From the Director: 2025-26 Season Letter

Greetings!

I am very happy to return to the podium for the 112th season of the Hays Symphony

and look forward to an exciting season. For those of you who don’t know me, I am Chair of the Music and Theatre program at FHSU, and since 2015 have been the principal cello of the Hays Symphony. I previously served as Music Director of the Hays Symphony from 2009-2015, and I look forward to the great privilege of again working with all the talented musicians of the orchestra.

This season we have some delightful treats in store for you.

The Hays Symphony will offer three Pops concerts: our summer pops concert in August, held at the Hays Downtown Pavilion, is entitled “A Night at the Movies,” and includes scores from E.T., Star Trek, James Bond, and other perennial favorites; our Children’s Halloween Concert will this year feature Prokofiev’s beloved Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Dr. David Macey, Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at FHSU; the annual Holiday Pops Concert in December will be a collection of holiday hymns, popular Christmas songs, and a few gems to round out the evening.

We will also present three Classics concerts this season. The first Classics concert in

September is entitled “Simply Strings;” as the name suggests, the concert features

music for strings. Held in the beautiful St. Joseph Catholic Church, the strings of the

Hays Symphony will present string music from the Baroque to the present. I’m

especially looking forward to hearing Vaughn Williams’ Concerto Grosso in this

wonderful space. Our second Classics concert in February will feature FHSU student

finalists of the Hays Symphony’s Concerto and Aria competition, in addition to some

rousing works for orchestra, including works by Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss, and

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. The last Classics concert of the season, “Viva Percussion!,”

will feature the innovative and exciting Arx Duo, two percussion virtuosos, who will

perform an exciting and unique concerto for two percussionists and strings. We will

close the season with a work featuring the Hays Symphony percussionists in Antropólis!

We also have an exciting addition to the season. In April, members of the Hays

Symphony will partner with FHSU Music and Theatre for a production of Stephen

Sondheim’s Into the Woods. Information about tickets and pricing for this exciting

event will be available at www.forthaysarts.com.

We are lucky to have such rich and diverse culture offerings in the Hays community, and the Hays Symphony is proud to be a part of that. I look forward to seeing you at our

next concert!

Warmly,

Ben Cline

Music Director, Hays Symphony