Madison Symphony Orchestra
Monumental Moments
Friday, October 20 - Sunday, October 22
Overture Hall
$15 - $102
Runtime
2 hours plus a 20-minute intermission
Single tickets for this performance go on sale to the public Saturday, August 19, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. If you’d like to subscribe to the Madison Symphony’s 2023–2024 season, please visit madisonsymphony.org or call (608) 257-3734.
We begin with Leonard Bernstein, who was a major influence on Music Director John DeMain’s early life and career. Bernstein had a knack for bringing lighthearted populism into the concert hall. Though written in the late 1940s, Shostakovich’s first concerto makes use of traditional musical forms, including a famous Passacaglia, favored by composers like Bach 200 years earlier. Feared by violinists and loved by audiences, it was a hit from the day it was written and is one of the true masterpieces of the solo violin repertoire. The final work is Brahms’ G minor Piano Quartet, orchestrated by Schoenberg. These will be the MSO’s first ever performances of this remarkable work. Schoenberg took Brahms’ chamber work and transformed it into a kaleidoscope of 20th-century orchestral color, giving virtually every instrument the spotlight. – Kyle Knox, Associate Conductor
Featuring
Kyle Knox, Associate Conductor
Naha Greenholtz, Violin
Music
Leonard Bernstein, Three Dance Variations from “Fancy Free”
Dmitri Shostakovich, Concerto No. 1 in A minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 77(99)
Intermission
Johannes Brahms (orchestrated by Arnold Schoenberg), Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25
Meet the Artists
Associate Conductor
Kyle Knox
In the fall of 2018, Kyle Knox assumed the positions of Music Director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras and Associate Conductor of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Recent past and upcoming conducting credits include the Milwaukee Symphony (on both their Family and Connections concert series), the Madison Symphony’s Beyond the Score (including Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4), their full annual Education Series (including their Fall and Spring Youth Concerts, Community Concerts, Symphony Soup, and the Bolz Final Forte), as well as Concert on the Green. In works for the stage, Kyle led Mark Adamo’s Little Women for Madison Opera, and later helped coordinate a studio artist showcase in the first ever collaboration between that company and WYSO. Other stage credits include Albert Herring, The Turn of the Screw, and Transformations with UW Opera, as well as Die Fledermaus, The Gondoliers and H.M.S. Pinafore with Madison Savoyards. Additionally he has conducted UW Music Clinic’s High School Honors Orchestra.
He was formerly a clarinetist with the Milwaukee Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, and Philadelphia Orchestras, and on faculty at UW-Milwaukee. His festival credits include Tanglewood, Spoleto (Italy), Santa Fe Chamber Music, and Bowdoin Summer Music Festivals, as well as the New York String Orchestra Seminar. He has recorded for the Koch and Naxos labels and has been featured numerous times on NPR’s Performance Today.
Kyle has premiered works by Osvaldo Golijov, Tan Dun, Sean Shepherd, Huang Ruo, and Jonathan Leshnoff, among many others. Nico Muhly’s chamber work Service Music (2004) was written for and dedicated to him. His debut album, a recording of Conrad Susa’s chamber opera Transformations (the work’s world premiere recording) was recently released on Spotify.
Kyle studied conducting with James Smith, and clarinet with Ricardo Morales and Yehuda Gilad. He holds degrees from Juilliard and UW-Madison.
Violin
Naha Greenholtz
Canadian violinist Naha Greenholtz was born in Kyoto, Japan, where she began her violin studies at age three. Since her solo debut at 14, concerto performances have included engagements with the San Francisco Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and National Repertory Orchestras, as well as the Vancouver, Quad City, Burnaby, and Kelowna Symphonies. In the Madison area she makes regular solo appearances with the Madison Symphony and the Middleton Community Orchestra.
Naha also maintains an active career as an orchestra musician. In addition to her duties as Concertmaster of both the Madison and Quad City Symphony Orchestras, past performance highlights include guest concertmaster appearances with the Oregon, Omaha, and Memphis Symphonies, the San Francisco Ballet, as well as the Calgary and Louisiana Philharmonics, among many others.
In 2019, she appeared as guest concertmaster with the Chicago Philharmonic (in collaboration with the English National Ballet) and will make her Australian debut in a concertmaster residency with the Australian Ballet in Melbourne. From 2011-2014, she maintained a partnership with the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto, performing and touring frequently with the company as guest concertmaster and soloist. Additionally, she has performed often with the Cleveland Orchestra both domestically and abroad. She began her career in 2007-2008 with the Louisiana Philharmonic and later with the Milwaukee Symphony.
Naha has participated in music festivals throughout the US and Europe including Kneisel Hall (Maine), Taos (New Mexico), Spoleto (Italy), Lucerne (Switzerland), Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society (Wisconsin), and the New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall. She was on artist faculty at Renova Music Festival (Newcastle, Pennsylvania) and since 2012 she has been Artistic Director of Davenport, Iowa’s Signature Series.
