Eugene Symphony celebrates 60 years with new director Alex Prior

Posted by KEZI on Oct 10, 2025

Music Director and Conductor Alex Prior.

EUGENE, Ore. - The Eugene Symphony is set to kick off its 60th anniversary season with a special performance this weekend.

The season begins on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Hult Center in downtown Eugene. The event, titled "Fate and Fire," will feature music from "West Side Story," Vivian Fung, and Tchaikovsky.

Alex Prior, the Eugene Symphony's new music director, will be conducting.

"That ability to just connect and kind of hang out with music then translates into concerts that, I mean, I haven't had that many here, but what I've had and seen also, and witnessed it translates, you see that it goes the energy passes into the audience, through the musicians, through the conductor, in this beautiful loop of common love for music. And it's very communal, very spiritual and communal. And that's, that's lovely," Prior said.

The upcoming season will also feature music from popular sci-fi movies, jazz, and a new twist on Handel's "Messiah" for the holidays.

Tickets start at $22, with $10 student and youth tickets available. More information can be found on the Hult Center's and Eugene Symphony's websites.