The Grand Rapids Symphony opens its 96th season with Beethoven’s Ninth—a powerful, choral-driven masterpiece that shines a spotlight on the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus.
More than just a concert, the performances on Sept. 12 and 13 offer a unique opportunity to support the chorus’s journey to one of the world’s most prestigious stages: Carnegie Hall.
Led by Music Director Marcelo Lehninger, with the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus under the direction of Chorus Director Dr. Pearl Shangkuan, this performance brings to life one of the most iconic and ambitious works in the classical canon. Beethoven’s Ninth reaches its emotional peak in the final movement, “Ode to Joy”—a powerful choral finale known to many through the hymn Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee. In this concert, it will be performed in the original German, as Beethoven composed it, with full chorus and orchestra. A triumph of artistic vision and human expression, the Ninth remains a cultural touchstone—featured memorably as the emotional climax of the acclaimed 1994 Beethoven biopic Immortal Beloved.
In spring 2026, the chorus will travel to Carnegie Hall to perform Franklin, a new work by Z. Randall Stroope, conducted by Dr. Shangkuan in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Support the journey by using promo code GRSCODE when purchasing tickets. Every ticket sold with the code helps fund the chorus’s Carnegie Hall performance.
Tickets are available at grsymphony.org/opening-night-96, by phone at (616) 454-9451 x4, or in person at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW. Mention or enter the code to avoid Ticketmaster fees—and help make history, one note at a time.
