FWSO Announces 2023–2024 Season

FWSO Announces 2023–2024 Season

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Announces 2023–2024 Season and Contract Extension for Music Director Robert Spano

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra announces the 2023–2024 season programming for the Symphonic, Pops, Chamber, Meet the Artist, and Family Series, five special one-night-only concerts, and a Gala Concert performance featuring Renée Fleming. Music Director Robert Spano has also agreed to an extension of his contract and will remain in his position with the organization through the 2027–2028 season.

The 2023-2024 season boasts a Symphonic Series with the majority of performances being led by Music Director Robert Spano and Principal Guest Conductor Kevin John Edusei. The FWSO has adjusted programming to create the orchestral experience Greater Fort Worth is seeking across our different series including the Pops, Family, Chamber, and Specials. Additionally, there will be collaborations with other arts organizations and local institutions including the Dallas Black Dance Theatre, International Trombone Festival, and Texas Christian University. 

“Music and culture are integral to the foundation of any thriving city and Fort Worth is an exemplary beacon of that truth. On behalf of the board, we are honored to have Music Director Robert Spano and President and CEO Keith Cerny, Ph.D. at the helm of a leadership team filled with strong artistic and business minds,” said Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass, Chairman of the Board. “The 2023–2024 season will prove to be artistically gratifying for audiences throughout Greater Fort Worth with an all-star lineup of guest artists, collaborations with local performing arts organizations, and our relentless pursuit of excellence through symphonic music.”

“It is with great excitement that we announce the 2023-24 season at FWSO, with the return of luminaries such as Edo de Waart and our own Kevin Edusei, and debuts of dynamic conductors and soloists in repertoire that spans continents and centuries. We feel every program is not to be missed,” said Music Director Robert Spano.

“As we announce the FWSO’s 2023-24 season, I know that our acclaimed Music Director Robert Spano is as excited as I am about the extraordinary range of gifted artists and collaborations we will be presenting,” said President and CEO Keith Cerny, Ph.D. “When we announced the 2022-23 season, we set ourselves a very high bar, but I feel confident we have exceeded it for the upcoming year!  I know our patrons will enjoy our guest artists, special programs, and innovative Theater of a Concert projects.”

Symphonic Season Overview

During the 2023–2024 season, the FWSO will perform twelve Symphonic Series concerts.

Featured soloists include Yunchan Lim, piano; DJ Cheek, viola; Andreas Haefliger, piano; Dallas Black Dance Theatre; Jennifer Corning Lucio, oboe; Joyce Yang, piano; Karita Mattila, soprano; Brandon Jovanovich, tenor; Raymond Aceto, bass; Stephen Waarts, violin; Lukáš Vondráček, piano; Peter Steiner, trombone; Constanze Hochwartner, piano.

Guest conductors include Anna Skryleva, Anne Manson, Edo de Waart, and Tomáš Netopil. 

September 8–10, 2023: Cliburn Competition’s Gold Medalist: Schumann and Brahms Season Opening Weekend! Robert Spano, conductor; Yunchan Lim, piano; (BRAHMS: Academic Festival Overture; SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto; BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4)

Once every four years, the Van Cliburn competition pits pianists from around the world against one another in one of classical music’s most prestigious competitions. To open the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra’s new season, gold medalist Yunchan Lim returns to Cowtown to deliver Schumann’s rapturous Piano Concerto, a work of rare sensitivity and appeal. FWSO Music Director Robert Spano also conducts Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 as well as the composer’s Academic Festival Overture, written as a thank-you for an honorary degree.

October 20–22, 2023: Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky: Robert Spano, conductor; Old Trout Puppet Workshop (TCHAIKOVSKY: Nutcracker Act II; PROKOFIEV: Peter and the Wolf)

Canadian touring group Old Trout Puppet Workshop visits to bring Prokofiev’s colorful Peter and the Wolf to life with large-scale puppetry while the orchestra performs the score. Yep, that means puppet Peter, puppet bird, puppet wolf, and the rest. To open the concert, FWSO Music Director Robert Spano will lead the orchestra in another magical children’s tale: the second act of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet with its striking character dances.

November 3–5, 2023: The FWSO’s DJ Cheek: Bartók and Rachmaninoff: Anna Skryleva, conductor; DJ Cheek, viola; (BARTÓK: Hungarian Sketches; BARTÓK: Viola Concerto; RACHMANINOFF: Symphonic Dances)

Principal Violist DJ Cheek, appointed in 2021, moves to the front of the stage for Bartók’s final composition, his Viola Concerto. That work launches with a pontificating viola solo in dialogue that quickly evolves into a prismatic exploration of musical color. Russian conductor Anna Skryleva returns to Fort Worth for this program, which also features Bartók’s folk music-inspired Hungarian Sketches and Rachmaninoff’s quick-stepping Symphonic Dances.

November 17–19, 2023: Mermaids from Zemlinsky and Brahms: Kevin John Edusei, conductor; Andreas Haefliger, piano; (ZEMLINSKY: The Mermaid; BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2)

Zemlinsky’s The Mermaid was inspired by the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale, and the music bubbles along with cheer and pathos. But there’s more to the story: Zemlinsky wrote the piece after suffering a heartbreak when his paramour left him for another composer, and the score was thought to be long lost. A pair of British music sleuths tracked down the work, however. The evening concludes with Brahms’ second piano concerto, which he described as a “very small piano concerto with a very small and pretty scherzo.”

