· Dr. David Vickerman, Music and Artistic Director
Every December, we do something at our holiday concert that I would not trade for anything. Before the band plays The Night Before Christmas, we invite the children in the audience to come up and sit on the edge of the stage, right beside the musicians, while I sit in a comfy red chair and read the story aloud. For a few minutes, a hall full of people is listening to the same story together, and the band is playing right there with them. It is one of my favorite moments of the year.
That moment is a big part of why I chose this season's theme. Stories are how we make sense of the world and how we pass what matters from one generation to the next, and music is one of the oldest ways we tell them. So I am thrilled to announce the San José Wind Symphony's 2026-2027 season, Storytellers. Each concert explores a different way that composers become storytellers.
A Novel Concert
Sunday, October 11, 2026, 3:00 PM, McAfee Center, Saratoga
We begin with A Novel Concert, inspired by Voltaire, Kipling, Tolkien, Shakespeare, and Melville, with music by Bernstein, Aulio, de Meij, Meechan, McBeth, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Mahler. I am especially happy that my friend and San José State colleague, baritone saxophonist Aaron Lington, joins us as our featured soloist. It is a program where the concert hall becomes a literary adventure, and every piece opens a new chapter.
Buon Natale with Pasquale Esposito
Sunday, December 13, 2026, 3:00 PM, McAfee Center, Saratoga
For our Christmas concert, I am excited to welcome back acclaimed Italian tenor Pasquale Esposito for Italian carols and opera, familiar holiday favorites, and, of course, The Night Before Christmas. I am really looking forward to working with Pasquale again!
Myths and Legends
Sunday, February 28, 2027, 3:00 PM, McAfee Center, Saratoga
Gods, ghosts, dragons, and folktales fill the stage with wonder and suspense, from Galante's Lexicon of the Gods and Stravinsky's Firebird to Whitacre's Ghost Train, Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, and the spectacular Dragon Rhyme by Chen Yi.
A Galaxy of Music: Star Wars at 50
Sunday, May 16, 2027, 3:00 PM, McAfee Center, Saratoga
We celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original 1977 film with music from nearly every film in the saga, along with The Mandalorian. Few scores are as inseparable from their stories as John Williams's. Whether you have followed them for decades or are discovering them for the first time, I think you will love this one.
Symphony in the Park
Sunday, July 4, 2027, 10 AM to 1 PM, Oak Meadow Park, Los Gatos. Free admission.
We close with our annual Fourth of July tradition, where the story becomes our own: familiar music, American traditions, and the community that has made our music possible.
Programming is a painstaking process for me, and it typically takes several months. For every concert, I think about the length of the program, the difficulty of the music, the instrumentation, the variety of styles, and how the season works as one complete artistic experience rather than simply five individual concerts. I hope you can feel that care when you hear it.
On a personal note, as I begin my fourth season with the San José Wind Symphony, I want to say thank you for trusting me at the helm of this ensemble. It is truly special, and I care about it deeply. Over the course of the year, I hope these stories become experiences we can hear, feel, and share together, and that you will bring your family to hear a few of them with us. I am really excited about the music we will make this year!
Tickets are available at sjws.org/tickets.
Dr. David Vickerman, D.M.A.
Music and Artistic Director, San José Wind Symphony