The Columbus Symphony is about to send a brand-new piece of music on a trip from the Ohio Theatre stage to one of the most storied concert halls in the country. On Friday and Saturday, the orchestra will perform the world premiere of composer Gregory Spears's The Mysteries alongside Davóne Tines's Concerto No. 2: ANTHEM and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, a program it will then carry to Carnegie Hall on Oct. 28 for its first appearance there in 25 years.
The Ohio Theatre dates serve as a hometown dress rehearsal of sorts for what comes next in New York, according to WSYX, which reports the Columbus Symphony will preview its 75th anniversary season with concerts at the Ohio Theatre ahead of the Carnegie Hall performance. Saturday's show also includes a free pre-talk concert at 6:30 p.m. that digs into the music audiences will hear that evening, according to columbussymphony.com.
Music Director Rossen Milanov, who leads the orchestra at both the Ohio Theatre and Carnegie Hall performances, called the New York trip a meaningful milestone, per WSYX's report. He also said the season highlights the orchestra's commitment to connecting with the Central Ohio community, the outlet reported.
A Commissioned Work Decades in the Making
The Mysteries is a commission from Spears and stands as his largest orchestral work to date, according to WSYX. The piece runs three movements across 27 minutes, per the outlet, and the composer has described art as a way to help people confront mysteries hidden in plain sight, WSYX reported.
The commission itself comes from the Columbus Symphony, according to columbussymphony.com, which describes The Mysteries as the world premiere of a new work commissioned by the orchestra from Spears. The Ohio Theatre performances on Oct. 23 and 24 mark the piece's first outing before it travels to New York, the organization's season announcement notes.
Tines Brings a Reimagined American Songbook
Sharing the bill is bass-baritone Davóne Tines, performing his Concerto No. 2: ANTHEM, a work he created with composers Michael Schachter, Caroline Shaw and Tyshawn Sorey, along with poet Mahogany L. Browne, according to carnegiehall.org. The venue describes the piece as one that examines and reimagines the national anthem and other American songs. WSYX's report frames the work as an exploration of nationhood, identity and American ideals, with arrangements credited to Schachter and Tines himself.
Tines first performed Concerto No. 2: ANTHEM with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in August 2022, according to WSYX. Its appearance on the Columbus Symphony's program represents a New York premiere for the piece alongside Spears's new commission, the outlet reported.
Back to Carnegie Hall After a Quarter Century
The Oct. 28 concert will mark the Columbus Symphony's first Carnegie Hall appearance in 25 years, according to WSYX — a gap independently confirmed by operawire.com, which reports the performance marks the orchestra's first appearance there since 2001. The orchestra's last visit came during its 50th anniversary, with a concert recorded live at Carnegie Hall on April 18, 2001, according to allmusic.com. That earlier performance featured a 100-voice chorus and a children's chorus, per the same source.
At Carnegie Hall, the program concludes with Milanov leading Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, according to carnegiehall.org. The Carnegie Hall date falls within the orchestra's broader 75th anniversary season, a point operawire.com also notes in its coverage of the Tines performance.
Looking Back on 75 Years
Founded in 1951, the Columbus Symphony has grown into an organization whose education and community programs reach more than 55,000 students across Central Ohio each year, according to columbussymphony.com. The 2026–27 season spans 12 Masterworks programs that mix established orchestral composers with contemporary voices, as broadwayworld.com reports, pairing names like Barber, Bartók, Beethoven and Brahms with newer commissions. The organization has described the anniversary season as a chance to honor the great masterpieces of its repertoire while championing new works and collaborations, according to the same outlet's report.
