Events

Classic Series

The Cycle of Beginnings

Friday
Apr 23, 2027

7:00PM (Dress Rehearsal)

Saturday
Apr 24, 2027

7:30PM

Alberta Bair Theater

2801 3rd Ave N

$10-80

Buy Tickets Purchase Subscription

Robert Moody, Guest Conductor
Billings Symphony Chorale
Zuri, Spinto Soprano
Jonathan Pierce Rhodes, Tenor

The monumental Search Season comes to an end in a brilliant evening of looking back and moving forward as we embrace this new chapter in the Billings Symphony’s story. In this concert, led by Guest Conductor Robert Moody, we travel again to the Bohemian countryside with Bedrich Smetana’s The Moldau as the symphony evokes the course of a flowing river through sound. The night continues as we present the Montana premiere of Christopher Tin’s The Drop That Contained the Sea, a work structured around the water cycle as each movement follows the journey and changes that something even as simple as water must take.

This concert also marks the season’s biggest announcement, celebrating the results of this outstanding Music Director search!

Bedrich Smetana
The Moldau
Edward Elgar
Nimrod from Enigma Variations
In memory of Billings Symphony friends we have recently lost

Music Director Announcement

Intermission

Christopher Tin
The Drop that Contained the Sea

What's cool about the concert?

This concert will include the announcement we've been waiting all season for, who will be you next Music Director. Along with next season's announcement.

Get to know each piece

BEDŘICH SMETANA (1824–1884)
Vltava (The Moldau) from Má vlast (My Fatherland) (1874)

Between 1874 and 1880, Smetana wrote Má Vlast, a collection of six tone poems, which each depict an important aspect of Czech history or geography. In the second of the six works, the composer, uses the colors of the symphony to evoke the course of the Vltava (Moldau) river, as explained in his own program notes:

“Two springs pour forth in the shade of the Bohemian forest—one warm and gushing, the other cold and peaceful. Coming through Bohemia’s valleys, they grow into a mighty stream. Through the thick woods it flows as the merry sounds of a hunt and the notes of the hunter’s horn are heard ever closer. It flows through grass-grown pastures and lowlands where a wedding feast is being celebrated with song and dance. At night, wood and water nymphs revel in its sparkling waves. Reflected on its surface are fortresses and castles—witnesses of bygone days of knightly splendor and the vanished glory of martial times. The Vltava swirls through the St. John Rapids, finally flowing on in majestic peace toward Prague to be welcomed by historic Vyšehrad. Then it vanishes far beyond the poet’s gaze.’’

Vltava has appeared on a handful of Billings Symphony programs, in February 1986 and twice in January 2000, under the baton of Maestro Uri Barnea, and a couple seasons ago on The Long Walk Home, under the baton of Maestra Anne Harrigan.

CHRISTOPHER TIN (b. 1976)
The Drop That Contained the Sea (2014)

The gamers amongst us might recognize Christopher Tin for his Grammy Award-winning Baba Yetu theme for the video game, Civilization IV.

The American composer studied composition on a Fulbright scholarship at the Royal College of Music and has since collaborated with artists across genres, including orchestral, choral, and media music.

A cycle of ten pieces for orchestra, chorus, and soloists, The Drop That Contained the Sea premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2014. The work is structured around the water cycle: each movement takes as its inspiration a different state or aspect of water and is sung in a distinct language and vocal tradition. The ordering of the pieces follows a conceptual flow—from melting snow through rivers to the ocean and back—reflecting an idea of continuity and return.

The title refers to a Sufi notion that a single drop of water contains within it the essence of the entire sea. Variations of a thematic idea presented in the the opening movement of the cycle is woven throughout each movement, using linguistic and musical diversity to explore the subject of water from multiple cultural perspectives.

The work has been performed internationally and recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and its debut recording reached the top of the Billboard classical charts.

The Billings Symphony is excited to present the Montana premiere of this phenomenal work.

How long is the Concert?

When do I clap?

