Guest Conductor Joseph Young and guest artists Time For Three brought an electric energy to Overture Hall at our Yearnings concert on April 11-13. With a program featuring works by Prokofiev and Barber, as well as the MSO Premiere of Kevin Puts’ Contact, the performances on Friday and Saturday included encore performances from groups from the Suzuki Strings of Madison! Check out videos, reviews, and photos below!
Video Interviews
Check out some interviews of our guest conductor and guest artists on WMTV below!
Guest conductor calls upcoming MSO piece a ‘fresh take on modern music’
String trio ‘Time for Three’ previews upcoming weekend performance with MSO
The trio performs “Vertigo” written by Steve Hackman.
Madison Symphony Orchestra dances with Time for Three
By Matt Ambrosio // Cap Times
The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Friday evening concert was so captivating, so energetic and so much fun, I wanted to see it again (Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.).
Brilliant guest conductor Joseph Young, one of three finalists to take over for maestro John DeMain in 2026, led the MSO in Overture Hall. The ensemble hosts the electric string trio Time for Three, playing the Grammy-winning composition “Contact” by Kevin Puts.
“Contact” was set to premiere in 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic, giving extra significance to its title. This delay afforded Puts time to revise the work in collaboration with the trio to incorporate their unique style, which the composer has said “combines dazzling virtuosity, spontaneity, singing, all manner of string techniques, and an infectious joy for music itself.”
Time for Three boosted the energy in Overture Hall, moving about the stage — at times dancing, even jumping — as they let the music take over. At the core of “Contact” was a repeated swell, heard first in opening sung a cappella chords separated by moments of silence.
A Different Kind of Symphony Concert
By Bill Wineke // Madison Independent Arts Review
I think it’s pretty safe to say the Madison Symphony Orchestra has never presented concerts quite like the ones it is presenting this weekend. It has featured similar attractions, but not all in one concert.
To begin with, the concert has a guest conductor, Joseph Young, music director of the Berkeley Symphony. Nothing unusual about that. MSO Music Director John DeMain is retiring next year so the company is finding lots of guest conductors. The featured guest artists this weekend are the Time for Three string ensemble, an energetic trio that cavorts around the stage, leads group singing “You’re Just Too Good to be True.”
TF3, in turn, brought onstage the Suzuki Strings of Madison Sonora performance group, in this case 10 string players who appeared to be of high school age. And Young led the orchestra in a performance of Prokofiev’s “Selections of Romeo and Juliet,” meaning the conductor took the score of the ballet by that name and combined portions of each movement into one symphonic piece.
Friday’s performance was a really remarkable evening and proved wildly popular with the Overture Hall audience, who hooted and hollered and gave numerous standing ovations.
I think one thing that makes it remarkable is that these people are not used to working together. The planning for the concert took time but the execution was put together in just a few days. To me, at least, it says something good about Young that, in a concert that introduces him to a new audience, he took a back seat to a charismatic strings group and a number of truly lovely young people.
In addition to “Romeo and Juliet,” the program includes Samuel Barber’s “Second Essay for Orchestra” and Kevin Puts’ “Contact.” The TF3 group dominated “Contact.” I didn’t really care for the music but most everyone else in the audience certainly seemed to like it.
The concerts will be repeated Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Hear what the audience had to say…
“The overall energy in the hall through the entire program! Every piece and everyone was buzzing with it!”
“I loved the guest conductor! How he introduced the post-intermission piece with the samples of music that demonstrated what he was referencing really enriched my understanding of the piece. Well done!!!!”
“We found the experience to be one of the most exciting performances by the MSO! Joseph Young was very impressive in his pre-concert talk and throughout the performance. We thoroughly enjoyed his passion for the pieces performed and his symphony direction. We found the Puts’ “Contact” and Time for Three invigorating! This was one of favorite MSO performances ever!”
“I loved how Joseph Young introduced the music to be played by telling a story and then briefly having the orchestra perform that part. We also went to the discussion before the concert. I enjoyed hearing more about Joseph Young. He is an impressive, elegant conductor. I chose this event to listen to the Prokofiev piece, but I was moved more by the Barber Second Essay. Time for 3 was spectacular, thrilling, and energizing.”
“In my opinion, this was one of the best, if not the best concert of the season so far. I was completely drawn in to the musical performances from start to finish. Everything about this concert stirred me deeply. I could see and feel the strong yet sensitive connection Joseph Young had with the symphony musicians, eliciting from them a renewed passion for excellence in the quality of their performance. I have never seen a trio of talent like that of the Time for Three musicians. The two violin players were two of the most gifted I have ever heard in my life, and the bassist was superb. They are very talented vocalists as well. I loved their unique spin on how they perform–so much energy and enthusiasm. It was electrifying. If their CD hadn’t sold out, I would have bought one. But what I thought make them stand out so much was their mission of bringing their music to schools and educational venues to show the artistic value of music to youth in a way that makes music relatable and appealing to younger generations in order to keep music appreciation alive for future generations of musicians. What a worthy cause!”
