Preview: ‘Pasadena Symphony to Open Classical Season with Brahms, Barber and Violinist Benjamin Beilman’

Brett Mitchell will conduct two performances Oct. 24 at Ambassador Auditorium, with works by Joan Tower, Samuel Barber, and Johannes Brahms.

PASADENA — Pasadena Now has published a preview of the opening program of the Pasadena Symphony’s 2026–27 season, its third under Music Director Brett Mitchell:

The Pasadena Symphony will open its 2026-27 classical season Saturday, Oct. 24, with two performances at Ambassador Auditorium featuring Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 and violinist Benjamin Beilman performing Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto.

Music Director Brett Mitchell will conduct the 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. concerts at 131 S. St. John Ave. The program will also feature Joan Tower’s “Made in America,” bringing together works by three composers for the first of five classical programs scheduled this season.

The orchestra said in a September announcement that Tower’s composition draws inspiration from “America the Beautiful” and continues its commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Beilman, an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, will perform Barber’s Violin Concerto as the program’s featured soloist. The orchestra described the violinist’s appearance as a centerpiece of its season-opening program in an Oct. 15 promotional email.

The concert will conclude with Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, a major orchestral work that provides the title for the evening’s program.

Mitchell is entering his third season as the Pasadena Symphony’s music director. In announcing the season, he highlighted a repertoire combining established orchestral works with compositions by contemporary American composers.

The Oct. 24 performances begin a concert series that will continue Nov. 14 with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. That program will also feature Elgar’s Cello Concerto, performed by Pasadena Symphony principal cellist Michael Kaufman, and Carlos Simon’s “Fate Now Conquers.”

For the opening concert, audience members may attend a free preconcert discussion one hour before each performance. The orchestra’s “Insights” program features Classical California KUSC host Brian Lauritzen and Mitchell discussing the music, composers and performers.

Read an additional preview from Broadway World: Benjamin Beilman to Perform Barber and Brahms at Pasadena Classical Season.

To learn more about and purchase tickets to these performances, please click here.