January 5–7, 2024: Dallas Black Dance Theatre and the FWSO: Mozart and Stravinsky Robert Spano, conductor; Dallas Black Dance Theatre; (MOZART: Overture to The Magic Flute; MOZART: Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter); STRAVINSKY: Petrushka)

Founded in 1976, Dallas Black Dance Theatre has performed for more than four million people worldwide. Be there when they partner with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Robert Spano in Bass Performance Hall for Stravinsky’s Petrushka Suite, a balletic take on the story of Punch and Judy fame, with its whirling, folk-inspired melodies and high-stepping harmonies. Also on the program are a pair of Mozartian gems, the Overture from The Magic Flute, as well as the esteemed Jupiter symphony.

• January 26–28, 2024: Edusei conducts Mahler’s Seventh Kevin John Edusei, conductor (MAHLER: Symphony No. 7)

Hailed for his “tasteful restraint and explosive energy” by The Guardian, German conductor Kevin John Edusei’s star is on a meteoric rise. In January, he returns to Fort Worth for a single work, Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 7, a symphony of such towering majesty that it demands a program all to itself. The symphony traces a day’s journey from dawn to dusk, from the “religious vision” of the first movement through the snarling, biting scherzo and boisterous C Major conclusion.

March 1–3, 2024: The FWSO’s Jennifer Corning Lucio: Beethoven, Vaughan Williams, and Carlos Simon: Anne Manson, conductor; Jennifer Corning Lucio, oboe (SIMON: Amen; VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Oboe Concerto; BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7)

Beethoven’s seventh symphony has been called the “Apotheosis of the Dance.” Renowned conductor Anne Manson teams up with FWSO’s principal oboist Jennifer Corning Lucio for Ralph Vaughan Williams’ haunting Oboe Concerto, a work in which each movement ends as it began. The orchestra completes the program with a recent work by Carlos Simon, composer-in-residence at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

March 15–17, 2024: Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto and the Fifth Symphony: Edo de Waart, conductor; Joyce Yang, piano (TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1; TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5)

International Record Review called star pianist Joyce Yang’s take on Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto “hugely enjoyable, beautifully shaped … a performance that marks her out as an enormous talent.” Now, the Grammy-nominated artist is bringing that thrilling interpretation of a concerto once thought to be unplayable to Bass Performance Hall. Dutch conductor Edo de Waart joins the orchestra for an all-Tchaikovsky program that pairs the concerto with Symphony No. 5 and its famous opening “fate” motif.

April 19–21, 2024: Wagner’s Die Walküre and Sibelius’ Sixth: Robert Spano, conductor; Karita Mattila, soprano; Brandon Jovanovich, tenor; Raymond Aceto, bass; James Robinson, stage director (SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 6; WAGNER: Die Walküre Act 1)

Die Walküre is the second of Wagner’s four-opera Ring Cycle. The first act narrates the tale of a forbidden romance with Wagnerian grandeur and themes that call the cycle’s other operas and characters to mind. FWSO Music Director Robert Spano leads the orchestra and star vocalists in a special concert version of this act, preceded by Sibelius’ Symphony No. 6, which the composer poetically described as “cold spring water” and the “scent of first snow.” 

May 3–5, 2024: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto: Beethoven and Shostakovich: Robert Spano, conductor; Stephen Waarts, violin (BEETHOVEN: Egmont Overture; BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto; SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 5)

When Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 premiered in Leningrad, listeners gave an ovation that lasted longer than half an hour, catapulting this gripping, emotional work to immediate and lasting success. It’s one of the few works to unite both critics and the public in their positive opinions. To open the concert, Beethoven’s Egmont Overture suggests societal unease in its churning rhythms before five famous knocking notes open Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Youthful violinist Stephen Waarts takes to the stage for this staple of violin repertoire while FWSO Music Director Robert Spano helms the orchestra.

May 24–26, 2024: Dvořák’s Eighth: Dvořák and Chopin: Tomáš Netopil, conductor; Lukáš Vondráček, piano (DVOŘÁK: Slavonic Dance No. 1; CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 1; DVOŘÁK : Symphony No. 8)

While writing his masterful eighth symphony, Czech Dvořák told a friend that “melodies simply pour out of me.” Indeed, this symphony is perhaps Dvořák’s most melodic, from the rhapsodic first movement to the electrifying finale. Czech conductor Tomáš Netopil has paired the symphony alongside Dvořák’s lively Slavonic Dance No. 1, originally composed as piano duets to earn some cash early on in his career. Finally, pianist Lukáš Vondráček takes to the stage for Czech-tutored composer Chopin’s first piano concerto, written at the tender age of 20.

May 31– June 2, 2024: Season Finale: Jennifer Higdon, Kevin Day, and Mahler 5: Robert Spano, conductor; Peter Steiner, trombone; Constanze Hochwartner, piano (DAY: Double Concerto for Trombone and Piano; HIGDON: Low Brass Concerto; MAHLER: Symphony No. 5)

In partnership with the International Trombone Festival and Texas Christian University, The FWSO’s season finale goes out with a blast, spotlighting the brass instruments of the orchestra. Music Director Robert Spano will lead the ensemble in a brand-new double concerto for trombone and piano by Texas Christian University alumnus Kevin Day as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s uniquely imaginative Low Brass Concerto. For the big finish: Mahler’s Symphony No. 5.

