A Grand Finale: Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Ode to Joy
Saturday, April 10, 2027, 7:00 pm
Included in Season Subscription Purchases
Helen Blackburn Auditorium, Arnold High School, Panama City Beach, Florida
Experience a historic evening of musical transcendence as Panama City Symphony presents the crowning jewel of the orchestral repertoire: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. This performance serves as our Season 26-27 Grand Finale and is included in all Season Subscription purchases.
Composed between 1822 and 1824, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor is widely considered the supreme achievement of Western classical music. The Ninth stands as the definitive bridge between the Classical and Romantic eras; it took the balanced, formal structures of the past and infused them with the raw, expansive emotion that would define the future of music.
Interestingly, Beethoven was the first composer to add human voices to a symphony, earning it the nickname the “Choral Symphony.” The finale features the world-famous “Ode to Joy,” utilizing the stirring German text of Friedrich Schiller’s poem, An die Freude. Sung in its original German, the chorus serves as a powerful anthem for unity and the shared bond of humanity. To meet the towering demands of this score, we are currently recruiting four outstanding guest soloists—a soprano, alto, tenor, and bass—to join our orchestra and chorus for this movement.
To do justice to a work of this magnitude, the performance will be held at the spacious 1,000-seat Helen Blackburn Auditorium at Arnold High School. The venue features a stage large enough to accommodate the scale of our full orchestra alongside the powerhouse of the combined adult chorus.
A full season of electrifying performances. Four extraordinary finalists. Countless unforgettable moments on stage.
Over the past season, you’ve watched these world-class conductors bring their unique brilliance to our orchestra, and your voices have helped shape this momentous choice. Now, the anticipation reaches its peak.
This isn’t just a season finale—it is the triumphant unveiling of a bold new chapter.
Our Search Committee is working tirelessly behind the scenes with a singular goal: to have our newly named Music Director and Conductor step onto the podium to lead this masterpiece. Imagine the electricity in the room as our new artistic leader raises the baton for the very first time, launching us into an unforgettable 2027–2028 season.
Join us as we strive to celebrate the moment where our history meets its future.
WHO WILL BE OUR NEXT MUSIC DIRECTOR AND CONDUCTOR?
Be there when history is made.
Secure your seats now for an extraordinary evening of music, celebration, and the ultimate reveal!
Buy Seats Here for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony
Click to Learn More about our Four Finalists
FEATURED SOLOIST, Christina Burroughs, Lyric Soprano
Lyric Soprano Christina Burroughs has enjoyed singing opera, oratorio, art song, and musical theatre across the United States for more than two decades. On the opera stage, Christina has performed the roles of Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Despina in Così fan tutte, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Miss Pinkerton in The Old Maid and the Thief, Mimì in La Bohème, Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites, La Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro, Giunone in La Calisto, and Mrs. Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, as well as performing with the Opera Birmingham Chorus in La Traviata.
Her theatre credits include The Pirates of Penzance (Mabel), The Phantom of the Opera (Carlotta), Proof (Claire), Into the Woods (Rapunzel), Laundry and Bourbon (Amy Lee), and The Tempest (Miranda). Equally at home on the concert stage, Christina has sung soprano solos in the Mozart Requiem in Tuscaloosa, AL, the Rutter Requiem in Birmingham, AL, and was featured in the Paul Bowles Anniversary Concert with Ensemble Parallèle in San Francisco. In oratorio, she enjoyed a historically informed performance as soprano soloist in Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with the San Jose Symphonic Choir and Orchestra on period instruments tuned to A=415 Hz.
Christina holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Alabama and a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She served as a Voice Instructor at Faulkner University, Huntingdon College, and Southern Union State Community College in the Montgomery, Alabama area from 2011 to 2013, and has taught elementary music in schools across the country for the past seven years.
Currently, Christina teaches Elementary Music at North Bay Haven Charter Academy Elementary School in Panama City, FL. She serves on the Bay County Music Festival Council, directs the Panama City Symphony Adult Chorus, serves on her church worship team, and lives with her husband Beau and their two children.
FEATURED SOLOIST, Mabs Nolen, Mezzo-Soprano
Mabs Nolen, mezzo-soprano, performed with Opera North in Hanover, NH as Berta in Il Barbieri di Siviglia, UA Opera Theater in Cosi fan tutte as Dorabella, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Elizabeth in The Crucible. Ms. Nolen also covered the role of Cupidon in Orphee aux Enfers with the Juilliard Opera Center. Concert performances include: Soloist for the premier of “I AM” by Dr. John Ratledge in Carnegie Hall, Alto soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the University of Alabama and with the Dartmouth College Glee Club accompanied by the Opera North Orchestra, and soloist for the Huxford Symphony’s performance of Vaughn Williams’ Serenade to Music. Ms. Nolen has also performed with the Metropolitan Opera Chorus in a special presentation of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center. Mrs. Seay has twice won the District-level and has been awarded 3rd place at the Regional-level of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She was also awarded the Jerome Shannon Artistic Director Award in the Rose Palmai-Tenser Competition. Ms. Nolen holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice from the University of Alabama, and then went on to The Juilliard School of Music for further instruction. She completed her Master of Music in Voice at the University of Alabama. Ms. Nolen currently serves as the Director of Career Development at The University of Montevallo.