Whenever you want! Seriously, the tradition of clapping only at the end of pieces was only for a short time in the history of music. Typically, people like to clap after a great solo in a jazz tune, an impressive dance move, or after a great movement (section) in a symphony. If you really like a piece, clap at the end of the movement and yell "encore" if you want to hear more. (We love playing encores!)

What are ticket prices?

Reserved Seating:

Tier 1 ticket - $80
Tier 2 ticket - $73
Tier 3 ticket - $64
Tier 4 ticket $48

Under 30/Student:

Tier 2 ticket - $42
Tier 3 ticket - $37
Tier 4 ticket - $27

*all ticket prices do not include box office fees

Tickets start at $48 for adults and go up to $80 based on the seat location. The least expensive seats are in the back of the balcony and the front row closest to the stage.

Here are some other helpful tips you should keep in mind:

New this year, we've introduced the Young Friends Program to eliminate barriers for younger audience members.
Interested in additional savings? Buy a subscription! Contact us at 406-252-3610 or visit our offices at 2820 2nd Avenue North and we'd be more than happy to find the best deal for you. Subscriptions for our 2026–2027 season are available!
If you’re a student, veteran, or active duty military, be sure to bring your student/VA/Military ID for great discounts!

Third-party tickets are not accepted. All tickets must be purchased through the Alberta Bair Theater Box Office.

What do I wear?

More than anything, we want you to have fun and express your own style when you come to the Billings Symphony, so dress in a way that works for you. Some people love dressing up and going out—if that’s you, do it and you won’t be the only one, we promise. If you prefer to be more casual, then you probably won’t be the only one dressed casually, either. In short, you do you, and we’re just glad you’re joining us.

Where do I park?

On-Street Parking

On City streets, there is both metered parking and posted parking. Metered parking times range from 2 hours to 10 hours and is free after 5 pm and on weekends.

There are two free handicap parking spots on the corner of North Broadway in front of U.S. Bank.

Garages

Park 1
Credit/Debit Cards Only. Located at 2912 Third Avenue North and is open to the public 24-hours per day – the office is open Monday through Friday, from 10:30am-6:30pm. There is free parking on Sundays.

Park 2
Credit/Debit Cards Only. Located at 2651 First Avenue North, Park 2 is open to patrons 24-hours per day – the office is open from 7:15am – 11:00pm, Monday through Saturday.

Park 3
Accepts Cash. Located adjacent to City Hall at 210 North 27th Street and is open 7am-11pm – the office is open Monday through Friday from 10:30am – 6:30pm. There is free parking on Sundays.

Park 4
Located at 515 North 31st Street. The garage and office are open only Monday through Friday from 5:30am – 9:30pm. After 9:30pm, parkers are unable to remove their vehicles from the garage.

Guest artist

Smiling man in a black shirt with tan suspenders standing against a light background, posing for a portrait.

ROBERT MOODY | GUEST CONDUCTOR

Conductor Robert Moody celebrates his tenth season as Music Director of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and nineteenth season as Music Director of Arizona Musicfest. He was named Music Director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra in June 2024. Under his leadership, the Memphis Symphony has enjoyed exponential growth in programming, recording, new commissions, and endowment growth to well over $25 Million dollars, while AZ Musicfest has become the premiere winter music festival orchestra in North America, boasting a roster of players from the world’s greatest orchestras. He holds the title of Principal Opera Conductor for Lakeland Symphony/Opera.

Moody’s 2025-26 season includes debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco, Madison, Tallahassee, and Winnipeg Symphonies; Hong Kong Philharmonic; and Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music Orchestra. He is also pleased to work with the students at the Iberacademy in Medellin, Colombia.

During the 2024-25 season, Moody made his debut with the Cincinnati Symphony, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Tulsa Opera, all in performances with Renee Fleming; the Tampere Philharmonic and Romania’s Filarmonica Banatul; and returned to conduct the Portland and Greensboro symphony orchestras.

He has led many of the major orchestras and opera companies of the world, including the Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Toronto symphony orchestras; Los Angeles and Buffalo Philharmonics, Minnesota Orchestra, and Washington National Opera. Internationally, his recent engagements include the Aachen and Baden Baden Symphony Orchestras in Germany, Orquesta Filarmonica de Bogotá (Colombia), and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra (Austria). He made his debut in China in 2024 with the Shen Zhen Symphony Orchestra. He is a frequent guest conductor in South Africa, returning this season for the third time to conduct the three major orchestras there–Cape Town, Johannesburg, and KZN Philharmonic in Durban.