Pops Season Overview

The 2023–2024 Pops Series programming will contain 6 concert weekends with a variety of music including film scores, and popular genres. Our annual “Home for the Holidays” performance will be led by Assistant Conductor Taichi Fukumura. All performances will take place at Bass Performance Hall.

• September 1–3, 2023: Hotel California: A Salute to the Eagles: Albert-George Schram, conductor

The only tribute show to have ever received “Official Authorization” to perform the Eagles catalog of music, Hotel California will perform the Eagles’ greatest hits.

November 10–11, 2023: Bond and Beyond: Taichi Fukumura, conductor; Morgan James, soprano

Beginning with Bond’s own theme, this program will feature music from different crime thrillers in the James Bond franchise as well as hits from Mission: Impossible, The Incredibles, Pink Panther, and more.

November 24–26, 2023: Home for the Holidays: Taichi Fukumura, conductor

A classic Fort Worth tradition featuring seasonal tunes for the holidays.

January 19–20, 2024: Elton John and Billy Joel Tribute: Ron Spigelman, conductor; Michael Cavanaugh, vocalist

This tribute to both Billy Joel and Elton John will feature hits including “Bennie and the Jets,” “Just the Way You Are,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” “Uptown Girl,” and more.

March 8–10, 2024: John Williams Celebration: Richard Kaufman, conductor

This tribute to Williams includes music from Hook, Superman, Schindler’s List, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and more.

April 26–28, 2024: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor

As Imperial Forces launch an all-out attack on the Rebel Alliance, Han Solo and Princess Leia flee to Cloud City where they are captured by Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker journeys to the mysterious, marshy planet of Dagobah, where the wise Jedi Master Yoda teaches the young hero the ways of the Force. Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts.

Chamber Series Overview

The 2023–2024 Chamber Series at the Kimbell Art Museum features three performances showcasing the exceptional talent of FWSO musicians in the intimate Renzo Piano Pavilion. 

October 29, 2023, at 3:00 PM: Buddy Bray and Keith Cerny: Keith Cerny, piano; Buddy Bray, piano (featuring Bartók Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion and Mozart Quintet in G minor K. 516)

The FWSO’s Principal Keyboard, Shields-Collins “Buddy” Bray, needed a duet partner, and he found one in the ensemble’s President and CEO. Together, Cerny and Bray will tackle Bartók’s fiendish Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. Next, musicians from the orchestra perform Mozart’s G minor quintet — a string quartet plus an extra viola — in which three dark, serious movements resolve in one of Mozart’s frothiest finales.

February 11, 2024, at 3:00 PM: Hidden Gems: Music by Mozart, Carter, Böhme, McKee, and Britten: FWSO musicians (featuring Overture to The Magic Flute, Britten Phantasy Oboe Quartet, Böhme Sextet, Carter Sonata for Piano and Cello, and McKee Vuelta del Juego)

Mozart composed his opera, The Magic Flute, as an allegory for the Masonic initiation. In this program, FWSO brass deliver a bright arrangement of the opera’s Overture as well as offerings by composers Oskar Böhme and Kevin McKee. Also on the program are Elliot Carter’s grave Sonata for Piano and Cello and one of Britten’s first published works, the rarely heard Phantasy Oboe Quartet.

May 14, 2023, at 3:00 PM: Piano Stampede!: Robert Spano, piano; FWSO musicians and Guests (featuring Saint-Saëns’ Danse macabre for two pianos, eight hands, and George Crumb’s Celestial Mechanics)

One piano, two pianos, four hands duets, eight hands quartets — this concert has it all. FWSO Music Director Robert Spano and his long-time collaborator Pedja Mužijević, along with pianist Shields-Collins “Buddy” Bray, and FWSO’s President and CEO Keith Cerny command the stage. See them stampede the keys with a dozen high-energy works for multiple pianists by composers ranging from Bach to John Cage and Schumann to George Crumb, with favorites like Saint-Saëns’ Danse macabre for two pianos, eight hands, and Crumb’s Celestial Mechanics anchoring the program.

Meet the Artist Series Overview

Formerly known as Meet the Composer, Meet the Artist offers an expansion on the original concept by including Artistic Directors, dancers, and composers at the Renzo Piano Pavilion at the Kimbell Art Museum. This is an opportunity for listeners to learn more about the many contributors to a “Theater of a Concert” concept.

• Thursday, October 19, 2023: The Old Trout Puppet Workshop featuring the Co-Artistic Directors Pete Balkwill, Pityu Kenderes, and Judd Palmer

Canadian touring group Old Trout Puppet Workshop will discuss how they will bring Prokofiev’s colorful Peter and the Wolf to life with large-scale puppetry while the orchestra performs the score on the Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky performances on October 20–22, 2023 led by conductor Robert Spano.

• Thursday, January 4, 2024: Dallas Black Dance Theatre featuring conversations with Melissa Young and Sean Smith

Artistic Director Melissa Young and Dancer/Co-Rehearsal Director Sean Smith discuss how the Dallas Black Dance Theatre and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will bring this collaboration to life through the choreography of Stravinsky’s Petrushka Suite.

