A symphony orchestra is simply defined as an orchestra that’s large enough to play symphonies. Symphonies are robust, rich, layered compositions requiring 50 or more performers. Connecticut boasts dozens in cities and towns and colleges and universities but also finds room for those who are just passing through on tour.

It helps that Connecticut is home to some major college music programs such as Yale University, the University of Hartford, Wesleyan University and elsewhere.

Great classical works are conceived, commissioned and written in Connecticut, and when they are finished there are many skilled musicians around prepared to play them. These musicians are also well-versed in the classics.

What makes a classic a classic is constantly changing. The dead white men canon has been challenged. The Hartford Symphony, for one, has been celebrating the work of female, Black, and Black female composers who deserved to have earned more acclaim in their own time.

The 2023-24 symphony season is beginning now. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra and several others have their season-opening concerts on the weekend of Sept. 29 through Oct. 1. There are also visiting symphonies, holiday events and other special concerts on the way.

Here are some must-see concerts.

Symphonic standouts

This season is full of surprises with challenging classics, new works and opportunities for classical musicians to rub shoulders with rock and jazz bands. Here are 10 of the most highly anticipated shows.

“American”
Ridgefield Symphony, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m., Ridgefield High School

Given Connecticut symphonies’ penchant for American composers, and that the release of a movie bio of Leonard Bernstein starring Bradley Cooper is nigh, you might wonder where Bernstein’s being played this fall. Ridgefield Symphony is doing melodies from two of Bernstein’s acclaimed Broadway musicals with the overture from “Candide” and the symphonic dance arrangements of songs from “West Side Story” for its Sept. 30 “American” concert, which also features works by Reena Esmail and Samuel Barber. ridgefieldsymphony.org.

Emo Orchestra with Hawthorne Heights
Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., Warner Theater in Torrington

This is a touring show that brings classical oomph to the songs of Hawthorne Heights, a dark-yet-perky emo rock band that formed in 2001. warnertheatre.org.

“Dvorák and Price”
Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Oct. 20-22, The Bushnell in Hartford

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra has already been acquainting its audiences with Florence Price, playing her Symphony No. 1 (famous as the first symphony by a Black woman to be played by a major symphony orchestra, in 1933) alongside Rachmaninoff and modern composer Jessie Montgomery this past February. On Oct. 20, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra is pairing Price’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with Brahms’ Tragic Overture and Dvorák’s Symphony No. 7. Price’s concerto is being performed by violinist Melissa White, this year’s Joyce C. Willis Artist-in-Residence. The Willis residencies are given to Black artists at a transitional point in their careers. hartfordsymphony.org.

“Gershwin & Dixieland”
Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m., Garde Arts Center in New London

In one of the most eclectic classical music concerts this Autumn, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra connects a world premiere by Tom Myron, “Monhegan Sunrise (Peace Fanfare)” to Amy Beach’s 1893 “Bal masqué,” Gershwin’s epic “Rhapsody in Blue,” Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s 1905 “The Bamboula” and a concluding Dixieland jazz medley from the Tom Brown 6, whose leader is a former Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra trumpeter. ectsymphony.com.

“Halloween Spooktacular”
Wallingford Symphony Orchestra, Oct. 22 at 4 p.m., Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford

Wallingford Symphony Orchestra’s “Halloween Spooktacular” is typical of how symphonies can go all for the holiday. The orchestra is jamming with the Frantic City Band on AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” and “other Halloween rock classics.” facebook.com/WlfdSymp/.

“Vienna Comes to Norwalk”
Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Ave., Norwalk

A geographically specific yet stylistically varied concert by the Norwalk Symphony mingles Johan Strauss waltzes, Richard Strauss’s “Dance of the Seven Veils” and Alban Berg’s “Altenberg Lieder.” norwalksymphony.org.

Enigmatic Elgar
Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 12 at 3 p.m., Palace Theatre in Stamford

Edward Elgar pumps up the fall concert season, not with his “Pomp & Circumstance” march but with his hipper “Enigma Variations,” which Hartford Symphony is performing on Sept. 29 at The Bushnell and the Orchestra Lumos is doing in November at the Stamford Palace. Orchestra Lumos is adding Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto and Gabriela Lena Frank’s “Elegia Andida” to its bill. orchestralumos.org.

“breathe/burn”
New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m., SCSU Lyman Center in New Haven

If the Hartford Symphony has you wanting to hear more Florence Price, her first symphony is being done again in Connecticut, this time by the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Also on the bill: The world premiere of Joel Thompson’s “breathe/burn,” which the New Haven Symphony Orchestra commissioned, plus Mark Adamo’s “Last Year: Concerto for Cello and String Orchestra” with guest cellist Jeffrey Zeigler. newhavensymphony.org.

