Madison Symphony Orchestra

MSO at the Movies: Pixar in Concert

Banner text reads "Pixar in Concert". A silhouette of buzz lightyear conducting in front of a film roll of various pixar movie screenshots. the background is red.

Saturday, February 24

2:30pm

Overture Hall

$15 - $80

Runtime

2 hours plus a 20-minute intermission

This special concert celebrates 25 years of the music and animation of Disney and Pixar films. Pixar in Concert will feature music and visuals from 15 classics, including Pixar’s inaugural full-length computer animated film “Toy Story” (1995), and the Academy Award®-winning films “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “WALL-E,” “Up,” “Coco” and “Toy Story 3.” With full-scale cinematic visuals projected above live musical performance, this memorable program features score highlights by Oscar® and Grammy®-winning composers Randy Newman (“Toy Story” films, “Monsters Inc.,” “Monsters University,” “Cars”) and Michael Giacchino (“The Incredibles,” “Incredibles 2,” “Ratatouille,” “Up,” “Inside Out,” “Coco”), plus music by Thomas Newman (“Finding Nemo,” “Finding Dory,” “WALL-E”).

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Meet the Artists

A man with light tone skin and a black top with short curly hair.

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 ConcertsCommunity ConcertsSymphony 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 FledermausThe 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.

Upcoming Madison Symphony Orchestra Events

  • November 18

    Tuesday

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    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