The Florida Philharmonic

Concert II

From Broadway to a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Sunday, November 15, 2026 | 4:00 pm

Burnt Store Presbyterian Church

About this Concert

Experience the magic of stage and screen in an unforgettable afternoon. The first half features brilliant overtures and suites from classic Broadway masters like Leonard Bernstein, followed by soaring modern epics and pop-culture anthems ranging from Game of Thrones, Wicked, and Hamilton to The Phantom of the Opera and the Best of the Beatles.

Program

Act I

  • Candide (Leonard Bernstein): Bernstein’s 1956 operetta, loosely based on Voltaire’s satirical novella, follows the hapless Candide as he’s flung across a world of war, disaster, and misplaced optimism. The show struggled on Broadway and went through decades of revisions, but its Overture — bright, breathless, and packed with more melodic ideas per minute than almost anything else in Bernstein’s catalog — became a concert-hall staple in its own right, performed far more often than the show that spawned it.

Preferred Seating .. $85 *

General Seating ….. $70

Student ………………. $10

Music Student …….. Complimentary

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* Preferred Seating is located in designated premium seating areas closest to the orchestra.

  • West Side Story Suite (Leonard Bernstein): Bernstein’s 1957 update of Romeo and Juliet, transplanted to rival gangs on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, fused Broadway, jazz, and Latin dance rhythms into a score unlike anything the American stage had heard before. This orchestral suite strings together its most iconic numbers — from the electric “Mambo” to the aching “Somewhere” — showcasing the range that made Bernstein as comfortable on the concert podium as he was in the pit.

Act II

  • Game of Thrones (Ramin Djawadi): German composer Ramin Djawadi wrote the show’s iconic theme in a single afternoon, built around a cello and viola ostinato meant to evoke the clash of steel and the turning gears of the show’s title-sequence map. It’s since become one of the most recognized television themes of the streaming era.
  • Wicked (Stephen Schwartz): Schwartz’s 2003 musical imagines the untold origin story of the witches of Oz, based on Gregory Maguire’s novel. It became one of the highest-grossing Broadway productions in history, and its recent film adaptations have introduced the score — including anthems like “Defying Gravity” — to an entirely new generation.
  • Suite from Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda): Miranda’s 2015 hip-hop retelling of Alexander Hamilton’s life, drawn from Ron Chernow’s biography, reshaped what a Broadway score could sound like — folding rap, R&B, and traditional show-tune structure into one of the most celebrated musicals of the century. This orchestral suite reworks its rhythmic drive and soaring melodies for full orchestra.
  • Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber): Since opening in 1986, Lloyd Webber’s gothic romance — based on Gaston Leroux’s novel — has become the longest-running show in Broadway history. Its lush, organ-driven score remains one of the most recognizable in musical theater.
  • Best of the Beatles (Lennon/McCartney): A tribute to the songwriting partnership that reshaped popular music, drawing together some of the most enduring melodies of the 20th century into one orchestral medley.
  • Golden (EJAE): The closer brings the program fully into the present. Written by Ejae for the 2025 animated film KPop Demon Hunters, “Golden” became a global phenomenon — hitting #1 in more than 30 countries, winning K-pop’s first-ever Grammy, and racking up billions of streams. Ejae has said the melody came to her on the way to a dentist appointment, and that the song’s demanding high notes were written deliberately to showcase her character’s vocal power. It’s a fitting, high-energy way to close a program that spans from Voltaire to Netflix.

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