Calling All Singers! The Panama City Symphony is Starting a Chorus!

PANAMA CITY, FL - Maestro Sergey Bogza has finalized plans for the 2025-2026 Season of the Panama City Symphony, balancing the passions and talents of the orchestra and the Music Director, the desires of the audience, affordability, auditorium acoustics, 500 years of music history, and the amount of rehearsal time needed to learn the program. 

To acknowledge the symphony’s 30-year anniversary, the Opening Night program, in September, is “Symphony and Soul,” paying tribute to our hospitable Southern culture. They're doing “Dances in the Canebrakes,” Old American Songs and ending the first half with "Mississippi Suite." In the second half, they will perform Peter Boyle’s “Shenandoah” and end the program with Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.” 

The Halloween-themed program, in October, is "Beasts of the Bayou." If you love pop music mixed with classical music and theatrics, you’ll love this program, with the orchestra members dressed as beasts such as alligators, crickets, birds, and Bogza dressed as the chaos-causing werewolf. 

The first November concert is Charlie Chaplin’s “The Gold Rush” to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the film. There will be a chamber orchestra onstage with Charlie Chaplin's film playing on the big screen. The second November concert is a free concert, “Beach Home for the Holidays”, at Aaron Bessant Park, accompanied by the Panama City Ballet. 

The orchestra is starting something new this year with the “Holiday by the Bay concert,” in December, by starting a 30-part children’s choir and a 50-part adult choir to share the spirit of the holidays with you. Bogza will be conducting the adult choir and there is a fantastic conductor lined up for the children’s choir, which will be run as an after-school program with the best talent and voices chosen to perform. 

January brings Shostakovich Symphony No. 9 with the principal cellist from the Jacksonville Symphony joining them for the Shostakovich Cello Concerto, a piece of Russian music. 

February will bring to Arnold High School, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Symphonic Suites”, with the Panama City Symphony being only the 2nd orchestra in U.S. to do these suites from his most famous musicals. 

March will bring a chamber orchestra with soloists, at Forest Park Church, “The Best of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.” 

To end the season in April, they will do “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Ravel. 

The last surprise is that this Summer, the Symphony will hold a visual arts competition with a nationally recognized panel to jury the brand new art to be used in parts of the program. 

Tell all of your friends! The Symphony is starting a chorus!