THE CLASSIX SERIES
JOHN WILLIAMS & SIBELIUS
Saturday & Sunday
November 8 & 9, 2025
7:30 PM | Doors 6:00 PM
4:00 PM | Doors 2:30 PM
Catch us if you can! The Reno Phil embarks on a thrilling pursuit of adventure, weaving together bold contemporary voices and timeless orchestral grandeur. Tennison Watts and Timothy McAllister ignite the stage with John Williams’ Escapades, a jazzy, high-energy ride brimming with playfulness and intrigue. Zhou Tian’s Transcend, commissioned by the Reno Phil to mark the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, soars with luminous textures and unyielding spirit, capturing the boundless ambition of human ingenuity. Anchoring the journey, Sibelius’ majestic Symphony No. 2 unfolds like a vast Nordic landscape - achingly beautiful & bracingly powerful - culminating in a triumphant finale that surges with hope and resilience.
ON THE PROGRAM
Zhou Tian Transcend
John Williams Escapades for Alto Sax and Vibraphone
Jean Sibelius Symphony No. 2 op. 43 in D Major
LAURA JACKSON
CONDUCTOR
TIMOTHY MCALLISTER
SAXOPHONE
TENNISON WATTS
VIBRAPHONE
Tickets for 2025-26 Classix Series concerts at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts can only be purchased at this time as part of a Classix 6-concert subscription package.
Single tickets for the 2025-2026 Season go on sale August 4, 2025 at 10:00 AM. For information on group rates, or other ticket discounts, please click here.
INTERESTED IN A PARTNERSHIP, SPONSORSHIP, OR UNDERWRITING OPPORTUNITY?
Contact Evelyn Klatt, Chief Development & Marketing Officer at eklatt@renophil.com
TENNISON WATTS, VIBRAPHONE
Tennison Watts is a percussionist who first started playing with the Reno Phil in 2023. He received a B.M. from Florida State University, an M.M. from New England Conservatory, and completed post-graduate certificate programs at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Colburn Conservatory of Music. While attending school, Tennison studied with several world-renowned percussionists, including Will Hudgins of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Jake Nissly of the San Francisco Symphony. Tennison is featured on several albums of percussion ensemble music with the Florida State University and New England Conservatory percussion ensembles, and has premiered and recorded a number of contemporary works as a soloist and chamber musician. He has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony and the Stockton Symphony.
TIMOTHY MCALLISTER, SAXOPHONE
Today’s most celebrated classical saxophonist, TIMOTHY McALLISTER, is an acclaimed soloist, soprano chair of the GRAMMY®-winning PRISM Quartet, and a champion of contemporary music, credited with over fifty recordings and two hundred premières of new compositions by eminent and emerging composers worldwide.
McAllister has appeared with more than forty of the world's most prominent orchestras in over twenty countries, from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Proms. Following his premiere of John Adams’s Saxophone Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the composer, he performed the Concerto and Adams' City Noir on the 2015 GRAMMY® Award-winning recording with the St. Louis Symphony and David Robertson.
His recent recordings of Kenneth Fuchs's Saxophone Concerto, Rush, with JoAnn Falletta and the London Symphony Orchestra, and his reprise of City Noir with the Berlin Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, both appeared on 2019 GRAMMY®-nominated albums, with the Fuchs winning for Best Classical Compendium. Recent performances included the China premiere of the Adams Saxophone Concerto with Edo de Waart and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, as well as the Belgium premiere of Guillaume Connesson's Saxophone Concerto: A Kind of Trane under Stéphane Denève and the Brussels Philharmonic, on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
As a guest soloist, other recent engagements include performances with the symphonies of Albany, Buffalo, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Seattle, and St. Louis, among many others. In 2022, he premiered John Corigliano’s Triathlon: Concerto for Saxophonist and Orchestra with Giancarlo Guerrero and the San Francisco Symphony to widespread acclaim. In 2023, he performed the U.S. premiere of Tyshawn Sorey’s Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith) for alto saxophone and orchestra with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
A widely respected teacher of his instrument, McAllister is Professor of Saxophone at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and he appears at summer festivals and courses worldwide. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan, having studied with legendary saxophonist Donald Sinta.
