Music Director Ric Jones inaugurates the Brighton Symphony Orchestra’s 2026–27 season with a program exploring three broad themes: New Beginnings and Rebirth, Commemoration and Tribute, and Resilience and Triumph.

• New Beginnings and Rebirth: The pieces Resurgences and (Up)Lift share an overarching thematic focus on optimism, joy, fresh starts, and uplifting energy through cinematic and energetic musical phrasing.
• Commemoration and Tribute: Nimrod (from Enigma Variations) is a deeply personal musical tribute dedicated to a loyal friend and mentor, while In the Steppes of Central Asia was composed specifically to commemorate a royal anniversary. Finally, Requiem for Edna offers tribute and solace while memorializing a dear sister.
• Celebration of Resilience and Triumph: Both Finlandia and Jupiter celebrate collective strength, national identity, and grand exuberance—surmounting immense struggle to reach triumphant, soaring climaxes.

(up)Lifted	Brian Balmages	5:00
Requiem for Edna	Ira Fair	6:00
“Nimrod” from Variations on an Original Theme ‘Enigma’, Op.36	Edward Elgar	4:00
Brief Intermission
In the Steppes of Central Asia	Alexander Borodin	10:00
Finlandia	Jean Sibelius	9:30
Resurgences	Robert Sheldon	5:15
Jupiter	Gustav Holst, arr. Rirchard Ling	7:00

Brian Balmages

(Up)Lifted

In the composer’s own words:

A work several years in the making. (Up)Lifted was commissioned by the North Carolina Honors (All-State) Orchestra. The pandemic uprooted plans for the original premiere, and I wound up writing a piece for strings only called The Fire Within, which the students performed brilliantly as a virtual ensemble. We then turned our attention back to the original intent: a celebratory work for full orchestra that was not only exciting  for the strings, but also very engaging for winds and percussion. The Title comes from the change in mindset as ensembles started coming back after being away for so long. I wanted the music to reflect that positive feeling everyone experienced as orchestras immediate feedback from the musicians in the room.

I put “up” in the parentheses for several reasons. While I certainly wanted the music to be uplifting, I also sought to lift up those who were struggling and I wanted people to feel like they could finally loo “up.” It serves as a gentle reminder that it is our collective responsibility to lift others up and let them know that they are never alone.

The opening takes off immediately, with the first powerful chord moving quickly tiny a flurry of activity and energy. In my mind, this represents the pent-up energy in musicians all over the world, waiting for that very moment when they could make music with each other again after so long. This section builds twice before the brass presents the powerful fanfare that recurs throughout the work. As the music continues, new lyrical melodies are introduced and become the focal point of the work.

The opening fanfare once again takes center stage, this time presented in a more delicate setting in the woodwinds. This begins a steady building  of energy until the full orchestra is engaged with soaring countermelodies and sweeping melodic  lines. The ending experience is much like the opening: a flurry of activity and excitement as the final chords usher in the powerful ending.

Ira Fair

Requiem for Edna

In the composer’s own words:

Composed in January 2026 Requiem For Edna was written as a tribute and a remembrance. Unable to attend his sister’s funeral, Ira wanted to contribute something meaningful to honor and memorialize Edna’s life.

Written as a chorale, the music opens with a brass fanfare illustrating Edna’s prominence and strength as a matriarchal figure. The opening is followed by sections featuring woodwinds and strings symbolizing Edna’s endearing kindness and immense compassion for others, for which she was known. The piece concludes with a recap of the main theme representing a celebration of Edna’s victory at the end of a long journey followed by a solemn prayer for those she left behind.

Edward Elgar

“Nimrod” from Variations on an Original Theme ‘Enigma’, Op.36

In the Enigma Variations, Elgar introduces a theme that serves as the basis for a series of variations, each a musical depiction of a person in the composer’s life. As Elgar commented: “This work, commenced in a spirit of humour and continued in deep seriousness, contains sketches of the composer’s friends. It may be understood that these personages comment or reflect upon the original theme and each one attempts a solution of the Enigma, for so the theme is called.”

The ninth (IX) variation is titled “Nimrod” as a depiction of Elgar’s close friend, August Jaeger (jäger is German for “hunter,” prompting the playful reference to the biblical hunter Nimrod). This glorious movement is the composer’s fond recollection of “a long summer evening talk, when my friend grew nobly eloquent (as only he could) on the grandeur of Beethoven, and especially his slow movements.”

