Coming March 27 – 29 at Schermerhorn Symphony Center, enjoy an enchanting evening as Branford Marsalis, of the Marsalis jazz family dynasty, takes a solo turn in master–of–melodies John Williams’ saxophone concerto — largely based on his score from the 2002 film “Catch Me If You Can.” Guest conductor Rune Bergmann begins with “Tambor,” a work the orchestra has recorded with Joan Tower, and culminates with Rachmaninoff’s sweepingly romantic Second Symphony.
Branford Marsalis is an award-winning saxophonist, band leader, featured classical soloist, and a film and Broadway composer. Over the span of his decades long career, he has become a multi award – winning artist with three Grammys, EMMY and Tony nominations, a citation by the National Endowment for the Arts as a Jazz Master, and an avatar of contemporary artistic excellence.
Marsalis is increasingly sought after as a featured soloist with such acclaimed orchestras as the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, and the Chicago, Detroit, North Carolina, and Düsseldorf Symphonies, with a repertoire that includes compositions by Debussy, Glazunov, Ibert, Mahler, Milhaud, Rorem, Vaughn Williams, and John Williams. He has toured with chamber orchestras such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong.
Emerging from the global pandemic in January, 2022, Marsalis first returned to the New York Philharmonic to perform John Adam’s Saxophone Concerto, which highlighted his incredible agility and the instrument’s lyrical voice. He then launched a tour with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, in a program which explored the intersectionality of jazz and classical music with repertoire selections including Debussy’s jazz-inspired “Rhapsody for alto saxophone and chamber orchestra.” Later that year, he performed John Williams’ “Escapades” in Tanglewood’s celebration of Williams’ 90th birthday.
In 2023, Marsalis performed with symphonies in Miami, Greensboro, Toledo, and Corpus Christi, as well as with the Warsaw Philharmonic and Calgary Philharmonic. He also traveled to Tokyo and Kyoto to perform with the Makoto Ozone group in Japan. Even as he tours the world as a featured classical soloist, he continues to perform with The Branford Marsalis Quartet, which he formed in 1986.
His work on Broadway has garnered a Drama Desk Award and Tony nominations for the acclaimed revivals of “Children of a Lesser God,” “Fences,” and “A Raisin in the Sun.” As a composer for film and television, his screen credits include original music composed for: “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” starring Oprah Winfrey, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, “Rustin” starring Colman Domingo, and the EMMY nominated “Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre.”
Norwegian conductor Rune Bergmann is currently Music Director of Canada’s Calgary Philharmonic, Artistic Director & Chief Conductor of Poland’s Szczecin Philharmonic, and Chief Conductor of Switzerland’s Argovia Philharmonic, positions he has held since the 2017/18, 2016/17, and 2020/21 seasons, respectively. Since Summer of 2023, he is also Music Director of the Peninsula Music Festival in Wisconsin.
Performances are Thursday, March 27, Friday, March 28, and Saturday, March 29, 2025, at 7:30 PM each evening at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in downtown Nashville.