“Fantasy”
Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra, Nov. 19 at 4 p.m., East Ridge Middle School in Ridgefield

Youth orchestras are often where the action is. The Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra’s ambitious “Fantasy” concert in Ridgefield is covering the same classical giants that the pro orchestras are — Dvorak, Grieg, Rimsky-Korsakov, Massenet — as well as woodwind or string compositions by the likes of Thad Jones, David Del Tredici, Leroy Anderson, Clare Grundman and Susan H. Day. wctyo.org.

Colonial Concert LXIV
Orchestra New England, Nov. 25, United Church on the Green, New Haven

Orchestra New England is not quite symphony strength (usually making do with 20 to 30 musicians), but they’re the right size for the music they specialize in, like the works of the genius 20th century Connecticut composer Charles Ives and the compositions favored by small orchestras when Connecticut was still developing as a state. ONE is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a special Ives concert in the spring, and on Nov. 25 is doing its 44th Colonial Concert. In the past, the wig-wearing, candle-lit Colonial Concert has been graced by such 18th-century celebs as Benjamin Franklin and Roger Sherman. orchestranewengland.org.

Movies with live music

Here are three standout events where a live orchestra accompanies a popular movie. It’s a trend that has grown and prospered over the years, anchored by “Harry Potter” accompaniments but stretching to “Star Trek” and beyond. This year, comedies and cartoons get the orchestral treatment.

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Live in Concert”
Oct. 1 at 6 p.m., Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford

Here’s another unusual movie-with-orchestra concert with the Oscar-winning animated Spider-Man action film accompanied by a very live orchestra. The national tour stops at the Oakdale in Wallingford on Oct. 1. livenation.com.

“Home Alone in Concert”
Dec. 2 at 2 p.m., Palace Theater in Waterbury

John Williams’ enchanting score for Macaulay Culkin’s finest film zips deliriously from sentimental to slapstick. The Waterbury Symphony Orchestra accepts the challenge. palacetheaterct.org.

“Elf in Concert”
Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 23 at 1 p.m., The Bushnell in Hartford

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s latest Harry Potter concert, with the orchestra playing along to a screening of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” will be in the spring. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra is taking a different cinematic direction in December with “Elf in Concert,” accompanying the Will Ferrell comedy. Ticket sales have been so strong that a second performance was added. hartfordsymphony.org.

More musical musings

Here are some more highlights of the fall symphony season.

Yale Symphony Orchestra is one of the many orchestras starting their seasons this coming weekend, Sept. 30, with the booming “Also Sprach Zarathustra.” yso.yalecollege.yale.edu.

The Greenwich Symphony season begins Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 with some Mendelssohn, Emerson, Tchaikovsky and Duke Ellington at the Performing Arts Center at Greenwich High School. greenwichsymphony.org.

The University of Connecticut Symphony has its first fall concert on Oct. 20 on the UConn campus. music.uconn.edu.

Farmington Valley Symphony marks the 10th anniversary of music director Jonathan Colby by playing works he did in his first year there, including Dvorak’s Symphony No. 5 on Oct. 22. fvso.org.

West Hartford Symphony Orchestra helps you through the holidays with a “Spooky Halloween Costume Concert” on Oct. 29 and a Christmas concert on Dec. 10, both afternoon concerts at Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford. whso.org.

Cheshire Symphony, a civic orchestra, opens its season on Nov. 1 with heavy hitters Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Grieg and C.P.E. Bach. cheshiresymphonyorchestra.org.

Manchester Symphony and Chorale mixes Mozart, Hindemith, Sibelius and Hagenberg for its Nov. 3 concert at Manchester High School. msoc.org.

Connecticut Symphony Orchestra’s first concert of this season is “Dark Adventures,” with works by Mozart and Berlioz on Nov. 4 at Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford. connecticutsymphony.org.

Waterbury Symphony’s cleverly titled “Eight Seasons” concert on Nov. 5 at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown combines Vivaldi’s classic “Four Seasons” with Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.” waterburysymphony.org.

Southeastern CT Community Orchestra has two concerts this fall: “Works of Passion” by Tchaikovsky, Bach, Marquez and Mozart on Nov. 5 and the carol-filled “Making Holiday Memories” on Dec. 16 at the Waterford Community Center. seccorchestra.com.

Colchester Choir & Orchestra has a “Holiday Homecoming” concert on Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Colchester Federated Church. colchesterchoirorchestra.org