Venue: Overture Hall
Friday, September 19, 2025
Concert: 6:00 p.m.
Lobby Dinner: 8:30 p.m.
Seating for the combination concert and dinner is very limited. Please place your order as early as possible!
Tickets: $30-$100
Single tickets for the concert only will open up mid-summer based upon availability.
Before the Symphony subscription season kicks off in October, we invite you to join us for two very special events on September 19 and 20, 2025.
“Pure Joy Opening Night: Magical Tchaikovsky & Maestro’s Dinner” will include a classical concert featuring the Madison Symphony Orchestra and guest pianist Olga Kern, conducted by John DeMain, at 6:00 p.m. in Overture Hall, followed by a cocktail reception and formal dinner in the Overture Hall Lobby on Friday, September 19. Combo tickets for the concert and dinner are $300 per person including premium concert seating. Tickets for the concert only are $30–$100.
Add Centennial Celebration events when you subscribe. Priority will be given to renewing and new subscribers. Seating for the combination concert and dinner is very limited. Please place your order as early as possible! The date when a subscription is received will determine reservation priority.
John DeMain, Conductor
Olga Kern, Piano
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23
Intermission
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Theme and Variations from Suite No. 3, Op. 55
Add Centennial Opening Weekend To Your Subscription
As a subscriber, you can add as many Centennial opening weekend tickets to your subscription as you like, before single tickets go on sale August 23, 2025! Check out our 25/26 Season HERE!
Concert + Dinner Combo Ticket
We are currently offering a combo ticket for $300 that you can add on to your subscription package. It will include special seating in our price level A seats as well as a seat at the dinner following the concert. Space for the dinner is very limited and priority will be based upon the date your order is received.
Take Note: Drinks Allowed in Overture Hall
Please take note that drinks are allowed inside Overture Hall during all Madison Symphony Orchestra concerts. You may pre-order food and drink to be picked up in the lobby, or order at bars and concession stands located around the Overture Hall lobby before each concert and during intermission. Please enjoy food in the lobby and unwrap any candy or cough drops before the performance begins. Thank you!
“Superb performance, thrilling in every way. DeMain does it again!” –MSO Patron
“Call it star quality – music likes Kern, the way the camera liked Garbo.” –Washington Post
Diane Ballweg
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Charles McLimans & Richard Merrion
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Lau & Bea Christensen
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David Lauth & Lindsey Thomas
Stephen Morton & Rochelle Stillman
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Sharon Stark
Carolyn White
With a vivid onstage presence, dazzling technique, and passionate musicality, pianist Olga Kern is widely recognized as one of the great artists of her generation, captivating audiences and critics alike.
In 2001, Olga launched her U.S. career at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, winning a Gold Medal— the only woman in the last fifty years to do so. She has since performed extensively with top-tier ensembles, among them the St. Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.), Czech Philharmonic, and Filarmonica della Scala. She has also scored success with Tokyo’s NHK Symphony, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, StuttgartPhilharmonic, and Pittsburgh Symphony. She was a soloist on widely acclaimed U.S. tours with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine; and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 2018, 2019, and 2022. Olga performs riveting recitals throughout the world, playing in places such as New York, Fort Worth, Minneapolis, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, and Italy as well as with renowned organizations including The Gilmore PianoFestival, Chamber Music San Francisco, Hollywood Bowl, Ravinia Festival, the Minnesota Beethoven Festival, Bad Kissingen (Germany), Radio France FestivalMontpellier, and others.
In the 2022–2023 season, Olga appeared with the Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Filarmónicade Gran Canaria, Ireland’s National Symphony Orchestra, and Colorado Symphony. She performed recitals at the American Pianists Association Conference in Indianapolis and the International Piano Festival of Oeiras in Portugal as well as in Milan, Italy; Virginia Beach; Chicago; and San Francisco. Engagements in the 2023–2024 season include performances of Rachmaninoff’s monumental fourconcertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Austin Symphonyand Virginia Symphony Orchestra and a nationally broadcast New Year’s concertwith the Czech Philharmonic. Other 2023–2024 engagements include Santa RosaSymphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Toledo Symphony, Pacific Symphony, AshevilleSymphony, a tour of South Africa, and performances with Prague Symphony, TaipeiSymphony; and Tokyo Symphony.
Olga has served as a jury chairman of several high-profile competitions, including her own, the Olga KernInternational Piano Competition, of which she is Artistic Director. A dedicated educator, she has been on the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Musics since 2017, and in 2019, she was appointed the Connie and Marc Jacobson Director of Chamber Music at the Virginia Arts Festival. She also established“Aspiration,” a foundation that provides financial assistance to musicians around the world. Olga is a Steinway Artist.
Her well-regarded discography includes works of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Brahms, and Shostakovich.
Olga’s iconic dresses are designed by Alex Teih (New York), and her jewelry is designed by Alex Soldier (New York).