Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Concert Truck Returns for the Holiday Season

Alex BurtonOctober 30, 2022

‘Tis the season for classical music on wheels. For the third year in a row, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is presenting The Concert Truck, with stops throughout the Dallas area planned in October, November and December.

Concert pianists Susan Zhang and Nick Luby founded the Concert Truck in 2016. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra first partnered Zhang and Luby in 2020 to bring the Concert Truck to Dallas during the darkest days of the pandemic. Since that first residency, the Concert Truck and DSO musicians have appeared at 126 pop-up performances around North Texas.

“It is wonderful to welcome Susan and Nick back for their third holiday season in Dallas,” said Kim Noltemy, Ross Perot President & CEO of the Dallas Symphony. “Our partnership with the Concert Truck began as a way to connect to the community during the first holiday season of the COVID-19 pandemic and has now expanded to become a staple in Dallas and at the DSO. We are excited to share their music again this year and continue to broaden their reach across Dallas communities.”

Housed in an 18-foot box truck, the traveling concert stage brings classical music directly to communities all over the United States. The Concert Truck has partnered with the Aspen Music Festival and School, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Piano Cleveland, the Smithsonian, and the Kennedy Center to share music with their local communities. The Concert Truck created an online children’s show in partnership with the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival that has been presented to over 55,000 students in North Carolina schools.

This year, the Concert Truck and DSO musicians will present more than 30 community concerts in the Dallas area, with performances running 45 to 60 minutes. Holidays shoppers can enjoy pop-up concerts at NorthPark Center and Galleria Dallas. Downtown Dallas appearances include Klyde Warren Park and the Sixth Floor Museum. In addition to Dallas, the Concert Truck will stop in surrounding areas including Plano and Irving, bringing music to neighborhoods, schools, shopping centers, parks, bars, residential communities, and healthcare settings.

Each visit will feature DSO musicians in small configurations, from solo violin to brass combo. The performances include virtuosic, finger-bending showpieces, holiday favorites and well-loved classics. Featuring many DSO musicians who have performed throughout the three Concert Truck residencies, this concert series reunites visiting friends, devoted musicians and Dallas area residents.

Several new events fill the Concert Truck’s calendar. There will be two after-party concerts occurring after DSO concerts on November 11 and 18, 2022 at Hall Arts. The events, called DSO After Dark with The Concert Truck, will include light hors d’oeurves and drinks, and the November 11 after-party show will have an appearance from DJ Elkin Pautt. The residency will also include stops at Mozart in the Bar, a pop-up classical music concert experience founded by DSO violinist Lydia Umlauf. Mozart in the Bar travels to local bars in Dallas, bringing short chamber concerts to less traditional venues.

“The Concert Truck is absolutely thrilled to be returning to Dallas this fall with the Dallas Symphony!” said founders Zhang and Luby. “We are excited to share new projects together, deepen our connection with the Dallas community and showcase our favorite pieces of music with the sensational musicians of the DSO.”

CONCERT TRUCK DATES & LOCATIONS:

Saturday, October 29: Daves Residence at 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 30: Stacation MITB at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, November 2 at Sypult Residence at 5:30 p.m.

Thursday, November 3 at Turtle Creek Conservancy

Friday, November 4 at Baylor Medical Center, Plano at 10 a.m.

Friday, November 4 at White Rock Ale House at 6 p.m.

Saturday, November 5 at Holcomb Park at 1 p.m.

Saturday, November 5 at NorthPark Center at 6 p.m.

Sunday, November 6 at Semones Family YMCA at 4 p.m.

Wednesday, November 9 at Moody YMCA/Rise School at 10 a.m.

Thursday, November 10 at Methodist Hospital at 2 p.m.