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The Cape Symphony Orchestra presents Nature's Song: Vivaldi's The Four Seasons at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center on April 11, 2026 at 4:00 PM and April 12, 2026 at 3:00 PM.
Ticketholders are invited to a discussion of the concert program led by Assistant Conductor Joseph Marchio one hour before each performance.

In my last message, I shared a simple idea: that Cape Symphony is still an orchestra, and we are becoming something more.

That’s not unique to us. It’s part of a broader shift happening across the country. For most of the 20th century, the role of an orchestra was very clear: You went to the symphony to hear great music performed live. That experience was rare, and it was central to cultural life in many communities.

Today, the experience of music looks very different.

If you’re ever lucky enough to get in conversation with Cape Symphony Concertmaster and Managing Artistic Principal Jae Cosmos Lee, you might miss your next appointment, but you won’t care. When you meet a friendly, fun person who knows an awful lot about a great many things, and is always jazzed to learn more, time just doesn’t seem to matter.

The Cape Symphony Orchestra will perform “Nature’s Song: Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons” April 11 and 12, 2026 at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center. While the Vivaldi grabs headlines, the shorter works to be performed in the concert’s first half are also not to be missed. First among them: Jean Sibelius’s The Swan of Tuonela.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll share a short series about where Cape Symphony is today, and where we’re headed. We’ll reflect on how the organization has grown beyond a traditional orchestra into a broader cultural presence on the Cape, then explore how the role of orchestras is evolving more broadly. From there, we’ll look at the unique realities of Cape Cod, and how those shape our work. We’ll close with a look at how we’re building a more sustainable, connected future, and the role each of you plays in that journey. --Michael Albaugh, President & CEO, Cape Arts & Entertainment

If you’ve spent time with Cape Symphony, you’ve probably experienced us in more than one way. Maybe it was a summer Pops concert on the Hyannis Village Green. Maybe it was a Masterpiece performance at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center. Maybe your child took their first music lesson with one of our teachers. Or you joined us for a Cape Symphony Presents event and discovered an artist you hadn’t heard before.

“Music was it for me from day one,” says Cape Symphony teaching artist Joe Merrick. “From my earliest memories, music has been the only thing I’ve really wanted to do. My parents had to tie a rope around the stereo when I was a toddler to keep me from playing with it.”