
Natchitoches - Northwestern Symphony Society
Diamond Jubilee Season!
🎉✨ Get ready to embark on an unforgettable musical journey as we proudly unveil the Diamond Jubilee of the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony! 🎶🌟 Join us in a year-long spectacular celebration of 60 glorious years of enchanting melodies and unforgettable performances, forged through the incredible partnership of the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society and Northwestern State University! 🎻💫
This monumental season promises to be an exhilarating tribute to our rich history and the vibrant future ahead. Don’t miss your chance to be part of this historic milestone—let the music sweep you off your feet! 🥳🎵 Save the dates and prepare for a season brimming with magic, memories, and of course, a symphony like no other!
Our symphony season will kick off on September 23, 2025! Season tickets are now on sale, so don’t miss your chance to secure your seats for an incredible lineup of performances. Join us for an unforgettable musical experience!
A message from our Musical Director,
Doug Bakenhus

2025- 2026 Concert dates and venues at a glance:
Tuesday, September 23, 2025, 7:30pm, Magale Recital Hall:
”Adoration of Mother Nature and the Ascending Strength of the Earth”
Our opening concert will feature a world premiere of American composer, Dosia McKay’s “Earthrise” (2022). Also on the program, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, the Pastoral Symphony, expressing his profound love of nature, and Telemann’s trip down the Elbe River through Hamburg, Germany with his “Water Music.”
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 7:30pm, Magale Recital Hall:
"American Strength: We Shall Overcome”
This patriotic concert will feature some of the most loved American favorites such as God Bless America, and America the Beautiful. In addition, we will honor our troops with Armed Forces Salute. Furthermore, we will hear a set of variations on the tune “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” by Morton Gould called American Salute, and music that depicts a Civil War era train spying mission called The Great Locomotive Chase by Robert W. Smith.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 7:00pm NSU Christmas GALA
Thursday, December 4, 2025, 7:00pm NSU Christmas GALA
Friday, December 5, 2025, 7:00pm and 9:00pm NSU Christmas GALA
(A.A. Fredericks Auditorium)
The NSU School of Creative and Performing Arts’ 37th annual Christmas GALA is a must-see! Take a pick for which show you would like to attend but reserve your seat early! These performances are in high demand and often sell out.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, “Chamber Orchestra” Concert 7:30pm, Magale Recital Hall
This program will feature NSU’s professor of percussion, Dr. Oliver Molina performing a Marimba Concerto by American composer Kevin Puts. Also on the program, Dvorak’s beautiful Serenade for Winds, and Haydn’s “Le Matin” Symphony No. 6.
Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 7:30pm, Magale Recital Hall: "Concerto Winners"
This concert will feature NSU's most talented student musicians. Also on the program, Ravel’s “Mother Goose Suite” and a new work by Colombian composer Victoriano Valencia “San Pelayo Fandango.”
“She Loves Me” by Bock/Harnick, with NSU Music Theater, A.A. Fredericks Auditorium
Thursday, April 23, 2026, 7:30pm
Friday, April 24, 2026, 7:30pm
Saturday, April 25, 2026, 2:00pm and 7:30pm
This will be a collaboration with the NSU Music Theater troop and their director, Dr. Sloane Artis, performing “She Loves Me.” This story from a book by Joe Masteroff inspired a play, 2 films; The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and You’ve Got Mail (1998) and 2 musicals, In the Good Old Summertime (1949) and She Loves Me (premiered on Broadway in 1963 with a revival in 2016). The plot revolves around shop employees Georg and Amalia, who, despite being consistently at odds with each other at work, are unaware that each is the other’s secret pen pal met through lonely-hearts ads. Take a pick for which show you would like to attend and reserve your seat by contacting the CAPA office 318-352-4822.
Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 7:30pm Magale Recital Hall: "Handel’s Messiah, Parts 2 and 3”
The Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony will be joined by the NSU “Cane River Singers” to perform parts 2 and 3 of Handel’s timeless masterpiece “Messiah.”
Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1979. Our mission is to provide NSU Symphony Orchestra students scholarships to supplement tuition and books. All donations are tax-deductible.