Naha studied with Donald Weilerstein and Joel Smirnoff at Juilliard and with William Preucil at CIM. Other teachers have included Andy Dawes, Akira Nagai, and Judith Ingolfsson. She performs on a 1778 Antonio Gragnani violin.
Upcoming Madison Symphony Orchestra Events
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October 17 - October 19
Classical Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music Primal Light
Overture Hall
This concert opens with a fresh take on the story of resurrection with lush layers of colorful sound evoking a cinematic feel. “Resurrexit” by Mason Bates will take you on a mystical pilgrimage with shimmering exotic tonalities that give way to contemplation and dramatic stirrings of rebirth.
Multiple Showtimes -
November 18
Tuesday
Classical Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music Greg Zelek with Caleb Hudson, Trumpet
Overture Hall
Trumpeter Caleb Hudson has made a name for himself as one of the most virtuosic trumpet soloists as well as a respected pedagogue. Experience his incredible talent in a program featuring many arrangements for organ and trumpet.
7:30 PM -
November 21 - November 23
Classical Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music Radiance
Overture Hall
“Rainbow Body,” a luminous work by American composer Christopher Theofanidis, weaves ancient and modern worlds together to take us on a spellbinding journey. Inspired by the chant “Ave Maria” by medieval mystic Hildegard of Bingen, the piece reimagines her melodies in lush, cinematic orchestration.
Multiple Showtimes -
December 5 - December 7
Classical Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music A Madison Symphony Christmas
Overture Hall
This spectacular annual celebration has become a joyful way to begin the holiday season in our community for concertgoers of all ages. The Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Youth Choirs and the Mt. Zion Gospel Choir join us to bring this special concert to life.
Multiple Showtimes -
January 23 - January 25
Classical Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music Heartbeat
Overture Hall
The Symphony's new year begins with Gabriela Lena Frank’s “Escaramuza” (meaning “skirmish” in Spanish), a dynamic and colorful work inspired by her Peruvian heritage. This spirited piece captures the energy of the lively Kachampa Andean dance, celebrating the agility and strength of Inca warriors.
Multiple Showtimes -
February 20 - February 22
Classical Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music Playful Pursuits
Overture Hall
“Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a decidedly playful overture by a very youthful Felix Mendelssohn. This sparkling work captures the magic of the fairy kingdom, the humor of the lovers’ entanglements and the grandeur of Theseus’ court.
Multiple Showtimes -
February 24
Tuesday
Classical Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music Felix Hell, Organist
Overture Hall
Organist Felix Hell, who first performed in Madison in 2012, returns with a brilliant and unique program that he calls “Cathedral of Sound: The Organ as Orchestra.”
7:30 PM -
March 20 - March 22
Classical Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music Force of Nature
Overture Hall
Strauss’ “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks” is a mischievous tone poem that follows the antics of a legendary trickster. From daring escapades to clever pranks, the music captures Till’s irreverent spirit with virtuosic orchestral writing and humor.
Multiple Showtimes -
March 28 - March 29
Classical Music, Film, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark™ Live in Concert
Overture Hall
Madison Symphony Orchestra’s MSO at the Movies presents “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark™ Live in Concert,” featuring John Williams’ GRAMMY® Award-winning score performed live to the film led by conductor Kyle Knox at Overture Hall.
Multiple Showtimes -
March 31
Tuesday
Classical Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music An Evening of Chamber Music and Organ
Overture Hall
Trumpeter Caleb Hudson has made a name for himself as one of the most virtuosic trumpet soloists as well as a respected pedagogue. Experience his incredible talent in a program featuring many arrangements for organ and trumpet.
7:30 PM -
April 10 - April 12
Classical Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music Four the Soul
Overture Hall
Peruvian composer Jimmy López’s “Fiesta! Four Pop Dances for Orchestra” is a vibrant and exhilarating celebration of life, culture and happiness. Filled with pulsating rhythms, bold colors and infectious energy, it draws from the rich traditions of Latin American music and ends with a blazing techno finale.
Multiple Showtimes -
May 1 - May 3
Classical Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music Voices Eternal
Overture Hall
Hear the world premiere of composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer "EARTH: A Choral Symphony," commissioned by the Symphony for their 100th Anniversary. The piece explores themes of truth and possibility focusing on the wonder of Earth and our place in its story.
Multiple Showtimes -
June 14
Sunday
Classical Music, Free Events, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music A Community Gift and Dream — for the Love of Music
During this free, two-day festival celebration, MSO musicians and diverse community groups will perform on a rotating schedule throughout Overture Center for the Arts. The Sunday concert features some of the “greatest hits” of classical music and will be the final concert Maestro John DeMain conducts as Music Director.
4:30 PM