Delaware Symphony Orchestra

10/07/2026

Leading off the DSO's 121st season was our Opening Night Symphonic Dances performance on Friday, October 2, 2026 at The Grand Opera House! 🎶

This season's start was an evening where the music by our Brilliant Musicians of the DSO spoke through vivid rhythms, colors, and energy under the baton of Music Director Michelle Di Russo.

We began the evening with the bold brass and percussion blast from Joan Tower's Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, continuing on with Berlioz's whirling Roman Carnival Overture.

Next, our guest artist, Chaeyoung Park, dazzled us with her performance of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G.

The evening closed with the sweeping sounds of Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances.

Thank you all for joining us for the start of this momentous season!

Thanks to our Concert Sponsors: Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors • Sharon & Charles Babcock • Donald & Gayle Collat (In Memory of Robert Collat) • Kathleen Sundt.

And our Season Sponsors: The National Endowment for the Arts • The Delaware Division of the Arts • Tatiana & Gerret Copeland.

📸 by Jim Coarse | Moonloop Photography

10/06/2026

10/03/2026

𝗙.𝗬.𝗜. ❔ Delaware Symphony Opens 121st Season • Delaware Symphony Orchestra opens its 121st season on Oct. 2 at The Grand with 𝘚𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, led by Music Director Michelle Di Russo. Di Russo says the season embraces vibrant musical storytelling, with each performance bringing its own distinctive “voice” to audiences.


Chaeyoung Park

10/01/2026

It's almost here! Your DSO's 121st season -- five Mainstage Series concerts, four internationally celebrated guest artists, two Musicians' Series and two Sussex County performances, family-friendly and holiday-themed programs, and so much more!

Join us and listen to your DSO speak in distinctive voices like never before!

Tickets for all programs now available at DelawareSymphony.org or 302.656.7442.

10/01/2026

Take a sneak peek into DSO rehearsals that wrapped this week, as we prepare for Friday's Opening Night concert — Symphonic Dances!

Our guest artist, pianist Chaeyoung Park, will certainly shine in Ravel's Piano Concerto in G, and the Brilliant Musicians of Your DSO are bringing you a power-packed performance that opens with Joan Tower's Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, continues with Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture and concludes with the sweeping Symphonic Dances by Rachmaninoff.

See you tomorrow night!

P.S. Still need tickets? Visit DelawareSymphony.org or call 302.656.7442!

📸 by Charles "Ebbie" Alfree III

09/30/2026

The marquee is up, rehearsals are under way, and we're almost at Opening Night!

Symphonic Dances opens Friday, 10/2, 7:30pm at Copeland Hall.

Will we see you there? 👀🎶

09/28/2026

It's the week of our first performance! We can't wait to welcome you back to The Grand for the 121st season of YOUR Delaware Symphony Orchestra — a season Where Music Speaks.

In this concert's "voice"...

We open with Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman by Joan Tower. "I usually like to start the season with a 'blast'...and set the tone for what we're going to experience throughout the year," says Michelle Di Russo. The piece is a fanfare — a "call to attention" as Michelle says — which means rather than a full orchestra, it features only brass instruments and a little percussion.

Tower's work is followed by Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture. Another blockbuster piece, but one that speaks in a very different voice. "Berlioz was a great storyteller," says Michelle. "His music has so much color and brilliance to it."

Next, we feature our guest pianist, Chaeyoung Park, who will bring the elegance of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G to the stage. "This concerto is really something... a completely diferrent sound," Michelle says. "This is where we get to hear his jazz influences, especially in the clarinet and English horn solos."

Rachmaninoff's sweeping Symphonic Dances closes out our evening. "You can't say 'no' to [performing] Rachmaninoff. The work is just too beautiful," Michelle says. "You will hear moments in this piece that are just so touching."

Overall, Michelle Di Russo says of the program: "There's a lot of variety in what we're presenting but I feel that every piece on this concert has strong rhythm. Maybe this speaks to my programming style — I do like good rthythm."

Join us and experience this new season Where Music Speaks!🎶

09/21/2026

Thanks to Martin Matheny & our friends at Delaware Public Media for this interview with Maestra Michelle Di Russo to start our 121st season!

Fall 2026 marks Michelle Di Russo's second season as the conductor of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. But, because an orchestra's season is planned long before the orchestra takes the stage, it's the first season programmed by Di Russo in her role as the symphony's music director. The result: a sea...