• Thursday, May 30, 2024: Composer Jennifer Higdon 

Jennifer Higdon discusses her Low Brass Concerto which is featured on a program that showcases brass instruments in each piece on the program as part of the 2024 International Trombone Festival hosted in Fort Worth, Texas. 

Family Series Overview

The 2023–2024 Family Series provides a one-hour-long concert at 11:00 AM on Saturday to introduce children who may not be ready for a full concert to age-appropriate, symphonic music conducted by FWSO Assistant Conductor Taichi Fukumura.

November 11, 2023: Storybook: Cinderella: Taichi Fukumura, conductor (featuringSaint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals and Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain)

• March 9, 2024: Beethoven Lives Upstairs: Taichi Fukumura, conductor (featuring the world-famous production which portrays a lively exchange of letters between young Christoph and his Uncle. Their subject, Beethoven, is the “madman” who has moved into the upstairs apartment of Christoph’s Vienna home. Through this tale, Christoph comes to understand the genius of Beethoven, the torment of his deafness, and the beauty of his music)

• April 27, 2024: Harry Potter Children’s Suite: Taichi Fukumura, conductor (featuring selections from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) 

Special Concerts and Gala

There are six one-night-only concerts in the 2023–2024 season including the Gala Concert and Dinner featuring Renée Fleming and Rod Gilfry, Disney Princess: The Concert, Lasting Impressions (an immersive concert experience), Game ON! featuring music from Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, FLY Dance Company: Breakin’ Classical, and Stars of the Symphony featuring FWSO musicians Buddy Bray, Stas Chernyshev, Josh Elmore, and Nick Sakakeeny. 

Stars of the Symphony – August 26, 2023 at Bass Performance Hall: Taichi Fukumura, conductor; Buddy Bray, piano; Stas Chernyshev, clarinet; Josh Elmore, bassoon; Nick Sakakeeny, percussion

This program features Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra musicians collaborating together in virtuosic roles in works such as Strauss’ Duett-Concertino, Toshio Mashima’s Marimba Concerto, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue

• FLY Dance Company: Breakin’ Classical – September 23, 2023 Will Rogers Auditorium: Taichi Fukumura, conductor

Houston-based FLY combines street dance and classical music to form “theatrical hip hop” with choreography and a variety of musical selections. Founded in 1992, FLY has performed in Washington’s Kennedy Center, Vail International Dance Festival, Lincoln Center, and Bob Hope Theater.

• Game ON! –October 7, 2023, at Will Rogers Auditorium: Andy Brick, conductor

This program will include the world premiere of the spellbinding Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds orchestral suite accompanied by stunning HD Video and a mesmerizing new score under the baton of game music legend Andy Brick.

• Gala Concert: Renée Fleming and Rod Gilfry –February 17, 2024, at 7:00 PM at Bass Performance Hall: Robert Spano, conductor; Renée Fleming, soprano; Rod Gilfry, baritone

Four-time GRAMMY Award-winning soprano Renée Fleming and internationally-renowned baritone Rod Gilfry in a one-night-only performance of some of Broadway’s greatest hits. Music Director Robert Spano leads the orchestra in a program featuring the likes of “Some Enchanted Evening” from South Pacific, “Til There Was You” from The Music Man, “Tonight” from West Side Story, “Climb Every Mountain” from The Sound of Music and more.

• Lasting Impressions –May 11, 2024, at 7:30 PM at Will Rogers Auditorium: Taichi Fukumura, conductor

This immersive orchestral experience creates an opportunity for audiences to rediscover the emotional power of art through witnessing the spellbinding transformation of the Impressionist masterworks, brought to moving life by a team of artists using cutting-edge 3D Motion Sculpting technology.

• Disney Princess: The Concert – February 9, 2024, at 7:30 PM & February 10, 2024, at 2:00 PM at Will Rogers Auditorium: Taichi Fukumura, conductor

Starring four Broadway actresses/Princesses, a Broadway actor/Prince and MD/Fairy Godfairy to narrate, this show celebrates the courage, kindness and music of 12 Disney princesses and two Frozen queens. Amplified by full animation projections, the performers appear as themselves and share behind-the-scenes stories of their time portraying these characters on Broadway and beyond.

 

Ticket Information

Subscriptions for the 2023–2024 season go on sale on April 4, 2023, and can be purchased by calling 817-665-6000 or online at fwsymphony.org. Symphonic 12-concert subscription package for the 2023–2024 season range in price from $240.00–$948.00. Pops 6-concert subscription packages range from $$179.00– $499.00.

Single tickets will go on sale on July 10, 2023, for 2023–2024 regular season concerts.

For tickets to all FWSO concerts, contact the FWSO Ticket Office at 817-665-6000 or visit www.fwsymphony.org

About Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under Music Director Robert Spano is deeply committed to uniting its community through performance, education, and outreach, reaching an audience of more than 200,000 annually. Since its beginnings in 1912, the FWSO has been an essential thread in the city’s cultural fabric and the very foundation of Fort Worth’s performing arts. The FWSO has performed at Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras. The FWSO has released 13 recordings – with several being world premiere releases – garnering international acclaim. The FWSO has embraced creative collaborations through residencies, partnerships, and commissions. As the principal resident company of the acoustically superb Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall, the Orchestra performs a full season of concerts featuring internationally acclaimed guest artists and works by living composers. The Orchestra performs and partners with the Texas Ballet Theater, Fort Worth Opera, The Cliburn, and Performing Arts Fort Worth. Each summer at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, the FWSO presents Concerts In The Garden – a series of family-friendly concerts that have become a city-wide tradition. The FWSO keeps exceptional musical experiences at the heart of its community. For more information, visit fwsymphony.org.

