GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls Symphony is entering a new chapter with a new conductor and a season packed with collaborations and unique performances.
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Robert Kahn was named music director in May, selected after a nearly two-year search over five other candidates. The native of the Netherlands said his connection to the community played a major role in his decision.
"I felt so strongly when I was here that the community here cares. So deeply about the orchestra, and I felt such a connection with them. It felt very natural. It didn't feel like work. I mean, the music part never feels like work for me because I love it. But this other part also didn't feel like work," Kahn said.
Tia Spragg, the symphony's marketing and development director, said Kahn's ability to connect with people set him apart.
"He's so genuine, and he really listened when people talk with him, and he's fully engaged. You have his entire attention, and he remembers it, and he'll think of something that reminds him of a conversation that you had two months ago. And he'll remember every detail of everybody that he meets," Spragg said.
Kahn said the compressed timeline for planning the season added to the excitement.
"Learning I actually was named music director was really, really exciting. And then that got turned into kind of overdrive of trying to plan a season, which usually takes like about a year to do. And now we had maybe a couple months," Kahn said.
The first concert of the season is scheduled for October 10, 2026, and is fittingly titled "New World, New Beginnings." It will be highlighted by Dvorak's Ninth Symphony.
"The symphony is really all about exploration. Dvorak came to America and wrote this piece; the new World refers to America," Kahn said.
The opening concert will also launch a season of collaborations, beginning with a partnership with the C.M. Russell Museum paying tribute to the legendary western artist, 100 years after his death.
"During the concert, we're going to project different paintings of CM Russell alongside the music that we've chosen that kind of fits together thematically," Kahn said.
The rest of the season includes:
- A November 24, 2026 collaboration with the Montana Ballet Company performing "The Nutcracker"
- A Christmas program with the Symphonic Choir on December 20, 2026
- A screening of "Jurassic Park" with the orchestra performing the score live on January 16, 2027
- A candlelight performance in February featuring the music of Beethoven on February 13, 2027
- An Easter concert with the Symphonic Choir on March 27, 2027
- "A Night at the Opera" in May, featuring 3 singers performing scenes from Italian operas on May 8, 2027
