PRESS RELEASES
| Joshua Bell Makes his Ninth Soraya Appearance, Will Lead Academy of St Martin in the Fields
The ever-popular Academy of St Martin in the Fields, under the musical direction of renowned violin soloist Joshua Bell, returns to The Soraya with a program offering operatic highlights from Rossini and Mozart, plus symphonic work by Brahms, Mendelssohn and Saint-Saëns.
| Classical Nights Continue at The Soraya with the Debut of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Led by Nathalie Stutzmann, Music Director Featuring Pianist Haochen Zhang
Nathalie Stutzmann broke the gender barrier at the very pinnacle of classical music when she became only the second woman in history to lead a major American orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Now, in a program featuring Beethoven and Dvořák, Stutzmann — the orchestra’s Music Director, leads Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, Emperor, known for being one of Beethoven’s most demanding works, featuring Van Cliburn gold medal award-winning pianist Haochen Zhang. The concert also features Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, From the New World.
| The Third-Annual Jazz at Naz Festival’s Jazz Club Returns with Local Chef at Helm of Dining
Chef Jim Bonanno promises meals filled with local flare, creativity, and ties to the roots of each artist. Jazz at Naz Begins Jan. 27 and runs through Feb. 10, with three main stage concerts and four concerts hosted in the intimate and unique onstage Jazz Club. Jazz fans around the world can enjoy Jazz at Naz via livestream, with a Jazz Pass ($19 for one concert) or Discover Jazz Virtual Pass ($49 for all four concerts)! In-person and online tickets on sale now at TheSoraya.org.
| The Hecho en las Américas Series Continues with LEYENDAS DEL MARIACHI
The Soraya’s Hecho en Las Américas Series returns on Thursday, Jan. 25 for a spectacular one-night-only event — Leyendas del Mariachi. The all-new band brings together the most famous and distinguished mariachi of the past three decades and makes its United States debut for this event at The Soraya. Legendary members from Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Mariachi Los Camperos, Mariachi Cobre, and Mariachi América de Jesús Rodríguez de Hijar take The Soraya’s Great Hall stage together as one for a performance that promises to be an inspiration for generations music lovers.
| Classical Nights at The Soraya Continue with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | Featuring Rising Star Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason; Vasily Petrenko, Conductor and Music Director
The Soraya’s Classical Series continues on Jan. 21, 2024 with the return of The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) under the music direction of conductor Vasily Petrenko and featuring in-demand pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason who will perform Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto, a work that also appears on Kanneh-Mason’s 2019 critically acclaimed debut recording. RPO also performs Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, Pathétique, which debuted in 1893 just nine days before the composer’s death.
| The Third-Annual Jazz at Naz Festival Returns with Seven Concerts in the Great Hall and the Onstage Jazz Club
Fast to be recognized as one of the best winter jazz festivals on the West Coast, the third-annual Jazz at Naz Festival features an all-star lineup of the finest musicians in both The Soraya’s Great Hall and its innovative onstage Jazz Club—a unique and intimate setting for jazz performances hosted directly on The Soraya’s stage with less than 300 seats available.
| The Soraya Presents the World Premiere of DIAVOLO: Existencia, 30 Years After the Northridge Earthquake
On January 17, 2024, DIAVOLO, Architecture in Motion, and The Soraya will present the world premiere of Existencia, a new work to commemorate the 30 years since the Northridge Earthquake struck California State University Northridge (CSUN), in 1994 — and event which was said to have been the worst natural disaster ever to hit a university campus in the United States.
| Musical America Names Executive and Artistic Director Thor Steingraber of The Soraya as a “Top 30 Professional” for 2023
Musical America, the oldest influential American magazine covering music, drama, and dance since 1899, has named Thor Steingraber as one of its Top 30 Professionals for 2023. The annual report profiles thoughtful, creative, and innovative leaders who persistently and relentlessly strive to ensure the performing arts remain vital in their communities.
| Mark Howard’s Trinity Irish Dance Company Premieres A Very Irish Christmas at The Soraya
The unique power and grace of Chicago’s internationally-renowned Trinity Irish Dance Company (TIDC) comes to The Soraya with an exclusive holiday performance. “Sophisticated and commanding” (Los Angeles Times) and “impossibly complex” (The New York Times), the company is the birthplace of progressive Irish Dance, an innovative movement genre that “ushered in a new era for Irish step dance” (Chicago Tribune).