La Porte, April 5, 2024 - The La Porte County Symphony Orchestra is excited to announce the 2024-2025 concert season, which will mark the ensemble's 52nd season and the fourth season under the direction of Dr. Carolyn Watson.

The season begins on September 14, 2024 with the 19th annual Hoosier Star vocal competition and fundraiser. This popular event features five youth and five adult finalists, who will perform a song with the orchestra and vie for the title Hoosier Star 2024. Audience members can vote for their favorite performance of the evening, and along with a panel of celebrity judges, choose the winner of this prestigious honor.

In October, the LCSO will once again present its beloved Dayton Family Children's Education Concerts, now in their 39th year. Over 5,000 school children from schools throughout the tri-county area will attend these concerts, which introduce upper elementary students to the joyful and exciting world of live orchestral music.

In the first subscription concert of the season, Dr. Carolyn Watson takes the audience on a journey to Latin America with Dia De los Muertos on November 2, 2024 at the La Porte Civic Auditorium. Featuring guest soloist, classical guitarist Guido Sanchez-Portuguez playing Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, this concert will also feature works by Mexican composers Gabriela Ortiz, Carlos Chavez, Jose Pablo Moncayo, and Arturo Marquez.

The traditional annual Holiday at the Pops concert will take place on December 14, 2024 at the La Porte Civic Auditorium. Dr. Carolyn Watson will return to the podium for the 30th anniversary of the event that has come to signal the arrival of the holiday season in La Porte.

On February 8, 2025, the LCSO will present the second subscription concert of the season at La Porte High School, a program especially for families and animal lovers! In this whimsical program titled Animal Kingdom, the LCSO explores how the sounds of the natural world inspire classical music, featuring Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens, Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, and Australian composer Matthew Hindson's Dangerous Creatures. Led by Dr. Carolyn Watson and some very special activities for children before and after the concert, this concert will be an extra special event for families.

After a long winter, the third subscription concert on March 9, 2025 will usher in warm thoughts in a program of music with a Spring theme at the Holdcraft Performing Arts Center in Michigan City. The Sound of Spring opens with Mendelssohn's Overture to the Hebrides, followed by Lili Boulanger's Of A Spring Morning. The program will also include the world premiere of Swedish composer Kjell Rolkjer's Concerto No. 2 for xylophone and string orchestra, featuring soloist Jared Coller, the LCSO's Education Manager and member of the percussion section. Closing the concert will be Schumann's first Symphony, a fervent yearning for spring.

Finally, the LCSO will close its season on April 12, 2025 with Some Enchanted Evening, the fourth and final subscription concert of the 52nd season. A tribute to the Golden Age of Broadway, the LCSO will present a program of classic overtures, entr'actes, solos, and duets from the brilliant composer/lyricist duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Featuring music from The Sound of Music, South Pacific, The King and I, Showboat, and Oklahoma!, Dr. Carolyn Watson will take audiences back to Broadway with the very best of American Musical Theater. LCSO's Executive Director Emily Yiannias, soprano, will join as a soloist for this program.

About the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra
The La Porte County Symphony Orchestra is a cornerstone of the vibrant arts landscape in Northwest Indiana. The orchestra serves the 110,000 residents of La Porte County and regions beyond, including Southwest Michigan. Now in its 51st season, the LCSO has grown from a small community orchestra into a dynamic, professional orchestra of 60 musicians serving audiences from seven counties. Each year, the orchestra presents four subscription concerts, in addition to the Hoosier Star, Holiday at the Pops and Children's Education concerts.