Santa is coming to town!

Santa is coming to town!

Jubilee Theatre – prestigiously known as Fort Worth’s premiere Black theatre – is living up to its mission of sharing stories that give a glimpse of the African American diaspora. As such, we also believe all ethnicities are vital to our microcosm that makes up Tarrant County. Thus, the creation of “Santa On The Square. “

With the support of Sundance Square, and other community sponsors, Jubilee Theatre is presenting multi-ethnic Santas for children to visit from December 3-23, 2022 (11 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Santa and his sleigh will be at the covered patio located outside the former Bird Café in Sundance Plaza. Rotating SANTA time slots will feature traditional Santa/Kris Kringle, Black Santa and Latino Santa for families to select for their visit.  FREE photo texts will be provided and/or a photo print can be purchased via CREDIT/DEBIT Card for $15.

Jubilee’s Theatre’s website and posters around the Plaza will utilize a QR code for both viewing the multi-ethnic Santa schedules and to RSVP a Santa visit appointment.  Also, parking is free in Sundance Square Garages #3 and #4 with special SANTA parking vouchers given after the photo sessions. 

“We are excited about the upcoming opportunities to expand our presence in the Sundance Square community,” states Christie Howard, Managing Director of Jubilee Theatre. “Increased accessibility to cultural arts is the cornerstone of the rich Sundance Square experience. We invite all to join us.”

“Santa on the Square” is but one component of the holiday celebrations at Jubilee Theatre.  We are also showing the production of Take the Soul Train to Christmas (Nov 25 to Dec 23). A holiday musical for the whole family. For more information, visit https://www.jubileetheatre.org

LIVE THEATER

  Museums  

  Galleries  

  Special Events 

Fort Worth’s Bass Performance Hall Celebrates 25 Years

Performing Arts Fort Worth to host free communityevents open to the public April 8 and 16 Performing Arts Fort Worth, the non-profit owner and operator of Bass Performance Hall, announced today two free community events to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Bass Hall....

“Life in One Cubic Foot” at FWMSH

MARCH 18 - JUNE 11, 2023 at Fort Worth Museum of Science & History Follow the research of Smithsonian scientists and photographer David Liittschwager as they discover what a cubic foot of land or water—a biocube—reveals about the diversity of life on the planet!...

Christopher Cross & Air Supply headline 2023 Legends Concert Series

Series to raise money to benefit HSC students.  Genre-defining five-time Grammy Award winner Christopher Cross and platinum-selling rock icons Air Supply will be the featured artists for the 2023 Legends Concert Series — The University of North Texas Health Science...

Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day in Fort Worth

ST. PATRICK'S DAY 2023 Celebrating St. Paddy's Day in the Fort Irish Bar Hopping, Cowtown Goes Green, and a bunch of “Kiss Me I’m Irish” buttons and that’s just getting you started celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Fort Worth.  Grab your favorite lad or lassy, do some...

Spring Break Art Extravaganza at the Kimbell

SPRING BREAK ART EXTRAVAGANZA RETURNS TO THE KIMBELL MARCH 14–17 Week of Free Family Fun Including Art Activities, Yoga, Films and More! The Kimbell Art Museum announced today that their Spring Break Art Extravaganza will return March 14–17. The annual free family...

Your Guide to Spring Break 2023

SPRING BREAK GUIDE 2023 Staying in Cowtown for Spring Break?  The WUFW Spring Break Guide has enough activities to keep you and your family busy all week long. Spring Break in the Fort Worth Stockyards Spend your Spring Break week at the Fort Worth Stockyards!...

TBT Announces Final “The Nutty Nutcracker” Performance

TBT Announces Final “The Nutty Nutcracker” Performance

Texas Ballet Theater Announces Final Performance of The Nutty Nutcracker

Texas Ballet Theater (TBT) announces that the December 16, 2022 performance of The Nutty Nutcracker at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth will be the company’s last presentation, after 12 seasons, of the pop culture-infused parody for the coming years.

This change comes as former Artistic Director Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., transitions into his new role as Artistic Director Laureate. Acting Artistic Director Tim O’Keefe, former Associate Artistic Director, will create the programming for the upcoming 2023-2024 season, marking a shift in the nonprofit ballet company’s artistic vision.

TBT will continue to present all other holiday events and productions, which include the Tutu Chic Fashion Show and Luncheon in Dallas, the Caren Koslow Fashion Show and Luncheon in Fort Worth, the Sugar Plum Fairy Tea and the full five-week production of Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker at Winspear Opera House in Dallas and Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, as well as a variety of performances for schools in the DFW Metroplex.

“We are sad to see this long-standing tradition come to an end at TBT, but we are excited for the future and look forward to starting new traditions that will be as fun for the audiences, and dancers, as Nutty,” said Tim O’Keefe, Acting Artistic Director, Texas Ballet Theater.

