and community engagement, and we believe Jaime’s experience, creativity, bold vision, and proven leadership, coupled with his dedication to innovation, will guide DTC into an exciting new chapter in the life of the theater," says board chair Lynn Pride Richardson in a release.

In 2012, Castañeda directed DTC’s production of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz. But he began his career more than 20 years ago in Dallas-Fort Worth by founding Firestarter Productions while still attending Texas Christian University. In addition to directing at DTC, other local theater credits include Kitchen Dog Theater, Amphibian Stage, and Circle Theatre. Castañeda is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award, the Drama League Directing Fellowship, and holds a BFA from Texas Christian University and an MFA in Directing from University of Texas at Austin.

Most recently, Castañeda directed at such leading theaters across the country as American Conservatory Theater, South Coast Repertory, Huntington Theatre Company, and La Jolla Playhouse, where he previously served as associate artistic director from 2014-2018. He was also artistic associate at Off-Broadway's Atlantic Theater Company from 2009-2014.

"Jaime brings a bold, visceral artistic vision, a deep commitment to new voices, and a collaborative leadership style that inspires artists and audiences alike,” says DTC executive director Kevin Moriarty. “With his Texas roots and national experience, I am thrilled to welcome him home as DTC’s new Enloe/Rose artistic director. I have known and admired his work since 2007, when he was already one of the most exciting emerging directors in North Texas, and I later saw him create unforgettable work for DTC on the Wyly stage and at leading theaters nationwide.”

As artistic director, Castañeda will lead the theater’s artistic vision, direct and produce plays and musicals, oversee DTC’s Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company, and partner with Moriarty, the staff, and the board of trustees to advance DTC’s mission, vision, and values.

Castañeda joins a distinguished line of artistic leadership at Dallas Theater Center, including founding artistic director Paul Baker, Adrian Hall, Ken Bryant, Richard Hamburger, and Moriarty, who served as artistic director from 2007-2022.

“We are extremely pleased with a successful national search that brings Jaime to Dallas Theater Center,” says DTC board member Chris Luna. “His energy is contagious and he understands Texas and Dallas. We look forward to collaborating with Jaime as he continues his innovative approach to regional theater.”

Castañeda was selected for the role following a national search led by Management Consultants for the Arts. The search committee was co-chaired by Luna and Richardson, and included Moriarty, Norton, Jennifer Altabef, Diane Brierley, Lauren Embrey, Sam Holland (Dean, SMU Meadows School of the Arts), Sharron Hunt, Randy Kender, Julie Kosnik, Deborah McMurray, Sam Megally, Liz Mikel (DTC Brierley Resident Acting Company member), Andy Smith, Lily Weiss (executive director, Dallas Arts District) and Donna Wilhelm.

“Growing up in Texas, Dallas Theater Center was one of the first places where I saw what professional theater and excellence looked like,” Castañeda says. “I’m thrilled to come back and build on the history of artists and leaders who have been a part of this organization. I’m eager to join Kevin, the board, and our staff to create lasting theatrical experiences for our audiences.”

Dallas Theater Center's current production of A Christmas Carol runs through December 27 at the Wyly Theatre.

dallas theater center jaime castañeda kevin moriarty theater