Asheville Symphony opens its 2025-2026 season with Symphony in the Park, presented on Sunday August 31, at 7 p.m., at Pack Square Park. This beloved, free concert—part of the family-friendly Boomtown FestAVL—will feature guest artists, a range of favorite music and an introduction to the Symphony’s new first concertmaster.
“Symphony in the Park is our biggest concert of the year, drawing thousands to Pack Square for a spectacular concert,” says Darko Butorac, Asheville Symphony music director. “This year is special because we welcome our new concertmaster, Brian Allen. He is an outstanding violinist, and the audience will have a chance to hear him solo in the concert.”
Symphony in the Park. Photo by Michael Morel
Allen currently serves as Principal Second Violinist of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, and recently held a one-year contract with the St. Louis Symphony. He holds a Doctorate in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan, where he studied with David Halen. Allen earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Jaime Laredo and William Preucil.
Special guest artists for Symphony in the Park are acclaimed soprano Elizabeth Baldwin, winner of the 2024 American Traditions Vocal Competition, and GRAMMY-winning hip-hop artist Secret Agent 23 Skidoo (a.k.a. Cactus Skidoo), an Asheville performer whose The Big Secret Family Festival raises money for local organizations doing good and who has collaborated with the Symphony on a multimedia elementary school curriculum and two albums, including Mozartistic in 2017.
“This will be the first time I’ve performed live with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, the only previous gig having been cancelled by a freak snow storm,” says Skidoo. “While producing the songs with the Symphony at Echo Mountain Studio, I was mesmerized by the potent potion concocted by mixing the funk, rhythm and lyricism of hip-hop with the depth, richness and harmonic power of the symphony orchestra, and I bet the crowd will be moved as well! One of the pieces we will be performing combines a composition by Johann Sebastian Bach with one of the stories from One Thousand and One Nights, connecting the crowd to a thread that goes back in time over 1,100 years, reaching back to two different continents.”
The annual Symphony in the Park concerts often draw crowds of more than 10,000 people, furthering the Symphony’s mission of building connections throughout the community and bringing performances to those who may not have attended a symphony concert before. “My goal for the Asheville Symphony is to remain one of the most welcoming and accessible arts organizations in our community,” says Asheville Symphony executive director Daniel Crupi. “Whether that’s through our strong music education programs, scholarships for Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra students, free Masterworks tickets for first responders and community groups, or through our biggest community event of the year, Symphony in the Park, accessibility is at the heart of what we do.”
Learn more and purchase tickets for other performances of the 2025-2026 season at AshevilleSymphony.org or by phone at 828.254.7046.