LAURA JACKSON, MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR
An eloquent and articulate artist on and off the podium renowned for her dynamic leadership, energetic performances, and progressive vision, American conductor Laura Jackson is praised for her innovation, passion, and commitment to the continued growth of the symphonic repertoire and expanding music’s impact within communities. Having served as the fourth Music Director and Conductor of the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra (Reno Phil) since 2009, her contract has been unanimously renewed through the end of the 2028-2029 season, ensuring that diverse, compelling repertoire, and creative community programming will continue through the organization’s 60th anniversary. A 21st century conductor at home with repertoire from every era, Jackson is recognized for her championing of new music, her creativity with commissions, and her commitment to mentoring and encouraging the next generation of musicians, composers and women conductors. She is in her third season as an official mentor to emerging women conductors across the globe in the Taki-Alsop Foundation’s Fellowship program. With the Reno Phil, she also partners with the Davidson Institute in Reno, Nevada to feature their instrumental fellows in concert. A frequent guest conductor, she has led distinguished ensembles across the United States, Canada, France, Poland, Czech Republic, Algeria, and China, and her relationships with orchestras continue to expand.
A champion of living composers, Laura Jackson created the Reno Philharmonic’s Composers in Residence initiative and has commissioned and presented several world premieres. She has led over 50 Reno Phil premieres and multiple Western U.S. premieres. Under her leadership, the Reno Phil has expanded its community and education programs to include the Composers in Residence, Conduct Us, movies with live orchestra performances, the annual Play for a Day, and the youth orchestras have expanded from three to four ensembles. Additionally, live streaming of concerts was introduced in 2020. www.laurajackson.net
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*Not ready to attend in person? Purchase an access link for our livestream or video-on-demand (available 10/2) and enjoy the concert from the comfort of home!
How to View the Livestream Concert
One day before the concert, ticketholders will receive an email with a link to the video. We recommend you access the link at least 10 minutes before the concert begins. If you do not receive a link, please check your spam & junk folders before contacting the box office. Livestream FAQ & SUPPORT.
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Parking
Patrons have several options for parking near the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. We recommend the following:
Metered parking (pay Monday-Saturday 9am – 6pm; free evenings after 6pm and on Sundays)
The open parking lot across from the Washoe County Court House (free on evenings and weekends). The entrance is located on Court St, between Virginia and Sierra St.
The parking lot attached to Nevada State Bank (ONLY available free in the evenings and on weekends)
Directions
Directions from I-580 via Mill Street
Take exit 66 for Mill St.
-395 Northbound: exit 66 and turn left at Mill St.
-395 Southbound: exit 66 and turn right at Mill St.
Follow Mill St. about 1.5 miles
Turn left on Lake St.
Turn right on Court St.
The Pioneer Center will be on your right
Directions from I-80 via Virginia Street
Take exit 13 for Downtown Reno/Virginia St.
-I-80 Eastbound: exit 13 and turn right at N. Virginia St.
-I-80 Westbound: exit 13 and turn left at N. Virginia St.
Follow Virginia St. about 1 mile (cross the Truckee River).
The Pioneer Center will be on your left
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The Reno Phil’s community partners donate rooms for out of town musicians, food for events and many other needs. Without their generosity, we would not be able to provide the community with world-class, innovative music performances. We greatly appreciate their contribution to the performing arts, as well as helping keep the costs of concerts reasonable for our ticket buyers. If you’re coming from out of town and plan to stay in Reno after the concert, please consider reserving a room with one of our hotel partners.
We hear from our partners that enjoying a good meal makes our concerts sound better. You should test that theory and let us know! Please consider dining with one of these supporting restaurants before or after a concert. And say thanks for us, too.
Dining
Hotels