When planning this season’s performances, the Oregon Symphony staff mulled through their collective imaginations until they settled on musical programs everyone would enjoy. From musical activities for families with young children; to an iconic movie score accompanying its matching film projected on a big screen to a nine-time Grammy-winning trumpet player, there’s concert entertainment for all ages.

“The breadth of offerings for this new season covers every musical genre imaginable,” says Russell Kelban, vice president of marketing and strategic engagement for the Oregon Symphony. “From classical masterworks of Beethoven and Mozart to the music of George Gershwin and John Williams – even the orchestra performing while acrobats perform above them – the new season satisfies all musical tastes.”

The season begins this September with “Common with the Oregon Symphony” a hip-hop artist and film producer. Treat yourself and a fellow music lover to Mahler’s First Symphony conducted by Oregon Symphony’s Music Director David Danzmayr. The composer takes a rapt audience through an extraordinary musical journey that awakens nature, depicts an Austrian Ländler dance, and ends in a blaze of glory. In November, make plans to attend “Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique,” also conducted by Danzmayr. Tchaikovsky promised he poured his entire soul into this symphony.

“Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis” is also on tap in October. World-renowned trumpeter and nine-time Grammy winner, Marsalis has been dubbed the Pied Piper of Jazz.

The kid-friendly “Music for Families” concerts last one hour without an intermission, which keeps them from getting antsy, and those programs have compelling stories to tell. In November, “Trills and Treasures” asks the kids to look for clues and solve puzzles, in order to find the treasure. All the while, the orchestra plays the scores from different iconic kids’ movies and familiar classical tunes.

Danzmayr, in his third year as music director with the over 125-year-old Oregon Symphony, says the 2023-24 season, balances the symphony’s popular classical works that stood the test of time with remarkable newer programs. That is the type of palate that moves audiences, he notes. 

“We thrive to hone a razor-sharp balance between the familiar and the surprising,” says Danzmayr.

You might not be aware you can arrive 30 minutes early to any of the classical concerts and participate in pre-concert talks featuring guest soloists and conductors. Danzmayr promises you can still enjoy the concerts by arriving with only a willingness to be inspired and share the magic of live music with others.

Make your holiday season sparkle and take a break from all your extra responsibilities by attending one of the concerts scheduled then. “Mannheim Steamroller Christmas,” “Kristin Chenoweth with the Oregon Symphony,” “The Muppet Christmas Carol in Concert,” “A Very Merry Mariachi Christmas Concert” and other performances will all bring out your festive spirit.

You’ll find ticket pricing and more information at Oregon Symphony or by calling (503) 228-1353. Click here for all performance details. This season runs from September to mid-June. Go online and get your tickets before your favorite concerts are sold out.

Kelban says that downtown Portland is coming back post-pandemic and one of the drivers of that revitalization is the arts. “We are uniting people through music,” he says.