Andrew Sewell: A Rite to Remember | SLO Symphony’s Barn Burner Season Opener | Up+Adam

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SLO Symphony Music Director Andrew Sewell joins Adam Montiel on Up+Adam for a deep dive into “Rites of Passage,” the orchestra’s 2026-2027 classics season opener and a program built around one of the most electrifying works in classical music: Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

Andrew takes Adam inside the music itself, from the famously exposed opening bassoon solo to the irregular rhythms, enormous orchestral forces, and sheer physical intensity that make The Rite of Spring such a challenge to perform and conduct. He also explains why this piece still feels so modern more than a century after its 1913 premiere, what a conductor is actually doing when the orchestra is moving through passages this complex, and why hearing this work live in San Luis Obispo is such a rare opportunity. Along the way, the conversation opens up into something bigger about conducting, chemistry, trust, and what happens when an orchestra and music director truly connect.

“Rites of Passage” also features Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Danse Nègre and a world premiere by composer Stefan Podell, commissioned by Garrett Foulke and Dorothy Correa. The concert takes place Sunday, October 4, 2026 at 3:00 PM in Harold Miossi Hall at the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo. Ticket holders can also attend the free Symphonic Forays pre-show talk with Andrew Sewell beginning at 2:00 PM.

• SLO Symphony: SLO Symphony website

• Rites of Passage event details and tickets: Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo

• Date: Sunday, October 4, 2026

• Concert: 3:00 PM

• Symphonic Forays pre-show talk: 2:00 PM

• Location: Harold Miossi Hall, Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo

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