A library card already gets you books, movies, and a quiet place to work. Starting this fall, it also gets you into the symphony.
We’ve partnered with the Wichita Falls Public Library on a new program called Check Out the Symphony. Library cardholders can pick up a voucher for two free tickets to our 2026-27 Season Premiere concert, Rhapsody in Blue, on Saturday, November 14.
How it works
Stop by the Wichita Falls Public Library during open hours and ask for a Check Out the Symphony voucher at the circulation desk. If your account is active and in good standing, it’s yours! Vouchers are limited, and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Don’t have a library card? This is the easy part! Sign up for one at the library and you’ll get your voucher on the spot. The program is part of the library’s card sign-up push this fall, so if you’ve been meaning to get a card for years, here’s another reason!
Once you have your voucher, bring it to the WFSO Box Office during box office hours at 1300 Lamar St. to swap it for your tickets. The deadline to redeem is Tuesday, November 10, four days before the concert. Vouchers not redeemed by then will not be eligible to receive tickets.
Why we’re doing this
Part of our job is to get outside our own concert hall. Over the past few seasons we’ve been working to build more partnerships with organizations around Wichita Falls, and the library was an obvious fit. It’s free, it’s open to everyone, and people already trust it as a place to find something new. Adding symphony tickets to the list of things a library card can get you felt like a natural extension of what the library already does.
If you’re a regular at the library but have never been to one of our concerts, this program is aimed at you. Nobody should have to guess whether they’d like live orchestral music, and inviting library card holders to experience Gershwin’s music live is a good place to start.
Gershwin wrote Rhapsody in Blue in 1924 for a concert billed as an “experiment in modern music,” and the experiment was basically this: what happens when you put jazz in front of an orchestra? The result has the glitz of 1920s jazz with a full orchestra behind it, which is why people who “don’t like classical music” tend to like Gershwin.
What you’ll hear
Pianist Kevin Cole, who has spent his career performing Gershwin’s music and is about as close to a Gershwin specialist as you’ll find, joins the WFSO for Rhapsody in Blue. If you’ve only ever heard the clarinet slide at the beginning in a commercial, hearing the full thing live is a different experience. Want a preview? Cole’s own recording is on Spotify.
The program also includes Rhythms of the Range by Chris Brubeck, a new orchestral work inspired by the American West and by his father, jazz pianist Dave Brubeck. If you know “Take Five,” you know Dave Brubeck. The night closes with Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, a set of musical portraits of the composer’s friends, including the one you’ll recognize, “Nimrod.”
You can read the full Program Notes for this concert here.
While You’re at the Library
The partnership isn’t only about tickets. Won October 8th you can visit the library to see an informational display inside the with materials on Gershwin, Brubeck, and the symphony orchestra itself. Grab a book or a recording, and you’ll walk into the concert already knowing the stories behind the music.
We’re also hosting a storytime at the library on Thursday, October 15th at 10:30am for children & families. We’ll read a book, learn about music, and you’ll even get to meet some of the instruments that are a part of the WFSO!
We are thrilled about this partnership and look forward to seeing many new faces in our audience this fall.
Concert details
Rhapsody in Blue is Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 7:00 PM at First Baptist Church – Downtown, 1200 9th Street in Wichita Falls. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and there’s a pre-concert talk at 6:15 if you want a little context before the music starts.
If you already have tickets or want to buy extras for friends, the event page has everything. Questions about the program can go to the box office at (940) 723-6202 or info@wfso.org.