Salina Symphony welcomes new conductor, season features Nutcracker, Passion, Ellis Island

For his inaugural season as the new music director and conductor of the Salina Symphony, Yaniv Segal has cooked up what he believes will be a well-balanced musical buffet.

Segal, a Michigan resident who was selected from five finalists for the position after a worldwide search that took nearly two years, compares each concert in a symphonic season to a “fine meal.”

“Some meals you’re going to taste something new, and some meals will be something you’ve tasted before,” he said. “The goal is to be diverse, properly balanced and make sure there’s something for everyone.”

Since being informed of his selection in early May, Segal has faced the challenge of putting together a diverse and balanced season in just two months, one that not only would provide “something for everyone,” but would serve as an introduction to Segal’s vision for the Salina Symphony’s future.

“I think I’ve achieved that for this first season,” he said. “We have a canon of masterworks, lesser-known works by newer composers and crossover adventures.”

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Salina Symphony 2022-23 season

The opening concert of the Salina Symphony’s 2022-23 season, entitled “Rise Up,” will be performed at 4 p.m. Oct. 2 at the Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts, 151 S. Santa Fe Ave.

The concert, a mixture of classic and contemporary music, will open with Patrick Harlin’s majestic “Earthrise” – based on the iconic photograph taken from NASA’s Apollo 8 spacecraft – followed by “Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.47” by Jean Sibelius, featuring violinist and Kansas City native Maria Ioudenitch.

“The opening piece by Patrick Harlin is very fresh, just having its world premiere a few months ago,” Segal said.

The concert will conclude with a performance of one of the most iconic symphonies of all time, Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5 in C minor.”

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From Tchaikovsky to an original composition by Segal

·       “Romance” (Nov. 6, 4 p.m.) is a concert of romantic music that will feature Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” overture, Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” fantasy overture, contemporary composer Gabriel Prokofiev’s suite from his genre-defying crossover album “Breaking Screens,” and an original composition by Segal himself, “Woodbridge, Summer of 2010,” which he wrote for his wedding and recently orchestrated.

“It’s very personal to me,” Segal said. “I always intended for it to be orchestrated, so during the pandemic, I finally had the time to turn it into an orchestral piece.”

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The Nutcracker, featuring the symphony and Ballet Salina

·       “The Nutcracker” (7 p.m. Dec. 10, 4 p.m. Dec. 11): Tchaikovsky’s timeless ballet tells the story of a young girl’s Christmas Eve dream. Performed in partnership with Ballet Salina.

The ballet will be performed every few years during the holiday season.

“We are thrilled to present ‘The Nutcracker’ with Ballet Salina this year,” said Adrienne Allen, executive director of the Salina Symphony. “The Christmas Festival will be back next season.”

Journey, from Poland to Ellis Island