Photo by Eric Ayres The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra's 2025-26 Season The Place I Belong will conclude on Friday, May 8, with the fourth Masterworks concert and the season's final show titled Take Me Home. From left are sponsors Gail and John Looney, WSO Music Director John Devlin, WSO Executive Director Marc Zyla and WesBanco Wheeling Market President Matt Drahos.

WHEELING – The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra will wrap up its 2025-26 season on Friday, May 8, with a Masterworks concert titled Take Me Home at the Capitol Theatre.

The concert will feature electric violinist Tracy Silverman and a program that includes Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 – also known as the “New World Symphony,” along with an exploration and celebration of themes about home, community and progress.

“The season has been about our home here in West Virginia and our home here at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling,” said WSO Music Director John Devlin. “Every one of the concert titles was taken from the lyrics of the song ‘Country Roads.’ So ‘The Place I Belong’ has such a beautiful sensibility about it with regard to the way this concert will unfold, because it focuses on the idea of what defines home for us.”

Devlin said the first piece of the program will highlight the home of one of the orchestra’s players who hails from Venezuela. The second piece will be a commissioned electric guitar concerto which has only been performed once before.

“Eight members of our own community will actually speak during the piece about what makes Wheeling feel like home to them, in addition to the music that you’ll hear,” Devlin said.

Following the intermission, the orchestra will perform “New World Symphony,” which was inspired by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak’s discovery and intrigue of Native American music and African American spirituals while working in North America in the late 1800s.

“The final piece on the program is something written by a composer that focused on fiddle tunes from Appalachia. It’s a two-minute piece that’s extremely exciting based on music that’s from our home here in West Virginia and in the valley. We’re really excited about every aspect as we explore something that’s very important to us.”

Devlin added that the Take Me Home concert has something for everyone to enjoy.

“There is a beautiful piece of standard repertoire that everyone who knows orchestras should know and love with the Dvorak, and then three things that are going to feel unique and special – so if you are a fan of old music, we have the very best of that, and then we have some exciting newer pieces of music which will be something that provide great contrast. We encourage people to come out and celebrate the end of the year with the WSO.

The WSO Capitol Series is sponsored by WesBanco. Take Me Home is presented by the Yassini family, with additional support provided by John and Gail Looney, C.A. House Music, and Lou and Charlotte Khorey.

“I think overall it’s been a really great season,” said WesBanco Wheeling Market President Matt Drahos. “WesBanco is very proud to be a sponsor again this year – we’ve done it for the last several years. The arts and culture are very important to the community, and WesBanco wants to support that as much as we can.”

For tickets and information, visit the WSO box office at 1025 Main St., Suite 811, Wheeling, call 304-232-6191 or visit online at wheelingsymphony.com.