Prior to Memphis, Moody was music director of both the Portland Symphony (Maine) and the Winston-Salem Symphony (North Carolina). Earlier in his career, he held conducting positions with the Phoenix Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Santa Fe Opera, Brevard Music Center, Interschool Orchestras of New York City, and apprenticed at Landestheater Opera in Linz, Austria.

ZURI | SPINTO SOPRANO

With a sound that is designed to connect straight to the heart of the listener, Spinto Soprano, Zuri, has enjoyed a fulfilling career. Her warm and rich tone combined with an uncanny dramatic sensibility has long made her a favorite among audiences in the Midwest, and recently, in the Charlotte area. A graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University, Zuri won every division of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) she entered, and was a Nebraska district winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Opera Auditions. Since her debut singing Haydn’s, “The Creation,” Zuri has enthusiastically embraced diverse repertoire ranging from standards to new works to championing the avant garde.

Zuri has been featured in works from Ralph Vaughn Williams’, “Dona Nobis Pacem,” David Fanshawe’s, “African Sanctus,” Brecht and Weill’s, “Happy End,” Richard Einhorn’s, “Voices of Light,” with Anonymous 4, The Countess in, “The Marriage of Figaro,” to cabaret and electronica, and have given her both a wide range of audiences and a growing skill set. Zuri was showcasedwith the Winston-Salem Symphony performing a dramatic interpretation of, “He Was Despised,” from Handel's "Messiah," and she first sang, “The Drop That Contained The Sea” with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. She has also been a soloist and choral scholar with the Myers Park United Methodist Church chancel and chamber choirs in Charlotte. She is delighted to be making her first appearance with the Billings Symphony Orchestra.

Young man leaning on a brick railing beside concrete stairs, wearing a black turtleneck and brown plaid pants on a campus-style outdoor setting.

JONATHAN PIERCE RHODES | TENOR

With his mellifluous "honey-voice," Tenor Jonathan Pierce Rhodes has emerged as an exciting young presence in the world of opera, drawing attention and admiration from audiences and critics alike. In the current season, Mr. Rhodes makes his role debut as Timothy Laughlin in Fellow Travelers by Gregory Spears with Opera Parallele. Shortly after, he makes his highly anticipated house debut with The Lyric Opera Chicago, where he is set to reprise his role as Policeman 2, as well as cover The Son, in Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s critically acclaimed opera, Blue. Additional appearances this season include concerts with the Mid-Atlantic Symphony, Apollo’s Fire, as well as his Carnegie Hall debut with the Oratorio Society of New York, where he will appear as the soloist in the world premiere of Moravec’s All Shall Rise and Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang.

Mr. Rhodes is a recent graduate of the Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artist program. During his residency there, he frequented several roles including Pong in a brand-new production of Turandot directed by Francesca Zambello. Additional roles at Washington National Opera include The Hippo in The Lion, The Unicorn and Me, A Priest/Piquillo cover* in Songbird, and Frank in The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson, a character he first brought to life at The Glimmerglass Festival in 2019.

Mr. Rhodes has been honored to spend the past three summers as a young artist at The Glimmerglass Festival. In his final season there, he covered the title role in Leonard Bernstein's Candide and portrayed Cacambo, receiving praise as a "big-voiced standout" by the Wall Street Journal. Previous years have seen him as the Man in Armor and Priest #1 in The Magic Flute and Cherubiel in the world premiere of Holy Ground.

In 2022, the Houston District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition recognized Mr. Rhodes as an encouragement award winner. In 2019, he received the 1st place Neva Pilgrim Award in the Civic Morning Musicals Competition and had the distinction of being named a recipient of Eastman’s William Warfield Scholarship Award. Rhodes holds both a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from The Eastman School of Music/University of Rochester. In addition, he recently graduated from Rice University, where he received his Masters in Opera Performance.