There's so much music ahead

It may sound silly to say when it’s 50 degrees outside (where did my spring go, by the way?), but I’ve mentally fast-forwarded to summer. That’s one of the dangers of the publishing industry. When I was in newspapers, I had the hardest time keeping track of the day of the week. Now, working at a magazine keeps me planning my concert calendar months in advance.

I’m working on the calendar of events for our June issue. It’s an interesting time of year. City Stages is the obvious nucleus of my personal concert calendar for that month, and there’s lots of other great stuff happening on stages across town. But by June, many groups (the Alys Stephens Center, theatre companies and the like) have ended their programs for the year and will begin new seasons in the fall.

So I find myself on the edge of my seat, anticipating each new season announcement. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the exciting shows that have already been revealed.

Art on the Rocks moves into its fifth year and celebrates with great music. AotR set the standard for drawing young professionals to cultural institutions, and in my mind the music has always been one of the things that make it stand out. I suspect that’ll be the case again this year, with Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles (May 29), Ben Lee (June 26), an act to be announced for July 17 and Courtney Jaye (Aug. 14).

The Alabama Symphony has also revealed some exciting things for 2009 to 2010. The schedule is too long to list here—the ASO consistently performs remarkable shows!—but I’ve already marked Oct. 29 on my calendar. In that evening’s Symphony 7 show, Chris Thile (formerly of Nickel Creek, currently with Punch Brothers and one of my favorite musicians, hands down) will perform with the symphony in Chris Thile’s Classical Jam. I can’t wait.

I’ve never been to an opera, although a college roommate who was majoring in voice often treated us to her operatic performances. (This was not nearly as welcome at 8 a.m.) Anyway, I need to change that, and Opera Birmingham offers the perfect opportunity. Their season begins with an opening recital (Sept. 25 and 27), then includes Christmas with Kallen and Friends (Dec. 18 and 19), Aida (Jan. 29 and 31) and The Marriage of Figaro (March 19 and 21).

And as much as those three groups provide, that’s only an appetizer of what’s to come! The 2008 to 2009 seasons are still wrapping up, but already I am excited about what we’ll hear in 2009 and 2010.