Joseph Fernicola, director of sales, seeks to set sail with the CSO

The 2024/25 seasons of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Center Presents are just weeks away, and members of the Sales and Patron Experience team are here to help. Tickets and subscriptions for all series are now on sale and can be ordered online or over the phone. 

Can’t decide which concerts to select? Over the next weeks, staff members will offer their own choices for the must-see performances of 2024/25. 

Joseph Fernicola, director of sales and patron experience, compares parts of the Symphony Center experience to that of a luxury cruise liner — “I’m still petitioning for the Rotunda to be renamed the Lido Deck.” Keeping on subject, he suggests several sea-themed programs to set sail with during the upcoming season, as well as a myriad of thought-provoking masterworks and concerts that are fun for the whole family. 

Here are his top concert picks for 2024/25: 

Music Director transition: I’m looking forward to seeing both Riccardo Muti and Klaus Mäkelä taking their turns conducting the CSO, with each bringing their own style and skills to the podium. Under Muti’s baton, I’m interested in hearing Golijov’s Megalopolis Suite (Nov. 8-9) and collaborations alongside the always marvelous Mitsuko Uchida (Oct. 31–Nov. 3) as well as Esteban Batallán (June 12-14). With Mäkelä, I’m excited to see him lead the Chicago Symphony Chorus for the first time in Mahler’s Third Symphony (Apr. 24-26) and work alongside our new CSO Artist-in-Residence Daniil Trifonov (May 1-4). 

Setting sail with the CSO: Parts of Symphony Center always remind me of a luxury cruise liner, so why not dive into a sonic sea adventure here as well! The CSO program Dec. 12-14 goes overboard with the amount of tales on the high seas, as told by Britten, Tchaikovsky and Korngold — plus some Mahler songs one might sing on one’s journey. Other waterworks during the season include Sibelius’ The Oceanides (Apr. 3-5), Handel’s Water Music (Oct. 17-19) and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake (Nov. 21-23) — in Chicago, we know that a lake can pass for an ocean! 

Concerts that make you think: On the CSO Classical side, Haydn’s lesser-performed Mass in Time of War (Mar. 13-15) will provide an opportunity to ponder war and peace, and Marin Alsop will conduct a work inspired by the life of abolitionist Harriet Tubman (Oct. 10-11). On the Jazz series, Oscar Peterson’s Africa Suite (June 13) will challenge us to consider what social justice activism looks and sounds like. 

Lighter fare: If you did not experience Philharmonia Fantastique (Oct. 19) when it premiered a few seasons ago, don’t miss it this time—it is a lot of fun for kids and adults alike! Also, enjoy a fun start-of-summer American-themed concert with soprano Janai Brugger and conductor James Gaffigan (May 31), celebrate Día de los Muertos with superstar Lila Downs (Oct. 27), and party on with Pink Martini (Feb. 28). 

Film fun: When your extended family is in town for Thanksgiving, what could be better than taking them to a CSO at the Movies concert? This year’s featured film is The Wizard of Oz (Nov. 29–Dec. 1) and I’m really hoping to see some families spending their holiday weekend playing dress-up for this outing (divide up the roles during your Turkey Day dinner). When baseball season is just getting into high gear (with hopefully a White Sox win or two by that time), it will also be nice to watch Field of Dreams with the CSO performing the score live (May 30–June 1). 

Symphony Center’s friendly and knowledgeable Sales and Patron Experience team members are here to help. For personalized assistance with your ticket order, call 312-294-3000 or chat with them on CSO.org.