South Bend, IN — The South Bend Symphony Orchestra launches its 2026–27 Season with Strauss + Elgar on Saturday, September 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Morris Performing Arts Center. Led by Music Director Alastair Willis, the evening features South Bend Symphony Principal Horn Kurt Civilette as soloist and some of classical music’s most beloved melodies.
Drawing inspiration from the folk music traditions of Hungary, Zoltán Kodály’s Dances of Galánta opens the performance with rustic charm. Audiences will then hear Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, where South Bend Symphony Principal Horn Kurt Civilette will appear as soloist.
“Richard Strauss wrote his Horn Concerto No. 1 in 1882 when he was only 18 years old, and you can hear the youthful exuberance in the composition,” says Kurt Civilette. “It’s filled with fanfares, fast passages, and lyrical melodies that all show his incredible talent at writing for the horn, and it’s still the most performed horn concerto to this day all over the world. I’m excited to bring this piece to The Symphony audience!”
Following intermission, the Orchestra performs Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, a masterwork of emotional depth and symphonic storytelling. Each variation serves as a musical portrait of someone from Elgar’s life, culminating in the triumphant and instantly recognizable “Nimrod.”
The South Bend Symphony Orchestra is grateful to Jack M. Champaigne for supporting the Masterworks Series.
TICKETS
Online – www.southbendsymphony.org
Phone – Morris Performing Arts Center Box Office 574-235-9190
(10 am – 4 pm, Tuesday & Wednesday, 10 am – 5:30 pm, Thursday & Friday)
In-person – Visit the Morris Box Office (211 N. Michigan St., South Bend) during the times listed above or two hours before any performance.
To VIEW the 2026-27 Season schedule, visit www.southbendsymphony.org
Dates, programs, and venues are subject to change.
For questions or media appearances, please contact Sarah Perschbacher, sperschbacher@southbendsymphony.org or 574-230-4875
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About the South Bend Symphony Orchestra
The South Bend Symphony inspires, entertains, and connects the community with the transformative power of orchestral music. Producing more than 20 mainstage programs each year and nearly 70 smaller ensemble concerts, the Symphony serves more than 30,000 attendees annually. As the region’s only professional orchestra, the Symphony is dedicated to cultivating a vibrant, interconnected arts community in support of South Bend and the broader Michiana region.
The South Bend Symphony Orchestra has earned recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as Indiana Arts Commission and local arts funding organizations. It is also the recipient of the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County’s Leighton Award for Nonprofit Excellence, which honors the best-run nonprofit organization in St. Joseph County, Indiana.
Learn more about the South Bend Symphony Orchestra at www.southbendsymphony.org.
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About Kurt Civilette
Kurt Civilette has been Principal Horn with South Bend Symphony since 2012. He last appeared as a featured soloist in May, 2018, performing the Schumann Konzertstuck for 4 horns and orchestra with the rest of the SBSO section. He recently was featured soloist with Midland Symphony in March, 2026, finally realizing a long-time dream of performing the Reinhold Gliere horn concerto.
Originally from Buffalo, NY, Kurt earned a bachelor of music in horn performance at Northwestern University. Currently he is a freelance performer based in Lansing, MI, holding 5 permanent positions in the area including principal horn with SBSO and Midland(MI) Symphony and 3rd horn in Flint Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, and Traverse City Philharmonic. He is frequently asked to play guest principal. In past freelance work he has played extra with Detroit, St Louis, Utah, Toledo Symphonies, as well as Santa Fe Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Michigan Opera Theater.
For 15 years from 1995-2010, Kurt was full-time 3rd horn/associate principal with New Mexico Symphony in Albuquerque, and was also 3rd horn of the Santa Fe Symphony.
During the summers, Kurt plays principal horn with the Southern Illinois Music festival in Carbondale and the Baroque on Beaver Festival on Beaver Island(MI).
Outside of music, Kurt is an avid runner and just completed the 50 state marathon challenge, running his 50th state in the 50th state, in Maui, January 2026.