SOUTH BEND, IN — On Sunday, November 30, 2025, the South Bend Symphony Orchestra welcomes families to the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center for a vibrant journey through magical forests, lively creatures, and captivating melodies, presented at the annual Shein Trust Family Concert: The Firebird and Friends.
Naima Burrs conducts this fun concert, featuring an imaginative program that combines storytelling, classical favorites, and animal-inspired works, culminating in thrilling selections from Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1919).
From Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Swans” and Saint-Saëns’ elegant “The Swan,” to the charming antics of Respighi’s “The Hen” and Mussorgsky’s “Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks,” young listeners and seasoned concertgoers alike will be swept into a vibrant orchestra menagerie. Audiences will also enjoy characterful excerpts from Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 that highlight the instruments of the orchestra with humor and heart.
The South Bend Symphony’s Family Concert is designed to be an interactive, educational, and unforgettable experience. Come early to create a fun craft before the performance! There will be a booth beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center just outside of the concert hall.
The South Bend Symphony Orchestra is grateful to Shein Trust for supporting the Shein Trust Community series.
TICKETS
Online – www.southbendsymphony.org
Phone – DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Box Office 574-631-2800
(Monday – Friday, Noon to 6 p.m.)
In-person – Visit the DeBartolo Box Office (DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, 100 Performing Arts Center, Notre Dame, IN 46556) during the times listed above or one hour before any performance or stop by the Symphony Office (127 N. Michigan St., South Bend) between (10 am – 4 pm, Tuesday – Friday).
To VIEW the 2025-26 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 Naima Burrs
Naima Burrs is a violinist and conductor from Richmond, Virginia, has performed as a section violinist with many ensembles including the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Waterloo Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra as well as serving as principal second violin with Opera on the James and as concertmaster of Summer Garden Opera. Burrs was selected as a participant in the Conducting Academy of the Domaine Forget International Music Festival (Québec, Canada), where she studied with Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music director of the Metropolitan Opera House and Philadelphia Orchestra. In January of 2022, Burrs was appointed Music Director of the Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and concluded her tenure after two exciting seasons, in 2024.
Burrs has collaborated with prominent solo artists both locally and internationally, including pianist Joanne Kong, clarinetist LeTriel White, violinist Anyango Yarbo-Davenport, and cellist Christoph Wagner. In August 2022, she became a member of the University of Richmond’s faculty, where she also currently leads the University of Richmond Symphony Orchestra. In 2023, Burrs made her guest conducting debut with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and in the same year, was appointed as the Youth Concert conductor with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, leading eight performances for their educational series at the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland. Most recently, Burrs made her conducting debut with the Richmond Ballet, leading the Richmond Symphony in six performances for the annual presentation of The Nutcracker. During the 2024-2025 Season, Naima led the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and the National Philharmonic in mainstage performances.
Naima Burrs serves as the Director of Orchestral Activities at Virginia State University (Petersburg, Virginia) and has previously contributed to the faculties of Longwood University (Farmville, Virginia) and Hampden-Sydney College (Hampden Sydney, Virginia). Burrs holds degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University (Bachelor of the Arts in Music), the University of Northern Iowa (Master of Music in Violin Performance), and the Catholic University of America (Doctor of Music Arts in Instrumental Conducting).