Visit the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra this Spring

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s blockbuster 2024–25 season continues into the spring, including FREE events and a can’t-miss season finale. As the current season continues, the ISO is thrilled to look ahead to the recently announced 2025-2026 lineup starting in September, featuring a celebration of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, two iconic Mahler symphonies, an exciting new production from the legendary Dolly Parton, an all-new Taylor Swift-inspired fusion, and a fantastic lineup of film favorites. More information on next season’s lineup is available here.

UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CURRENT 2024-2025 SEASON

Into The Music: Strauss - FREE!

Thursday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m.

Join the ISO for Into the Music, a free series featuring a lively discussion followed by a performance—with full orchestra—of the highlighted classical work. Maestro Jun Märkl will co-host an on-stage discussion joined by Ryan Ahlwardt, who serves as co-host of Indy Now on FOX59. Whether you’re a classical beginner or a longtime enthusiast, Into the Music offers an intimate look at each classical work in a relaxed, accessible setting. Before the orchestra performs each piece, Maestro Märkl and Ryan Ahlwardt will chat onstage, providing background on each musical work and the composer, what the audience might pay special attention to as they listen and watch the orchestra, and countless insights designed to create a memorable experience with the ISO. All attendees will be offered a discount for the weekend performances!

Märkl Conducts Strauss

Friday, April 25 at 7 p.m. | Saturday, April 26 at 5:30 p.m.

Embark on a musical odyssey with ISO Music Director Jun Märkl and pianist Stewart Goodyear in Hero’s Life. Let the ISO enchant you with the dreamlike allure of Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Feel the gentle sway of the Mediterranean in one of Mozart’s most beautiful slow movements in his K. 488 Piano Concerto. Experience the timeless grandeur of Richard Strauss’s heroic, self-referential masterpiece Ein Heldenleben.

Symphony on the Circle - FREE!

Saturday, April 26 at 1 p.m. | Monument Circle

Designed to celebrate the connections we make through the shared love of music and performance, the ISO has partnered with Downtown Indy, Inc. to offer a free day of live music, food trucks, and networking with community organizations. The event takes place outdoors on Monument Circle starting at 1 p.m., but also continues inside Hilbert Circle Theatre. The day concludes with a livestream at 5:30 p.m. of the ISO performing Märkl Conducts Strauss, conducted by Music Director Jun Märkl, broadcast on the large screen outside.

Mozart & Mahler

Thursday, May 1 at 11 a.m. | Friday, May 2 at 7 p.m. | Saturday, May 3 at 5:30 p.m.

Exalt your imagination in a program that proceeds from the harem to the heavens! Mozart’s cacophonous Abduction overture sets the stage for his showpiece for soprano and orchestra, Exsultate, jubilate. Mahler’s 4th Symphony explores the ethereal realms of life and death, opening with earthly sleigh bells and closing with a child’s vision of remote, heavenly joy. Soprano Amanda Woodbury joins ISO Music Director Jun Märkl for this harmonious fusion of two Viennese masters.

Time For Three & the ISO

Friday, May 9 at 11 a.m. & 7 p.m. | Saturday, May 10 at 7 p.m.

Grammy and Emmy award-winning ensemble Time For Three defies musical conventions with genre-bending excellence. As former ISO artists-in-residence, they reunite with conductor Jack Everly and the ISO to present a show that merges classical, Americana, and singer-songwriter styles and pushes the creative boundaries of sound.

Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2

Friday, May 16 at 7 p.m. | Saturday, May 17 at 5:30 p.m.

Revel in the emotional richness of Rachmaninoff’s most popular symphony, one that explores the depths of the human soul. Let the passionate strains of Dvořák’s only violin concerto sweep you away, as Richard Lin—winner of the 2018 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis—breathes life into every note. The ISO welcomes the Classical Series debut of conductor Keitaro Harada fresh off his win of the 2023 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award.

Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5

Thursday, May 29 at 11 a.m. | Friday, May 30 at 7 p.m. | Saturday, May 31 at 5:30 p.m.

Conquer fate with the ISO as we welcome back conductor David Danzmayr for a program that features ISO Principal Bass Ju-Fang Liu. Julia Perry’s A Short Piece for Orchestra opens the program with vibrant textures and contrasts, followed by a newly commissioned bass concerto by former ISO Principal Trombonist James Beckel. The program concludes with Tchaikovsky’s triumphant and ever-popular 5th Symphony.

Maestros in Concert: Jack & Enrico with Mandy Gonzalez

Friday, June 6 at 11 a.m. & 7 p.m. | Saturday, June 7 at 7 p.m.

For the first time on the Pops Series, two of the nation’s leading Pops conductors take the stage together with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra! Maestro Jack Everly is joined by Enrico Lopez-Yañez (Principal Pops Conductor: Nashville Symphony, Pacific Symphony, and Dallas Symphony) for a weekend of unforgettable Pops music showcasing their unique stylings and shared interests. Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez (Sunset Boulevard, Hamilton, Wicked, In the Heights and more) brings her stunning vocals to light up the Hilbert Circle Theatre stage.

Into The Music: Berlioz - FREE!

Thursday, June 12 at 6:30 p.m.

Join the ISO for Into the Music, a free series featuring a lively discussion followed by a performance—with full orchestra—of the highlighted classical work. Maestro Jun Märkl will co-host an on-stage discussion joined by Ryan Ahlwardt, who serves as co-host of Indy Now on FOX59. Whether you’re a classical beginner or a longtime enthusiast, Into the Music offers an intimate look at each classical work in a relaxed, accessible setting. Before the orchestra performs each piece, Maestro Märkl and Ryan Ahlwardt will chat onstage, providing background on each musical work and the composer, what the audience might pay special attention to as they listen and watch the orchestra, and countless insights designed to create a memorable experience with the ISO.

Symphonie fantastique

Friday, June 13 at 7 p.m. | Saturday, June 14 at 5:30 p.m.

The ISO winds shine bright as Jun Märkl leads this colorful set of works. The program opens with Ravel’s take on the vibrant dance rhythms of Spain. ISO principal oboe Jennifer Christen and principal bassoon Ivy Ringel team up to perform a new double concerto by Indianapolis-based composer Hanna Benn. Berlioz invites us into his wildest dreams in his psychedelic love letter, Symphonie fantastique.

SEASON FINALE

Peace on Earth: Beethoven’s 9th Symphony - TWO venues to catch this can’t-miss performance!

Friday, June 20 at 7 p.m. | Saturday, June 21 at 5:30 p.m. | Hilbert Circle Theatre

Sunday, June 22 at 3 p.m. | The Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel

Join the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra with Music Director Jun Märkl and the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir as we dare to dream of peace. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony stands as humanity’s greatest monument to universal love. The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir opens this program with Schoenberg’s contemplative plea for world harmony, Peace on Earth. Experience the joy of fellowship with our season finale.

Purchase tickets by visiting IndianapolisSymphony.org, by phone at 317-639-4300, by mail, or in person at the Hilbert Circle Theatre Box Office.