Bakersfield Symphony sets 'Voyage in Bloom' for March 20 at Dignity Health Theater

Corigliano, Mozart and Brahms, with two of the orchestra's own principals out front, on a Saturday evening on Truxtun Avenue.

Some of the best nights the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra puts on don't need a guest star flown in. Its March program puts two of its own players at the front of the stage.

The Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra performs "Voyage in Bloom" at Dignity Health Theater on Saturday, March 20, 2027, at 6:30 p.m. The orchestra's calendar runs it from 6:30 to 8:30, and tickets are on AXS and through the theater's own site. The date went on the books Oct. 22.

The program opens with John Corigliano's *Voyage* for strings, a quiet piece that gives the evening its name and sets up the rest of it. Then comes the centerpiece: Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola, K. 364, with concertmaster Julia Haney and principal violist Esra Arin as soloists. The second half is Brahms's Symphony No. 2.

That middle slot is the reason to go. The Sinfonia Concertante is a conversation between two soloists, the violin and the viola trading lines and finishing each other's phrases, and it works best when the two players know each other's habits. Haney and Arin sit a few chairs apart every week. Hearing them step out of the section and take the piece on together is the kind of thing a regional orchestra can offer that a touring soloist can't.

Hearing them step out of the section and take the piece on together.

Brahms's Second is a good way to send people home. With spring just arriving, it is hard to think of a better closer.

The room is the orchestra's regular home. Dignity Health Theater, at 1001 Truxtun Ave., is the theater half of the downtown complex that took on the Dignity Health name on March 1, 2025, under a deal that runs through 2035. It holds 3,000, which is plenty of room for a full orchestra and for people who decide late.

On the money side, the symphony's 2026/27 pricing page puts regular single tickets between $40 and $65, with subscription rates for those who want the whole season. Questions go to the symphony office at 661-323-7928.

A 6:30 start on a Saturday means you can do dinner downtown after instead of before. It also means you should plan to be in your seat on time; the Corigliano is the opener and it is not long.

March is a ways off. But if you have been meaning to go to the symphony and haven't, a night where the orchestra's own principals take the spotlight is a good one to pick.

Sources: Calendar — Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra (bsonow.org); Pricing + Theater Map — Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra (bsonow.org); Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra — AXS (axs.com); Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra: Voyage in Bloom — Dignity Health Arena (dignityhealtharena.com); Dignity Health Theater and Convention Center — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)