FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 1, 2024
October MSO Concerts Feature Special Guest Conductor Nicholas Hersh
October 18-20, 2024 in Overture Hall
Madison, Wis. – The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s (MSO) second performance of their exciting 99th season, “Visions”, features the first of several guest conductors. Nicholas Hersh has earned critical acclaim for his innovative programming and natural ability to connect with musicians and audiences alike. Hersh calls this concert “immensely evocative” and describes the music as “all about the relationship of the human and the supernatural.” The program begins with the MSO premiere of British composer Anna Clyne’s This Midnight Hour, a piece based on poetry by Charles Baudelaire and Juan Ramón Jiménez that is sure to evoke a visual journey for the listener. Violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins returns to perform two works, beginning with the gentle The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams, based upon a poem by George Meredith. She then plays Tzigane, Maurice Ravel’s virtuosic take on Roma fiddling. Critically acclaimed Hall-Tompkins plays “with a tonal mastery, a technical command, and a strength of personality” that you won’t want to miss. This program finishes with the monumental Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz, a passionate and musical vision.
“Visions” performances will take place on Friday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 20 at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall, 201 State Street.
Concert, Ticket and Event Details
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert. The Symphony recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations.
Single tickets begin at $15 and are on sale now through the Overture Center Box office. Tickets can be purchased online at overture.org, in-person or by phone by calling (608) 258-4141 during Box Office hours. Note that fees apply to online and phone orders. No fees for in-person purchase at the Overture Box Office, 201 State Street. More information can be found at https://madisonsymphony.org/event/visions/
Health & Safety Precautions
Masks are optional but encouraged in the lobby, during all performances, and at the post-concert receptions. Proof of vaccination is no longer required to enter Overture Center. More information about the many safety protocols can be found at overture.org/health, and madisonsymphony.org/health.
Money Back Guarantee
The MSO will continue to offer a refund for tickets to any concert that cannot be performed for any reason. The MSO will adhere to all public health guidelines and cooperate with Overture Center for the Arts for the safety of its audiences, musicians and staff. Programs, dates, and artists subject to change.
About Nicholas Hersh
Nicholas Hersh grew up in Evanston, Illinois and started his musical training as a cellist. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Stanford University and a Master’s Degree in Conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying with David Effron and Arthur Fagen. Over a remarkable tenure as Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Hersh created the BSO Pulse series, through which he brought together indie bands and orchestral musicians in unique collaborations; he led the BSO in several subscription weeks, and concerts in and around Baltimore; and he directed the BSO’s educational and family programming, including the celebrated Academy for adult amateur musicians. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hersh developed and conducted the BSO’s new digital concert series, BSO Sessions. Mixing performance with documentary-style interviews, Hersh introduced the BSO and online audiences to a wide variety of new repertoire, including numerous living composers as well as seldom-performed historical composers. “His commitment to performing works by composers of color,” described BSO leadership, “will continue to inform the BSO’s programming long into the future.”
About Kelly Hall-Tompkins
Acclaimed by the New York Times as “the versatile violinist who makes the music come alive” and as a 2017 New York Times “New Yorker of the Year,” for her “tonal mastery” (BBC Music Magazine) and “Groundbreaking” recording projects (STRINGS Magazine), and featured in the Smithsonian Museum of African- American History, violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins is trailblazing an innovative, creative and entrepreneurial career as a soloist and chamber musician. Winner of a Naumburg International Violin Competition Honorarium Prize, Concert Artists Guild Career Grant, and Sphinx Medal of Excellence, Ms. Hall-Tompkins has appeared as soloist as the Inaugural Artist in Residence with the Cincinnati Symphony and with orchestras including the Dallas Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, Greenville Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of New York, Gateways Music Festival, for the Manhattan School Centennial Gala at Carnegie Hall with co-soloist Glenn Dicterow, under the baton of Leonard Slatkin, and a Brevard Festival Orchestra under the baton of Keith Lockhart.
About the Madison Symphony Orchestra
The Madison Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 99th season in 2024–2025. The MSO has grown to be one of America’s leading regional orchestras, providing Madison and south-central Wisconsin with cultural and educational opportunities to interact with great masterworks and top-tier guest artists from around the world. The 2024-2025 season commemorates the 20th anniversary of the opening of Overture Center for the Arts and the 20th anniversary of the MSO’s Overture Concert Organ. The MSO’s 100th anniversary season celebration will take place during the 2025-2026 season. Learn more at madisonsymphony.org.
The presenting sponsor for “Visions” is Marvin J. Levy. Major funding is provided by Kay Schwichtenberg and Herman Baumann. Additional funding is provided by the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Contact: Peter Rodgers, Director of Marketing
Phone: (608) 260-8680 x226
Mobile: (415) 713-0235
Email: prodgers@madisonsymphony.org
Web: madisonsymphony.org