Hot music for sultry summer nights: Space Coast Symphony launches season with Stravinsky

Deep into the summer doldrums, the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra - the “Symphony for Everyone” - forges ahead in high gear to kick off its 15th season with a performance of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.”

The classic work is ambitious, but not even unbearably hot weather will stop orchestra conductor Aaron Collins from unleashing a massive 88-piece orchestra upon concertgoers during “Rite of Spring in Summer” at 7 p.m., Saturday, July 22.

The concert will be held at the orchestra’s regular stomping grounds at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy’s Scott Center for the Performing Arts, 5625 Holy Trinity Dr. in Melbourne. Not to worry: The Scott Center is nicely air conditioned, so the audience will keep cool as the orchestra heats up.

Stravinsky's ballet and orchestral work has a history of being "hot." It was considered so avant-garde when it debuted in 1913 that the audience allegedly rioted.

"We're not expecting a rampage during our performance, but just in case, we'll be checking for rotten fruit at the door,” joked Collins.

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Despite the initial drama, the Russian composer’s work earned its rightful place as a A-lister concert piece, even though it was originally written as a ballet score. Leonard Bernstein hailed Stravinsky’s opus as “the most important piece of music of the 20^th Century.”

Even Mickey Mouse is a big fan. If you don’t believe me, check out a copy of the original “Fantasia,” where “The Rite of Spring” features as the fourth and longest segment, musically illustrating the Big Bang and the age of dinosaurs.

Rounding out the July 22 concert is a symphonic work from the 1995 film, “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” as well as a saxophone concerto performed by the SCSO's Andrew Cleaver. Both compositions are from the pen of Grammy-winning composer Michael Kamen.

During the dog days of August, the symphony heads to the “Wild, Wild West,” with a 3 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 5, concert of all the Western flick scores we know and love, from “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” to “High Noon” and “The Magnificent Seven.” Giddy up to the AMC Avenue 16 in Viera, where the show is happening, and enjoy cowboy film clips as the music plays.

But, wait, we’re not done for August. It’s time for “A Little Night Music” at 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 26, when the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra teams with Central Florida Vocal Arts and Opera del Sol for a fully-staged production of the Stephen Sondheim classic.

Set in the enchanted birch groves of Sweden, “A Little Night Music” sings and waltzes its way through the lives of mismatched couples who are about to make some very surprising discoveries about their true desires. In an ever-thickening plot, the couples come together on a midsummer’s night when the sun never sets for “A Weekend in the Country” and anything can happen when it comes to love.

Satellite High School Performing Arts Center, 300 Scorpion Ct., is the venue for the production, presented with professional singers, traditional costuming and digital sets. That’s pretty cool for a hot summer night.

In September, the orchestra is back at the Scott Center for “American Icons” at 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 23. Bernstein, Gershwin, Ellington, Scott and Fuchs are on the program.

Ditto for the Scott Center for “Bewitching Broadway,” a concert of ghoulishly enchanting music from “Phantom,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Wicked,” “Young Frankenstein” and more. Showtime is 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 21. Costumes are encouraged.

The flappers and Bright Young Things of the 1920s are the subject of “The Great Gatsby Party” at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 18, at Satellite High Performing Arts Center. This cocktail of hot syncopation, which features the music of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith and Jelly Roll Morton, is perfect for misbehaving.

2023 ends with the “Messiah Sing-Along,” the orchestra’s 16^th annual iteration of the Handel masterpiece. Gather at 3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 9, at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Indialantic to raise your voices or just simply listen and get all warm and fuzzy about the fast-approaching holiday season.

The season continues into the new year, but we’re running out of space. Your best bet for concert details and ticket info is to visit SpaceCoastSymhony.org. By the way, the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra long ago instituted never charging a penny to concertgoers 18 and under or with college identification.

Enjoy the shows.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 'The Rite of Spring' launches Space Coast Symphony's new season