FEATURED SOLOIST, Christian Sanders, Tenor
Tenor Christian Sanders has distinguished himself as a captivating and charismatic performer, celebrated for his dynamic vocal and dramatic presence. Highlights of the 2026-2027 season include Jonathan Dale in Silent Night with The Atlanta Opera, and Little Bat in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah with San Diego Opera.
During the 2025–2026 season, Christian returned to Pacific Opera Victoria as Orpheus in Orpheus and Eurydice and to Utah Opera as Stuart Ullman and Delbert Grady in The Shining. He also made his house debut with Opera Omaha as Little Bat in Susannah. His 2024-2025 season engagements included Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd with Utah Opera, Vain Man/Snake in The Little Prince with Pacific Opera Victoria, Philip Hirschkop in the new opera Loving vs. Virginia with Virginia Opera, Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Sellem in The Rake’s Progress at Des Moines Metro Opera.
Other recent operatic highlights include: Loge in Das Rheingold with Dayton Opera; Timothy Laughlin in Fellow Travelers with Des Moines Metro Opera; Little Bat with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, directed by acclaimed soprano Patricia Racette; the title role in The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Aspen Music Festival; and Bégearss in The Ghosts of Versailles at the Glimmerglass Festival and Château de Versailles.
Christian Sanders delivered memorable portrayals as Sam Kaplan in Street Scene with Central City Opera; Tobias Ragg with Austin Opera and Des Moines Metro Opera; the title role in Orpheus in the Underworld with Madison Opera; Beppe in Pagliacci with the Sacramento Philharmonic; Tony in West Side Story with Glimmerglass; the Prison Chaplain in the world premiere of Theodore Morrison’s Oscar with the Santa Fe Opera; and Donald Trump in The Central Park Five with Portland Opera.
Christian was a Resident Artist with Minnesota Opera for two seasons, performing roles such as Bill in Jonathan Dove’s Flight, the Young Servant in Strauss’ Elektra, Prunier in La rondine, and Jonathan Dale in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night, which was recorded by Pentatone. Mr. Sanders was also a member of the Utah Opera Resident Artist Program and has returned regularly as a guest artist.
On the concert stage, he has been the tenor soloist in works including Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. Christian Sanders received his Master of Music degree in Operatic Performance from Rice University and holds a Bachelor of Arts Magna Cum Laude in Music with a minor in Cell and Molecular Biology from Point Loma Nazarene University. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.
Learn More About Christian Sanders
FEATURED SOLOIST, Lloyd Reshard, Bass-Baritone
Northwest Florida native Bass-Baritone Lloyd Reshard is a singer and collaborative lyricist whose stagework and writing has been performed throughout the United States and abroad. Lloyd made his debut with Panama City Symphony in their Holiday by the Bay Christmas Concert in 2018 and has since collaborated on a variety of concerts and events with the symphony, including: outreach performances of David Goldflies’ The Hunt as Narrator, Nightmare on the Bay: Mischief at the Masquerade, Renaissance to Rock ‘n Roll, My Favorite Things: Music of Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Nightmare on the Bay: Beasts of the Bayou.
Lloyd has been the bass soloist for Handel’s Messiah for Master Chorale of South Florida, Naples Bach Ensemble, Masterworks Chorale, Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra (NFSO), among many others. In 2023 Lloyd had the honor of being guest soloist in the Sounds of the Spectrum concert, alongside Grammy-nominated and internationally renowned tenor Lawrence Brownlee. He was a featured bass soloist in Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard with the Master Chorale of South Florida in 2024. Co-founder of the piano/voice duo Inicio Musica with pianist and composer Lois Henry, Lloyd has performed their collaborative concert Between the Earth and Sky, throughout NW Florida and abroad, highlighting sacred vocal works by American composers.
Lloyd is also a lyricist in 4 choral collaborations with internationally renowned Haitian-American composer Sydney Guillaume, including: Nou La (2022; Phoenix Chamber Choir), This, Too, Shall Pass (2022; Master Chorale of Tampa Bay), A Taste of Freedom (2023; Spokane Symphony & Chorale), and, I Will Not Look Away (2024; Portland Gay Men’s Chorus). In 2024, over 1,400 voices came together to sing a newly arranged version of Nou La during the HarbourVOICES International Festival of Collective Singing Traditions Gala Concert in St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador, opening for musical phenom Jacob Collier.