The Nutty Nutcracker is sponsored in part by The M.R. and Evelyn Hudson Foundation. Patrons can purchase tickets online at texasballettheater.org or by calling the Box Office at 877-828-9200 option 1.

LIVE THEATER

  Museums  

  Galleries  

  Special Events 

Fort Worth’s Bass Performance Hall Celebrates 25 Years

Performing Arts Fort Worth to host free communityevents open to the public April 8 and 16 Performing Arts Fort Worth, the non-profit owner and operator of Bass Performance Hall, announced today two free community events to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Bass Hall....

“Life in One Cubic Foot” at FWMSH

MARCH 18 - JUNE 11, 2023 at Fort Worth Museum of Science & History Follow the research of Smithsonian scientists and photographer David Liittschwager as they discover what a cubic foot of land or water—a biocube—reveals about the diversity of life on the planet!...

Christopher Cross & Air Supply headline 2023 Legends Concert Series

Series to raise money to benefit HSC students.  Genre-defining five-time Grammy Award winner Christopher Cross and platinum-selling rock icons Air Supply will be the featured artists for the 2023 Legends Concert Series — The University of North Texas Health Science...

Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day in Fort Worth

ST. PATRICK'S DAY 2023 Celebrating St. Paddy's Day in the Fort Irish Bar Hopping, Cowtown Goes Green, and a bunch of “Kiss Me I’m Irish” buttons and that’s just getting you started celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Fort Worth.  Grab your favorite lad or lassy, do some...

Spring Break Art Extravaganza at the Kimbell

SPRING BREAK ART EXTRAVAGANZA RETURNS TO THE KIMBELL MARCH 14–17 Week of Free Family Fun Including Art Activities, Yoga, Films and More! The Kimbell Art Museum announced today that their Spring Break Art Extravaganza will return March 14–17. The annual free family...

Your Guide to Spring Break 2023

SPRING BREAK GUIDE 2023 Staying in Cowtown for Spring Break?  The WUFW Spring Break Guide has enough activities to keep you and your family busy all week long. Spring Break in the Fort Worth Stockyards Spend your Spring Break week at the Fort Worth Stockyards!...

Free Admission Weekend at the Modern!

Free Admission Weekend at the Modern!

Celebrate our Ando Building’s 20th Anniversary!

 

FREE ADMISSION WEEKEND
December 16th -18th 

In honor of the 20th Anniversary of the Modern’s building, we invite the community to visit for free, December 16-18.

Tadao Ando’s “arbor for art” has become a beloved destination for Fort Worthians and people around the world since opening on December 14, 2002. Celebrate with us by walking through our galleries and grounds—experiencing the tranquil, light-filled spaces and restful pond that reflect Ando’s genius. All are welcome! Admission to the galleries is free all weekend, Friday 10 am – 8 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10 am – 5 pm.

IN THE GALLERIES

Modern Masters: A Tribute to Anne Windfohr Marion

Through January 8

Permanent Collection

 

THE MODERN LIGHTS

Through February 5

The Modern trees are illuminated with an array of festive lights in celebration of the holiday season. Passersby experience a stunning display, and visitors are invited to enjoy evening viewing opportunities. The museum galleries are open with free admission until 8 pm on Fridays.

 

CAFÉ  MODERN

Dinner with the Modern Lights

Fridays, seating from 5 to 8:30 pm

Executive Chef Jett Mora welcomes you with warm hospitality, creative cuisine, and a seasonal menu rooted in Texas ingredients. Create your own holiday memories on Friday nights at Café Modern. Seating is available from 5 to 8:30 pm. For reservations, call 817.840.2157 or online here.

 

First Friday at the Modern Holiday Style!

December 2, and January 6, February 3

Free admission

The first Friday of each month, the Modern and Café Modern team up to bring you live music from the First Friday House Band, and drink specials and tasty light bites in the museum’s Grand Lobby from 5 to 8 pm. Invite friends to enjoy a unique opportunity to experience the Modern in the evening. A complimentary docent-led, 20-minute tour is available at 6:30 pm. Café Modern and Executive Chef Jett Mora serve a light dining menu in the lobby ($9-$15). Specialty drinks along with beer and wine are available at the cash bar, with happy hour selections.

 

LOCATION

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

3200 Darnell Street

Fort Worth, Texas 76107

Telephone 817.738.9215

Toll-Free 1.866.824.5566

www.themodern.org

 

Museum Gallery Hours

Tue-Sun 10 am-5 pm

Fri 10 am-8 pm

 

General Admission Prices (includes special exhibition)

$16: General (age 18 and above)

$12: Seniors (age 60+), Active/Retired Military Personnel and First Responders with ID

$10: Students with ID

Free: Under 18 years old

The Museum offers half-price tickets on Sundays and free admission on Fridays.

 

The Museum is closed Mondays and holidays, including New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas.

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Next at Stage West: Guards at the Taj

Next at Stage West: Guards at the Taj

THE PRICE OF PERFECTION

Stage West presents Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj

What kinds of sacrifices can be demanded in the pursuit of beauty and perfection?  Do friendship, health, even life, rank as acceptable losses?  This question is at the center of Rajiv Joseph’s funny and deeply moving Guards at the Taj, winner of both Obie and Lucille Lortel Awards in 2015, which begins Stage West’s 44th season with a 5-week regional premiere run Thursday, October 20.