Marked Adagio, the piece begins quietly and serenely in E-flat major, relying on long, sweeping phrases, swelling dynamics, and rich harmonies. It slowly builds to a powerful, soaring emotional climax driven by timpani rolls and brass before gently subsiding.

Outside of standard classical concert halls, Nimrod has attained a deeply solemn status in the UK. It is traditionally performed at state funerals, royal events, and annually at the Cenotaph during the Remembrance Sunday service to honor fallen service members.

Alexander Borodin

In the Steppes of Central Asia

In the Steppes of Central Asia is an orchestral tone poem composed in 1880 to commemorate Tsar Alexander II’s 25-year reign.

The music showcases the diverse peoples of the Russian Empire by depicting a peaceful caravan crossing the desert under the protection of Russian troops. Borodin achieves this through an interplay of two distinct cultural motifs: one Russian, the other Eastern.

The piece opens with a steady, high-register violin melody symbolizing the Russian military escort and the safe passage of travelers. Soon after, a melancholy tune is introduced by the English horn, representing the Asian caravan and the vast, arid landscape of the steppe. As the travelers draw closer, the two themes weave together in counterpoint against a continuous, rhythmic pizzicato pulse in the lower strings that mimics the plodding footsteps of horses and camels. The music swells to a majestic, triumphant climax as the combined procession marches past, eventually fading into silence as it disappears across the horizon.

Jean Sibelius

Finlandia

Finlandia, Op. 26 is a symphonic tone poem written by Jean Sibelius in 1899 and revised in 1900. Widely considered his most famous work, it serves as the ultimate musical symbol of Finnish national identity and resilience.

Historically, at the end of the 19th century, Finland was an autonomous grand duchy under the Russian Empire during an era of heavy political oppression and forced Russification. Sibelius composed the piece as a covert call for a national awakening and a protest against strict censorship. To bypass Russian authorities, the work was frequently performed under alternative, innocent-sounding titles such as Impromptu or Happy Feelings at the Awakening of Finnish Spring.

The piece opens with menacing brass and percussion chords that evoke oppression, struggle, and the heavy weight of foreign rule. A fast, martial section follows, capturing a restless energy and a call to arms for the Finnish people. Finally, the orchestra transitions into a profoundly serene and slow melody. Often mistaken for a traditional folk song, this majestic hymn was entirely original, built by Sibelius from a quiet woodwind reflection into a massive, triumphant orchestral climax.

While the piece encapsulates Finland’s historic struggle for freedom, its universal themes of hope and triumph over adversity have made it globally beloved. The famous central melody was later adapted into the Christian hymn Be Still, My Soul and serves as the tune for Finland’s unofficial alternative national anthem, with lyrics penned by V. A. Koskenniemi.

Robert Sheldon

Resurgences

Resurgences, “…is a celebratory piece expressing the joy and exhilaration of a new beginning.

The piece was written for the 100th anniversary of the Manatee High School (Bradenton, Florida) and concurrently the grand opening of their new Performing Arts Center. Commissioned by the school’s outstanding orchestra and band programs, and there conductors Sherry Lowe and Jim Bruce, the piece received its premiere performance on December 3, 2011 with the composer conducting the combined ensembles during the gala celebration concert.”

— Notes by Bob Philips, Belwin/Pop String Editor

Gustav Holst, arr. Rirchard Ling

Jupiter

Jupiter is the fourth movement of Gustav Holst’s famous seven-movement orchestral suite, The Planets, Op. 32, composed between 1914 and 1917 and premiered in 1918.

Holst had developed a deep interest in astrology, noting: “I only study things that suggest music to me. … the character of each planet suggested lots to me, and I have been studying astrology fairly closely.” In Holst’s own astrological chart, Jupiter represented an “abundance of life and vitality.”

The movement opens with a furiously fast, syncopated, dance-like rhythm driven by strings and woodwinds, conveying infectious energy and mischief. Right in the middle of this revelry, the orchestra shifts dramatically into a slow, majestic, and soaring theme that reflects the nobility and generosity associated with Jupiter. This deeply solemn and noble melody is one of the most famous passages in all of classical music. Finally, after the grand anthem, the high-energy music returns, racing to a sudden, striking orchestral cut-off.

The central melody of Jupiter was so immensely popular that Holst was asked to adapt it into a patriotic British hymn to fit the poem I Vow to Thee, My Country by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice. To this day, it remains a staple of British national services, weddings, and remembrance events.