This Month at the Madison Symphony…
Gershwin!
Friday & Saturday, May 10th-11th at 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 12th at 2:30 pm
Our 99th season finale opens with Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, pulsing with Caribbean rhythms from dance music he fell in love with on a vacation to Havana. Beloved pianist Philippe Bianconi returns for his seventh appearance performing Gershwin’s masterpiece Concerto in F. Our maestro John DeMain has conducted more than 400 performances of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess throughout the world. He led a history-making production with the Houston Grand Opera, winning a Grammy Award, Tony Award, and France’s Grand Prix de Disque for the RCA recording. He brings Michelle Johnson, Eric Greene, and our Madison Symphony Chorus together to share his passion for this iconic work to close the season!
Event Details
Location: Overture Hall
Tickets: $15-$104
Featuring
John DeMain, Conductor
Philippe Bianconi, Piano
Michelle Johnson, Soprano
Eric Greene, Baritone
Madison Symphony Chorus, Beverly Taylor, Director
Out at the Symphony
Sunday, May 11th at 11:00 am
Out at the Symphony continues with a twist! Instead of our typical post-concert receptions, join us for a pre-concert drag brunch featuring four local Wisconsin drag queens in Overture Hall’s Upper Lobby. Meet musicians of the MSO, eat, drink, and see some incredible performances that mix drag with classical, jazz, and more! Please RSVP by Sunday, May 4th!
Event Details
Location: Overture Center Upper Lobby
Tickets: All tickets $35-$55
While we are paying each of the performers, we ask that you bring cash to tip the performers during the show. We will have small bills on hand to help with giving change but encourage you to acquire smaller bills/cash prior to the event. Click here to learn about drag performance etiquette.
If you purchase the $55 package, you get a $20 discounted circle-level seat for the concert prior to the event. At the event, you are invited to the Overture Center’s Upper Lobby for drag performances with food provided as well as two drink tickets. You will have the opportunity to meet musicians of the Madison Symphony, our guest artists, and other members of the community who share similar interests.
Rhapsodie Quartet May Recital
Tuesday, May 20th at 7:00 pm
The resident quartet of our award-winning HeartStrings® program, the Rhapsodie Quartet includes our Co-Concertmaster Suzanne Beia, Principal Violist Christopher Dozoryst, Principal Cellist Karl Lavine, and violinist Laura Burns. United in mission, the members of the quartet create a fusion of talent, passion, and heart in their performances. This particular performance will include two guest musicians Violist Katrin Talbot, and Cellist Mark Bridges. Join us in Overture Center’s Promenade Hall — it’s FREE and open to the public!
Event Details
Location: Promenade Hall, Overture Center for the Arts
Tickets: FREE
Music
Arnold Schönberg, Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) for String Sextet
Johannes Brahms, String Quintet in G Major, Op. 111
Hunt Quartet May Recital
Thursday, May 22nd at 7:00 pm
The Hunt Quartet of the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Up Close & Musical® program is excited to present this recital! Up Close and Musical brings the power and beauty of classical music into the classrooms of elementary schools throughout Dane County. The curriculum is guided by the Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance model and academic standards for music, bringing the Hunt Quartet into six schools four times each year. Individual quartet members visit separate classrooms to conduct exciting and interactive lessons that send students on a hunt for the concepts of melody, rhythm, expression, and form.
The Hunt Quartet, made up of Madison Symphony violinists Paran Amirinazari and Hillary Hempel, violist Jennifer Paulson, and cellist Trace Johnson, are excited to put on this free performance at the Arts + Literature Laboratory!
Event Details
Location: Arts + Literature Laboratory
Tickets: FREE
Music
Imogen Holst, Phantasy Quartet
Maurice Ravel, String Quartet in F Major, Movement 2
Jessie Montgomery, Strum
Antonín Dvořák, String Quartet No. 12, op. 96, “American Quartet”
News & Stories
25/26 Symphony Subscriptions Are On Sale Now!
We have officially launched out 25/26 Symphony Season with 8 Subscription Concerts, 2 MSO at the Movies Concerts you can add on, 2 Centennial Opening Weekend Concerts you can add on and a FREE Centennial Closing Weekend Festival! Explore the next season here in our 25/26 Season Brochure and secure your seats with a subscription before single tickets go on sale August 23rd!
Overture Feature on Maestro John DeMain
Check out this excting feature Overture Center’s Hope Horne did on our MSO Maestro John DeMain for the Overture Center Website. She interviewed him all about the upcoming Gershwin concert next weekend and his time with the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
Symphony Moments: Empire Brass
Check out our most recent Symphony Moment’s post about the Organ concert held last month with Greg Zelek and guest artists Empire Brass . Read what the audience had to say after this performance and check out photos from the evening.
Symphony Moments: Yearnings
Check out our most recent Symphony Moment’s post about the Symphony concert that was held last month with special guests Joseph Young and Time for Three. Read what the audience had to say after this performance and check out photos from the evening.
Upcoming Concerts – You’re Invited!
Symphony at Sunset
June 17th
Join us at Burrows Park for Symphony at Sunset beginning at 5:00 pm which includes a reception, a 50-minute “Hooray For Hollywood” concert by members of the Madison Symphony Orchestra led by Maestro John DeMain, a plated dinner and live auction. This exciting summer benefit is for the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Education and Community Engagement Programs.
Upcoming Community Events
Madison Opera: Don Giovanni
May 2nd & 4th, 2025
According to his not-so-little black book, Don Giovanni has seduced thousands of women across Europe. Over the course of a scandalous few days, his misadventures come back to literally haunt him, as Mozart’s brilliant score whirls people in and out of the Don’s midst. Don Giovanni has thrilled and scandalized audiences from its first note to its last for centuries. Come find out why! Performances are this weekend only, on May 2 & 4 in Overture Hall. Ticket holders are also welcome to join Madison Opera General Director Kathryn Smith 1 hour prior to curtain for an entertaining half-hour Pre-Opera Talk looking at the history of Don Giovanni.
Learn More & Buy Tickets
Children’s Theater of Madison: The Trials
May 2nd-11th, 2025
In the not so distant future, as the climate emergency is gathering pace, the older generation is being judged. The jurors are their children. But are they delivering justice – or just taking revenge? Come find out for yourself and join us for this remarkable, highly relevant play! This is CTM’s Community Show, for 30% OFF all tickets, use PROMO CODE: GREEN2025. Plus, if you come Friday May 9 to the 7PM show, you’ll SAVE 50% with Promo Code: TeenNight25
Learn More & Buy Tickets
Forward Theater: Guilty Pleasures Monologue Festival
May 8th-10th, 2025
Twelve original monologues. Written by playwrights in Wisconsin and across the country. Revealing the comedies and tragedies found in our hidden vices. Indulge in an evening of confession and hilarity at our eighth Monologue Festival, Guilty Pleasures! This time, the stage becomes a sanctuary for the secret indulgences we dare not admit. This festival of original works promises a delightful journey through the joys, embarrassments, and sweet reliefs that come from embracing our most private delights.
Learn More & Buy Tickets
Receive Symphony Email News!
Our E-News & Stories newsletters are sent out via email approximately once a month. To sign up to receive this and other email news from the Madison Symphony Orchestra, sign up now!