Humayan and Babur are two lowly Imperial guards, keeping watch over the walls around the newly completed Taj Mahal on the last night before it is revealed to the public in all its glory. Despite their differences (Humayan is a believer in discipline and rule-following, while Babur is a dreamer who questions pretty much everything), these two have forged a deep friendship, and they banter to pass the time. Unfortunately, they eventually come to the realization that, due to their lowly status, they will be responsible for carrying out a horrific task decreed by the Emperor. Come morning, they have no choice but to comply, and so they do, but it changes them irrevocably.  Can their friendship survive? Can they?  And is a creation of such astounding beauty worth such a terrible price?

This haunting play is sure to stay with audiences long after the curtain comes down.

A piercing examination of the nature of beauty, its relationship to power, and its unspeakable costs.” – Chicago Reader

Rajiv Joseph received his B.A. in Creative Writing from Miami University and his M.F.A. in Playwriting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and he is currently a Language Lecturer at NYU. His play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was awarded a grant for Outstanding New American Play by the National Endowment for the Arts. Rajiv’s New York productions include Animals Out of Paper (Second Stage Theatre, summer 2008), The Leopard and the Fox (Alter Ego, fall 2007), Huck & Holden (Cherry Lane Theatre, 2006), and All This Intimacy (Second Stage Theatre, 2006). In Los Angeles Huck & Holden was produced by The Black Dahlia Theatre in 2006. Through the Lark Play Development Center, Rajiv has traveled to Mexico and Romania, where Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was translated into Spanish and Romanian, respectively, and performed in staged readings. Rajiv has been awarded the Paula Vogel Award by the Vineyard Theatre and the 2009 Kesselring Fellowship. Rajiv is a Founding Member of the new New York based theatre company The Fire Department and was a contributing writer on their first two theatrical events, Speakeasy and At War: American Playwrights Respond To The War In Iraq. He is a former Lark Playwriting Fellow and Dramatists Guild Fellow. His plays have been published by Samuel French, Dramatists Play Service, and Smith & Kraus. with the School of Art and Public Policy and the Expository Writing Program. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa.

Guards at the Taj will be directed by Shyama Nithiananda, seen at Stage West in last season’s JQA.  The cast features Dhruv Ravi as Babur and Rahul Joshi as Humayun, both making their Stage West debuts.  Mr. Ravi’s credits include As You Like It for Shakespeare Dallas and Taming of the Shrew for Ithaca Shakespeare Company, while Mr. Joshi’s credits include Ocean in a Teacup at Theatre Row, NYC and God of Carnage at American Academy of Dramatic Arts, NYC.

Set design is by Brian Clinnin, with lighting design by Bryan Stevenson, costume design by Amy Poe, sound design by Ryan Simón, and props and set décor by Lynn Lovett.

Guards at the Taj will preview Thursday, October 20 at 7:30 and Friday, October 21 at 8:00, and will run through Sunday, November 20.  The opening night reception will be after the performance on Saturday, October 22. Performance times will be Thursday evenings at 7:30, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00, with Sunday matinees at 3:00.  Masks are recommended, but not required at this time. Ticket prices are $40 on Thursdays and Fridays, and $45 on Saturdays and Sundays, with $20 tickets for the two preview performances.  Food service is available 90 minutes prior to performances (reservations are advised).  Reservations and information are available through the Box Office (817-784-9378), or on the website, www.stagewest.org.  

NOTE: this play contains depictions of violence and some strong language.

Members of the media may attend Saturday, October 22, or any performance thereafter.

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A Tribute to Anne Windfohr Marion at The Modern

A Tribute to Anne Windfohr Marion at The Modern

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Announces
Modern Masters: A Tribute to Anne Windfohr Marion
On View October 23, 2022-January 9, 2023

Director Marla Price announces Modern Masters: A Tribute to Anne W. Marion, an exhibition of contributions of one of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth’s greatest patrons, tracing her support over nearly a half century. Marion’s generosity to many institutions is legendary, but no organization stood above her love for the Modern. With 80 works by 47 artists, this tribute exhibition is on view October 23, 2022, through January 22, 2023.

Marion began collecting modern and contemporary art in the 1980s. At that time, her passion, and strategy, was to focus on American art at the highest level. She began by forming a small but stellar private collection of Abstract Expressionism, one of the most significant art movements since World War II. The exhibition begins with three renowned works from her collection, given to the Modern on her passing in 2021: Arshile Gorky’s The Plow and the Song, 1947, Willem de Kooning’s Two Women, 1954–55, and Mark Rothko’s majestic White Band No. 27, 1954.

The Museum’s former chief curator, and the curator of this exhibition, Michael Auping, has described the gift of these paintings as “a monumental addition to the Museum’s collection, each work a classic example of the artist’s signature style.” A scholar of Abstract Expressionism, Auping elaborates: “The Plow and the Song is an homage to the central theme of Gorky’s imagery, memories of the farms and landscape of his homeland of Armenia, and de Kooning’s Two Women stands perfectly in the center of the development of the artist’s famous group of Women paintings. White Band is nothing less than a masterpiece within Rothko’s oeuvre. A diaphanous blue atmosphere holds a mysterious white band in its field, creating an immersive experience that you can only find in his greatest paintings.”

