Tonight, a professional mixture of strings, brass, percussion and woodwinds will come together to fill Moody Music Hall with the sound of Beethoven’s timeless 4th and 7th Symphonies. The Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra will kick off their 2017-2018 concert season with selections from one of history’s most renowned composers.

The concert will be held at 7 p.m. in Moody Music Hall. Students can acquire free tickets with the “ TSO Student Rush” program by arriving 20 minutes early dressed in business casual attire (no jeans or shorts) and presenting their ACT card. However, if you’re not the early-bird type, student tickets can also be purchased for $10 online or at the door. 

“Beethoven is such deeply good music,” said Jenny Mann, Principle Bassoonist and executive Director of the symphony. “It is so fulfilling to play and equally as fulfilling to listen to. It just fills you with joy to play this music, and it’s challenging for us. But, it’s worth the challenge.” 

The Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra is made up of 55 professional musicians from all over the country. Instrumentalists from Mississippi, Georgia, and even New York will be playing alongside some of UA’s own music faculty. This concert is the first of six that the group will be playing over the course of the coming season.

This opening performance differs from the orchestra’s typical concerts in that work from only one composer will be featured. However, Adam Flatt, Music Director of the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, chose this music very purposefully. 

“The music is profound and beautiful and entertaining and rousing and stirring,” Flatt said. “These are two such central and important works of art in not only the art of music, but also in western art. In one evening you get to be exposed to both of them and have a pretty good idea of the most important composer in the last 500 years—Beethoven.”

Flatt fervently believes that this concert is a perfect starting point for anyone who has not had much exposure to the art of symphonic music. 

“You don’t need to know anything,” Flatt said. “Just come and sit down and be open to the experience. If you want to go hear classical music and it’s not something that’s been terribly familiar to you, and you come to an evening of Beethoven—that’s pretty special.”

Mann also encouraged newcomers to not feel intimidated by a first-time encounter with classical music.

“Classical music is for everyone,” Mann said. “There are no words to it, so if you enjoy music, you have the opportunity to set your own story and experience it in your own way.” 

The Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra offers an accessible opportunity for interested listeners to experience a fully professional symphony live. Those involved urge potential concert-goers to give the classical genre a chance despite whatever pre-conceived notions they might have. 

“It’s an experience that everyone should give a change whether they think they’ll like it or not,” Mann said. “The point of art is not to just experience things that you like; the point of art is to experience. That’s what makes you feel alive.”