The Mighty Terence Blanchard Closes out the Jacksonville Symphony’s Jazz Series

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On Sunday, May 5, the revered trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard performs original works and songs from Wayne Shorter’s catalog with E-Collective and Turtle Island String Quartet at Jacoby Symphony Hall inside the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts. It’s the final installment of the Jacksonville Symphony’s Chase Jazz Series. Blanchard has maintained a prime position in the global hierarchy …

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For the 2023-2024 Season, The Jacksonville Symphony is Bigger and Better Than Ever

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As the venerable Jacksonville Symphony edges closer to its 75th year of operation, the future is looking brighter than ever for Northeast Florida’s premier cultural institution. With dozens of concerts and other events scheduled for the 2023-2024 season, not only is there something for everyone this year, there are actually several things for everyone. The season is already underway, so let’s …

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Jazz Returns to the Jacksonville Symphony

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The Jacksonville Symphony has long specialized in offering their music in contexts designed to appeal to people who aren’t necessarily hardcore classical fans, and that has proven key to their success in an era that has been challenging, at best, for the symphony business overall. They’ve dabbled extensively in jazz in the past, but June’s Jazz at the Jacksonville Symphony …

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Best Concerts of the Week in Jacksonville

The Avett Brothers, Cheap Trick, Third Eye Blind, The Slaps and more

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Our weekly Go concert recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. For the comprehensive list of this week’s concerts, go to our live music calendar page. Rock  Cheap Trick – Wednesday, March 15 Florida Theatre | Downtown Jacksonville  Eighties rock icons Cheap Trick visit the Florida Theatre on Wednesday.  Watch | Tickets | Map  Pop/Rock  Third Eye Blind – …

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Go | The Best Concerts of the Week in and Around Jax

Jax Symphony returns, Lucius on the Backyard Stage and more

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Each week the JME team looks long and hard at the concert calendar to identify the best shows in Jacksonville. Our weekly Go recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. Of note: Sing Out Loud, the month-long St. Augustine-based music festival continues this week. To dig in deeper on this year’s festival, consult our interactive guide to this year’s …

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Jax Symphony’s Courtney Lewis Debuts at the Hollywood Bowl

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It was a hot, rainy, muggy Monday afternoon in Jacksonville, but the weather was perfect in Los Angeles, where Jacksonville Symphony Music Director Courtney Lewis found himself touching down on Sunday, August 22. Lewis was in the thick of preparations for the symphony’s 2022-2023 season, when he was asked to step in for a special guest conducting gig with his …

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After a Memorable Season, The Jax Symphony is Finishing Strong

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The Jacksonville Symphony will soon wrap on its first full season since the pandemic’s peak. And what a year it’s been. This was also the symphony’s first full season without the late Robert E. Jacoby (1928-2021) — an Eagle Scout, an Army tank commander and one of the key philanthropists in Jacksonville’s history. His influence could be felt in places …

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Go | Jacksonville Symphony wind and string ensembles at WJCT

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The Jacksonville Symphony’s 2021/2022 season is underway, and, as expected, the beloved local institution has been firing on all cylinders. From the highly approachable Symphony in 60 and pops series events to the mind-blowing musicianship on display in the symphony’s Mozart Piano Series (which kicked off with Italian virtuoso Alessio Bax and contiuned with once-in-a-generation talent Conrad Tao in late …

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Conrad Tao is an undeniable maestro of the millennial age

The renowned musician tackles Mozart with the Jacksonville Symphony

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There are prodigies and then there are prodigies. At the earliest age, pianist Conrad Tao displayed quasi-supernatural, or surely genius, skills in performing music. The Illinois native began playing children’s songs on the piano while only 18 months old; he began violin lessons at the age of three, gave his first piano recital at the age of four, and five …

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What’s All the Fuss About the Jax Symphony’s New Piano?

Those in the know are giddy about this state-of-the-art Steinway.

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The Jacksonville Symphony’s 2021-2022 season includes the David M. Hicks Mozart Piano Series: an impressive roster of guest artists, all younger and celebrated pianists who are performing an equally savvy program of piano concertos composed by the 18th-century composer.  In September of last year, pianist Daniel Hsu joined the orchestra for performances of Piano Concerto No. 20; last month, pianist …

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Virtuoso pianist Alessio Bax and the Jacksonville Symphony present Mozart’s atmospheric masterpiece

The classical music maestro discusses his love for Mozart and the Jax Symphony's new Steinway

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While still only in his early forties, pianist Alessio Bax has the credentials of a bona fide maestro of classical music.  At 14 years old, he graduated from the Niccolò Piccinni Conservatory in Bari, Italy. In his teens, he was already winning international competitions. In the decades since, he’s performed with major symphonies around the globe, has been featured on more …

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Go | These are the Jacksonville concerts you don’t want to miss this week

Classical, prog punk or salsa: Take your pick

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Each and every week the Jacksonville Music Experience team identifies the best concerts in Northeast Florida. This week’s calendar is chocked full of top-notch shows. Here’s what the JME team wants to see and hear.  Americana  The Wood Brothers – Wednesday, December 1 Ponte Vedra Concert Hall | Ponte Vedra With a new record grounded in improvisation, Grammy Award-nominated Americana trio …

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Symphony in 60 | Courtney Lewis and the Jacksonville Symphony are bringing classical music to places its never been

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“Symphony in 60” is the latest initiative by the Jacksonville Symphony, which under the leadership of Music Director Courtney Lewis has been putting an increased emphasis on accessibility over the last few years. Those efforts have paid off well. Conditions were far from ideal for classical music institutions like the Jacksonville Symphony even before the pandemic applied near-lethal financial pressure …

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Go | This week’s best live music bets

Harvard educated viral video maker, Beethoven’s best and a Southern Hip-hop standout

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Each and every week the Jacksonville Music Experience team identifies the best concerts in Northeast Florida.  Here’s what’s on the JME team’s concert calendar this week.  Singer-Songwriter Austin Weber – Monday, November 15 Eraser Records | Murray Hill Austin Weber is probably the type of guy you want at your birthday party. He’s famed for creating viral videos. He studied …

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The Jacksonville Symphony fires up the band for another season of classical and pop favorites

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Live musicians navigating the realities of performing onstage during the pandemic age are facing unique predicaments. Former concerns about load-ins, soundchecks, and coveted drink tickets have been readily muted. Now musicians are facing current anxieties regarding personal and public health, social distancing, “to mask or not to mask” and other high-volume, Covid-related realities. Add to those factors the anxiety of …

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