Nothing about Eric Jacobsen’s eventful tenure as music director of OPO has indicated a lessening of his passion about the transformational power of classical music in all its permutations. In fact, aspects of the 2026–27 season have been programmed around highlights from his storied career. Another special event will be a performance by classical music superstar Itzhak Perlman at OPO’s Rhapsody Gala in March. | Courtesy Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
When 33-year-old cellist and cutting-edge collaborator Eric Jacobsen joined the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra 10 years ago as music director, he was already well-known for his musical explorations that have stretched boundaries and wowed critics and fans alike.
A decade later, nothing about Jacobsen’s eventful tenure with OPO has indicated a lessening of his passion about the transformational power of music. In fact, aspects of the 2026–27 season have been programmed around highlights from his storied career.
The Classics Series will kick off with Opening Night: Gershwin’s Rhapsody, which will be performed Saturday and Sunday, September 19 and 20, at 7:30 p.m. (Saturday) and 2:30 p.m. (Sunday) in Steinmetz Hall at Dr. Phillips Center.
In addition to Rhapsody in Blue, patrons will hear Duke Ellington’s New World A-Comin’, Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto and the four movements of Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka. In between the concertos—and with typical Jacobsen flourish—dancers will escort each pianist on and off the stage.
The season will also include, as always, the Pops Series, the Focus Series and the Resonate Festival that this year will feature Beethoven symphonies 4, 5 and 6. But the highlight of the year will undoubtedly be OPO’s Rhapsody Gala, the organization’s major annual fundraiser.
Violinist Itzhak Perlman, the classical-music superstar who has notched 16 Grammys and is a Kennedy Center Honoree, will headline the event and perform selections from Cinema Serenade—a highly acclaimed collaborative music project with composer-conductor John Williams, who is best-known for his blockbuster film scores.
The Perlman concert is slated for Tuesday, March 23, 2027, at 7:30 p.m. in Steinmetz Hall at Dr. Phillips Center. Although single tickets for the concert only will be available, those who purchase gala packages will also enjoy a lavish pre-show dinner in the arts center’s DeVos Family Room beginning at 5 p.m.
The prestige of the event—and the popularity of OPO—is in many ways a reflection of the organization’s solid management, the quality of its cadre of musicians and the diversity of its
creative programming under the baton of Jacobsen.
Who could have expected less? After all, Eric and his brother, violinist Colin, founded The Knights—a group driven by an open-minded spirit of camaraderie that dedicated itself to transforming the orchestral experience and breaking down the traditional barriers of classical music. The Knights—which still includes both brothers and is today in the midst of a prestigious multiyear residency at Carnegie Hall—have recorded with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham, Aaron Diehl, Gabe Kahane and Anna Clyne.
Eric and Colin—graduates of the Julliard School whose parents were classical musicians—then joined Ma’s Silkroad Ensemble and later co-founded the string quartet Brooklyn Rider, which was credited by The New York Times for modernizing a genre with interpretations of classic works complemented by rock-star original compositions.
“Forgive the hyperbole,” wrote Greg Cahill, editor and owner of Strings magazine, “but I have seen the future of chamber music, and it is Brooklyn Rider.” Brooklyn Rider is still going strong but without Eric, who left to concentrate on conducting.
Colin, however, remains a touring member and will bring the group to Steinmetz Hall for a performance during Jacobsen Conducts Rachmaninoff on Saturday, March 13, 2027, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 14, 2027, at 2:30 p.m.
The quartet will perform a commissioned piece by Nico Muhly, an American composer who writes orchestral, chamber and sacred music as well as music for the stage.
Also making the season special is the fact that three musicians have now played professionally for 50 years. All began their careers in the Florida Symphony Orchestra and then, when that organization folded in 1993, transitioned to the successor Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. They are Mark Fischer (French horn); Carl Rendek (principal timpanist); and Brenda Higgins (cellist).
“Over the past 10 years, it’s been an incredible privilege to be part of Orlando’s artistic and community growth,” says Jacobsen.
He continues: “Watching OPO reach new artistic heights has been one of the greatest joys of my career—and I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished together in just a decade.”
The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra is headquartered at 425 North Bumby Avenue, Orlando, in The Plaza Live. For more information, call 407.770.0071 or visit orlandophil.org.
