The Tennessee Tech University-affiliated Bryan Symphony Orchestra will kick off its 63rd season Sunday, Sept. 6, with a free outdoor concert and community celebration at Dogwood Park in downtown Cookeville.
The concert is sponsored by the Sam and Diane Eggimann Glasgow Family Fund, in honor of their parents, with additional support from Cookeville Leisure Services, the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Cookeville Arts Council.
Festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m., with family activities, local vendors and food trucks available throughout the park. Children can explore hands-on activity stations from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
At 7 p.m., the Bryan Symphony Orchestra, led by music director Dan Allcott, will take the stage for a free concert featuring light classics, a rousing finale of Tchaikovsky’s "1812 Overture," and even a few video game melodies from “The Legend of Zelda” and “Super Mario Bros."
“This concert is one of our favorite ways to celebrate the beginning of a new season and invite the entire community to experience live orchestral music right here in the Upper Cumberland,” said BSO Executive Director Susan Miranda. “We are especially grateful to Sam and Diane Glasgow for their longtime support of the orchestra and for making this free community concert possible. The arts are for everyone, and there’s no better introduction to the BSO than through this event.”
“This concert is a special tradition for many in our community — and for us on stage,” added Allcott, who is in his 24th year as BSO music director and a professor in Tennessee Tech University’s School of Music. “We have music that will be familiar to many people, music that may be new to them and, of course, the excitement of hearing a full orchestra perform live outdoors. We hope everyone will bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy this special evening with us.”
New this year, the BSO will add another way for the community to experience the music with the inaugural “Outrun the Overture” 5K. The race will begin at approximately 7:40 p.m., toward the end of the concert, with Allcott giving the downbeat as the orchestra performs Leroy Anderson’s “Home Stretch.” Runners will then race through the course as the BSO performs Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.”
Registration is $45, with all proceeds benefiting the Bryan Symphony Orchestra and its mission to provide exceptional live orchestral performances and music education programs throughout the Upper Cumberland. Registration is available at www.runsignup.com/Race/TN/Cookeville/BSO5K.
The Sept. 6 concert is the opening event of the BSO’s 2026-27 season, “A Season of Connections,” which celebrates the many ways music brings people, traditions and communities together.
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will move to Derryberry Auditorium in Derryberry Hall on the Tennessee Tech University campus.
The Bryan Symphony Orchestra is a collaboration between the School of Music at Tennessee Tech University and the nonprofit Bryan Symphony Orchestra Association. Learn more and purchase tickets for the BSO's 2026-27 season at www.bryansymphony.org.