The Lake Charles Symphony is celebrating the spirit of enflames reinvention with their 67th season, “Fire & Light.”

With new leadership in Music Director and Conductor William Rose, this season will highlight the importance of passion, rebirth and unification.

New beginnings, new directions

While this is his first year as conductor, Rose has worked with the symphony for nearly 40 years.

He moved to Lake Charles in 1986 to work at McNeese State University as a low brass teacher. He also taught music theory, jazz and “pretty much immediately” started conducting at the university with the Spring of 1987 performance of “Cabaret.”

MSU and the Symphony has a “symbiotic relationship,” so he quickly transitioned to serve as principal trombone for the orchestra. Over the years, he also participated in some guest conducting, arranging and composing.

When the symphony board was discussing what the 67th season should represent, they quickly decided to perform concerts that highlighted the importance of constant evolution supported by a passionate, connected community, Rose said.

“Every arts organization has to go through an almost constant reinvention of itself because we are both a reflection of our culture and a harbinger of our culture.

“We’ll be playing music that both reflects our community and edifies it.”

The symphony has been on a years-long mission to intertwine local culture and contemporary experiences with classical pieces to create a sonic experience that is unique to Southwest Louisiana, said Executive Director Beth Dawdy.

“Our whole goal with ‘Fire and Light’ is to bring music to the community, so that everyone can experience it.”

Rose will double down on this goal during his tenure.

“The symphony historically has been the music of the people,” he explained. “It is so intimately connected to our society and intimately connected to our culture that it has something literally for everyone.”

Throughout the season, the performances will highlight local individuals and groups playing pieces that are “emotionally gratifying,” Rose said. This is part of a larger vocation to feature the local talent that is nurtured in Southwest Louisiana. In the past, the symphony has been known for partnering with local ballet groups and vocalists, as well as visual artists to create multimedia performances.

“I feel very strongly that as an arts organization in Louisiana, we need to be very aware of and in constant connection with the other arts groups in our community.”

To present the best of both worlds, they are also hoping to bring in artists from around the country to “bring the finest of the national artists to our community.”

“This is so that we can see what is happening on the national and international level, as well as doting that our local artists all are functioning on that same level.”

‘Orchestra Ignited’

The season will kick off with “Orchestra Ignited” at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Rosa Hart Theater, 900 Lakeshore Dr. 

Rose said that the season’s inaugural performance will feature music from the late Classical and early Romantic periods, “a time of transformation and upheaval, where art illuminated a rapidly changing world, mirroring shirt in the political and social landscape.”

The performance will feature Grammy-nominated clarinetist Jan Scott.

Scott has played with the orchestra since 1990 and is “good friend” and peer of Rose of 35 years.

“We’re just happy to have the chance to feature her with the orchestra,” he said.

She has been described as having a “lovely sound,” Dawdy said. The quality of Scott’s musicality is a testament to the unique experience that an individual performer can provide.

“As you hear one piece performed by one artist, it might be completely different for another artist,” Dawdy said. “So, if you haven’t heard Jan Scott play solo pieces, she truly is one of the best of the best, and we’re just blessed to have her in our community.”

Scott will perform Carl Maria von Weber’s “Concertino.”

“Orchestra Ignited” will begin with Weber’s “Jubilee Overture” and will close out with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Symphony No. 40.”

Holiday Pops: A Festival of Lights and Warmth

Audiences can expect a holiday performance that is a blend of the sacred and secular a 6 p.m. on December 14 at the Rosa Hart Theater.

A true inclusive holiday musical event, “Holiday Pops” will offer a mix of traditional Christmas music and selections incorporating the Hebrew Hanukkah traditions. Rose is writing a piece that combines one of his sister’s vocal works and a Hanukkah song. He’s also weaving in “a medley of Hanukkah favorites” that he wrote.

“It’s a gift to take his vision and bring it to life with the orchestra,” Dawdy noted. “We’re constantly bringing in new artists so we can grow as an orchestra and build our composition library.”

The concert will feature Leif Pedersen, a vocalist who sings “in the style of Frank Sinatra.” Like many people in the arts, Pedersen is a “true renaissance man,” Rose said, who is amazing in “his abilities as a person, his abilities as a singer and his abilities as a children’s author.”

Traditionally a big band singer, this is the first time that Pederson will sing alongside an orchestra. Giving local artists the new experience of performing with the symphony is not a new practice, Rose explained.

“Over the last several years, we have had a track record of bringing new artists to the classical realm that have already been active in other music presentations.”

Pedersen will sing alongside area high school choirs.

The evening will be closed out with a community sing-along accompanied by Pederson reading excerpts from his children’s Christmas book “The Adventures of The Swamp Kids: Tutu’s Christmas on the Bayou.”

On December 19, the symphony will also host a candlelight concert “Jingle & Jazz in Candles” under the Sallier Oak at the Imperial Calcasieu Museum, 204 W. Sallier St.

Bonfire Finale

The season will close out with “Bonfire” featuring SWLA professional vocal group BONOVOX on May 3, 2025.

Embodying the element of fire, the finale performance will start with Spanish Composer Manuel de Falla’s “Ritual Fire Dance.”

The piece will be followed by a “classic American music” piece “Grand Canyon Suite” by Frederick Grofe. The first suite is called “Sunrise,” which “typifies the season of ‘Fire and Light.’”

The performance will incorporate pictures of the Grand Canyon to create an engaging, explorative multimedia experience.

“It’s going to be a wonderful season,” Rose mused.

Education endeavors

The symphony is striving to boost its educational endeavors in the coming years. Dawdy said they have a “growing presence in the schools.” They are building up their string program with McNeese and want to host performances that involve community youth orchestras.

“We have often done educational concerts for elementary students. We need to do more in terms of side-by-side concerts that will connect us as professional musicians to those young musicians who are learning how to play in order to give them roles models and mentoring,” Rose explained. “There is so much that we can do in the community to raise awareness of the importance of music education in our schools.”

He emphasized that students involved in music and the arts perform better in STEM subjects.

Dawdy said the symphony needs help from the community to fund these educational programs. Symphony memberships fuel the fire of education programs that benefit SWLA youth.

Memberships range from the 2024-24 Symphony Member Pass for $350 – includes one ticket to each performance – to the 2024-25 Symphony Society Patron for $1,500 – several tickets to all events and six VIP tickets to the members-only reception.

A Little Lagniappe

The 67th season will also feature a Front Porch Picnic Concert at 2 p.m. on March 16, 2024 at Central School for the Arts, 809 Kirby St.

The season will also include a handful of candlelight concerts and outdoor performances.

To learn more about the symphony, purchase tickets or become a member, visit lcsymphony.com.