The Louisville Orchestra’s 2026-27 season promises a compelling mix of beloved classics, daring contemporary works, and ambitious collaborations that reflect the ensemble’s growing artistic reach across Kentucky and beyond. But while audiences will experience the finished performances under the lights of The Kentucky Center’s Whitney Hall and venues statewide, the season’s true heartbeat begins long before the first downbeat.
For the musicians of the Louisville Orchestra, each concert is the culmination of months of study, rehearsal, reflection, and collaboration. Recently, Audience Magazine publisher Doug Dreisbach caught up with some of the orchestra members to share their perspective about what excites them most about the upcoming season, how they prepare for demanding performances, and why performing for Louisville audiences remains deeply meaningful
A Season of Milestones and Masterpieces
Many musicians pointed first to the season’s major symphonic works as highlights. Principal flutist Kathy Karr is especially eager to revisit a piece that shaped her musical life early on.
“I am very excited to perform Brahms’ Fourth Symphony next season,” Karr said. “Brahms’ Fourth Symphony was the first piece I fell in love with as a child. In third grade, I would listen to the fourth movement over and over again!”
For Karr, the season also offers the thrill of dramatic storytelling through opera. The orchestra will collaborate with Kentucky Opera on a semi-staged production of Richard Strauss’s Salome, placing the orchestra directly on stage with the singers.
“The centerpiece of the opera features the flute in the famous Dance of the Seven Veils,” she explained. “The music is exotic and sensual, and I am very much looking forward to performing it.”
Second oboist Alex DiThomas highlighted another towering work of the orchestral canon: Mahler’s First Symphony.
“It has always been one of my favorite symphonies and was an incredibly important piece in my musical upbringing,” he said. “Every time I revisit it, I discover something new.”
For trombonist Guangwei Fan, the season’s programming feels like a journey through contrasting emotional worlds.
“There is a beautiful, shifting landscape in the programming this season,” Fan said. “Brahms’ Second Symphony brings this incredible, sunlit optimism, while the fourth demands a deeper, more architectural gravity from the low brass.”
Fan is also preparing to perform Verdi’s Requiem for the first time.
“Approaching Verdi’s Requiem for the very first time feels like entering an unfamiliar, monumental cathedral,” he said. “There is a rare, quiet reverence in learning a masterpiece from an unprinted canvas.”
The Invisible Work Behind Every Performance
Audiences often see the polished result of a performance, but orchestra musicians describe an enormous amount of unseen preparation.
DiThomas noted that much of his work happens alone at home, especially the painstaking craft of reed making for the oboe.
“Most people — even many musicians — would be surprised by how much work goes into reed making alone,” he said.
He also studies full orchestral scores and listens to multiple recordings to understand how his part fits into the larger musical architecture.
Violinist Kevin Murphy described the orchestral preparation process as a chain of countless decisions.
“An orchestra performance is the product of hundreds or thousands of decisions along a process that the audience rarely sees,” Murphy said.
String principals determine bowings weeks in advance, librarians prepare marked parts, players choose fingerings and tonal approaches, and conductors shape tempo, balance, and style in rehearsal.
“We do the heavy, quiet work of construction in the dark,” Fan added, “so that, when the house lights fade, the music can speak to the listener as a single, seamless grace.”
Preparing Mind and Body for a New Season
A new season begins long before opening night. Musicians spoke about summer as both a period of intense preparation and mental reset.
Karr spends the offseason gathering scores and focusing on the most challenging flute repertoire while also clearing her mind after a demanding year.
“I spend a lot of time regrouping and clearing my mind so I can start a new season feeling well prepared and refreshed,” she said.
DiThomas uses the break to rebuild fundamentals and ensure his playing remains healthy and balanced. He also travels to major cities such as Cleveland, Philadelphia, and New York to work with specialized oboe technicians — a necessity because no repair technicians are currently based in Louisville.
Murphy approaches the season strategically, identifying the toughest programs months in advance and planning for quick turnarounds between concerts.
“The LO will sometimes perform a Classics concert, then accompany a touring rock or pop group the very next day,” he said. “It’s important to plan ahead for those sudden ‘changes of gear.’ ”
Fan described mental preparation in more philosophical terms.
“You have to let the music happen entirely in the present tense, fresh and untarnished,” he said of returning to familiar works like Mahler’s First Symphony.
The Challenge — and Joy — of Variety
One hallmark of the Louisville Orchestra is the sheer range of music it performs, from canonical symphonies to film scores, pops programs, opera, and contemporary premieres.
Clarinetist Evyn Levy sees that variety as both demanding and energizing.
“A lot of the more contemporary pieces are very technically difficult and take a lot of work to prepare,” Levy said. “But by the time I’ve worked it up to performance level, I remember how impossible it felt at the beginning, and it feels great to be able to play it.”
DiThomas agreed that not every piece immediately resonates personally, but the diversity ultimately expands musicianship.
“Being exposed to so many styles and genres keeps me open-minded and continually growing as an artist,” he said.
That constant stylistic shifting is part of what makes the orchestra’s season feel alive rather than routine.
A Deep Connection to Kentucky
Nearly every musician interviewed emphasized the orchestra’s unusually strong relationship with the broader community.
Karr pointed to Louisville orchestra’s statewide touring mission, supported by the Kentucky General Assembly.
“We perform free concerts in communities throughout Kentucky that may never have heard a symphony orchestra before,” she said. “Meeting the people and hearing their enthusiastic responses is very rewarding.”
Murphy echoed that sentiment, describing the effort required to bring orchestral music beyond traditional concert halls.
“Programs like Making Music, Once Upon an Orchestra, and the Commonwealth Tour require gritty, persistent effort from LO staff and unique, committed support from community partners and the Kentucky General Assembly,” he said.
DiThomas believes that statewide reach is what makes the Louisville Orchestra distinctive.
“The orchestra is not only known and loved within Louisville, but appreciated throughout the entire state,” he said. “That is an incredibly rare and special thing to be a part of.”
Why Live Music Still Matters
For these musicians, performing live remains fundamentally different from listening to recordings at home.
Fan hopes audiences leave concerts feeling changed in some small but real way.
“I hope they leave feeling slightly altered, as if the air inside them has been subtly rearranged,” he said. “Music shouldn’t be a passive passing of time; it should be an encounter that leaves a residue.”
Murphy described Louisville Orchestra concerts as experiences designed to “surprise, affirm, and challenge” listeners.
“Music we know and love provides deep comfort,” he said, “but music also has the power to confront and change us.”
DiThomas offered a simple invitation to newcomers who may feel unsure about attending a symphony concert.
“Come with an open mind — and if you do not connect with one performance, come again anyway,” he said. “What makes the Louisville Orchestra so exciting is the incredible variety from program to program.”
More Than a Job
Behind the technical discipline and demanding schedule lies something more personal: gratitude.
“Performing with the Louisville Orchestra is truly a dream come true,” DiThomas said. “Being able to do what I love for a living alongside such a fantastic group of musicians is the greatest honor of my life.”
Murphy continues to draw inspiration from his colleagues’ artistry and work ethic, while Fan speaks of performance as a shared search for clarity and connection.
As the Louisville Orchestra enters its 2026-27 season, audiences will hear Brahms, Mahler, Verdi, Gershwin, Strauss, and many other voices from the orchestral tradition. But they will also hear something less visible and just as important: the dedication of musicians who spend countless hours shaping sound into something communal, immediate, and unforgettable.
For tickets and more information, visit LouisvilleOrchestra.org