The exhibition will combine these stellar paintings, seen together here for the first time, with a major group of works by Jackson Pollock, purchased by the Modern in the mid-1980s. At that time, Abstract Expressionism was generally out of the financial range of most museums. However, with Marion’s help, and that of her Burnett Foundation, the Museum was able to purchase an important group of works by Pollock, arguably the most famous and radical member of the Abstract Expressionists. The twelve drawings, paintings, and prints acquired by the Modern in 1985 poignantly trace Pollock’s expressive journey between psychological figuration and abstraction.

Marion’s support of the Modern’s acquisition program stretched far beyond Abstract Expressionism. Her recent gifts also include David Smith’s Dida Becca Merry X, 1964, and Ellsworth Kelly’s Spectrum III, 1967, major works by two artists who were critical to the transition from expressive abstraction to Minimalism. Marion was also instrumental in the acquisition of iconic minimalist works by Carl Andre, Agnes Martin, and Richard Serra.

Marion championed many new initiatives that would bring the Modern recognition nationally and internationally. In 1995, she provided a one-million-dollar grant for the acquisition of photography after 1970, when the medium took a leap beyond traditional forms of documentation into conceptual and performance art, allowing the Museum to acquire major works by an international field of artists including Bernd and Hilla Becher, Sally Mann, Yasumasa Morimura, Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Carrie Mae Weems, among many others also in this exhibition.

In 2001, Marion donated more than twelve million dollars to the Museum to purchase major works by key artists, resulting in the acquisition of art by Francis Bacon, Howard Hodgkin, Anselm Kiefer, Gerhard Richter, Sean Scully, and Richard Serra.

Many will argue that her greatest legacy will be her leadership in the effort for a new building for the Museum, designed by the world-renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The building has been acclaimed by critics, artists, architects, and curators as one of the finest museums for the presentation of contemporary art in the world and is celebrating its twenty-year anniversary in December 2022.

Director Marla Price said, “Every great museum has its primary patrons who step up in ways that change their museums forever. Anne Marion’s generosity to the Modern was deep and broad and moved the Museum to a new level of importance and recognition. It is a joy to bring these works together in the building she loved.”

Each of the works presented in this exhibition was made possible by Anne Marion, Anne and John Marion, or The Burnett Foundation, in addition to gifts donated anonymously or in partnership with the Sid W. Richardson Foundation.

Featured Artists:

Carl Andre

Francis Bacon

Bernd and Hilla Becher

Sophie Calle

Willem de Kooning

Richard Diebenkorn

Gilbert & George

Arshile Gorky

Ellsworth Kelly

Anselm Kiefer

Sylvia Plimack Mangold

Sally Mann

Agnes Martin

Yasumasa Morimura

Jackson Pollock

Gerhard Richter

Linda Ridgway

Mark Rothko

Thomas Ruff

Sean Scully

Cindy Sherman

David Smith

Ann Stautberg

Hiroshi Sugimoto

Carrie Mae Weems

For high-resolution images, please email kendal@themodern.org.

LOCATION

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

3200 Darnell Street

Fort Worth, Texas 76107

Telephone 817.738.9215

Toll-Free 1.866.824.5566

 

Museum Gallery Hours

Tue-Sun 10 am-5 pm

Fri 10 am-8 pm

 

General Admission Prices (includes special exhibition)

$16: General (age 18 and above)

$12: Seniors (age 60+), Active/Retired Military Personnel and First Responders with ID

$10: Students with ID

Free: Under 18 years old

The Museum offers half-price tickets on Sundays and free admission on Fridays.

The Museum is closed Mondays and holidays, including New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas. 

ABOUT THE MODERN

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is a leader in collecting, showing, and interpreting art from the 1940s to the present. Situated in the heart of the Cultural District, the creative center of the city, the Modern has been housed since 2002 in an elegant concrete, glass, and steel building designed by the renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando. In addition to 53,000 square feet of soaring, light-filled gallery space and landscaped grounds with outdoor sculptures, the museum features a reflecting pond, theater, education center, gift shop, and café, creating a thriving hub for our community and beyond.

Founded in 1892, the Modern is the oldest museum in Texas; however, our mission has changed over the years. Today, we strive to connect audiences of all ages and backgrounds with the most compelling art and ideas of our time. Showcasing the work of historically significant, mid-career, and emerging artists, the Modern is known for its evolving collection, which is international in scope. The Museum’s holdings include influential artists from Pablo Picasso, Philip Guston, Anselm Kiefer, Martin Puryear, and Agnes Martin to Mark Bradford, Teresita Fernández, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, and Kehinde Wiley. We have a long history of close relationships with the living artists we show and collect, many of whom visit the museum regularly to give talks and lead workshops.

The Modern is a center of lifelong learning and exchange. Our programs include tours, lectures by leading figures in the art world, youth and adult classes, art camps, workshops, and a range of small-group studio and gallery programs led by the Museum’s educators, docents, and community artists. We also present critically acclaimed first-run films and partner with other local arts organizations to offer music, dance, and theater.

LIVE THEATER

  Museums  

  Galleries  

  Special Events 

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