Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an orchestra
based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. Its primary performing venue is the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
. Founded in 1959, the MSO presents more than 150 Classics, Classical Connections, Pops, and family concerts annually for more than 200,000 people during a season that starts in early September and continues through the end of June. From 1997 to 2009, the MSO's music director was Andreas Delfs
. He stepped down from this position in June 2009 and became the MSO's conductor laureate. Delfs' successor is former San Francisco Symphony
and Minnesota Orchestra
music director and current Hong Kong Philharmonic chief conductor and artistic director Edo de Waart
. Maestro de Waart was named to the position on January 3, 2008. Marvin Hamlisch
is the MSO's current principal Pops conductor. He was named to the post on November 16, 2007, replacing the retired Doc Severinsen
, who holds the title of principal Pops conductor emeritus. Stuart Chafetz became the MSO's resident conductor in July 2007.
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra serves as the orchestra for Florentine Opera
productions, and also serves as the state orchestra through an extensive Wisconsin tour program. Outside Wisconsin, the Orchestra has made 13 appearances at Carnegie Hall
and toured Cuba
, Japan
, Europe
, and the Dominican Republic
.
The MSO has presented more than 100 world and American premieres of works by composers such as Philip Glass
, Daron Hagen
, Daniel Schnyder, Roberto Sierra
, Gunther Schuller
, William Schuman
, Lukas Foss
, Roy Harris
, Gian Carlo Menotti
, Richard Rodgers
, Ottorino Respighi
, Jean Sibelius
, Erich Korngold and others. Over 22 compositions have been by MSO musicians.
and former artist-in-residence Nicholas McGegan
. The series includes performances of works by Mendelssohn, Stravinsky, Brahms, Dvořák and Beethoven. MSO commissions include Glass’ Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra and Wuorinen’s Symphony Seven. Frequent appearances by the acclaimed Milwaukee Symphony Chorus
, under director Lee Erickson, include Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Britten's War Requiem.
Pops concerts are also performed between September and June, taking place Friday through Sunday in Uihlein Hall. Prior guest stars have included Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
, Yo-Yo Ma
, Regina Carter
, Sarah Chang
, The Chieftains
and many others.
In 2004, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra premiered Classical Connections, a series offering a new format to meet the diverse interests of symphony patrons and Milwaukee’s cultural attendees. This new subscription series takes place on Thursday evenings and has a relaxed format, with a host providing informational commentary from the stage; technical effects like videos and supertitles; pre-concert social activities; and a shorter, 75-minute performance without intermission.
The Kinderkonzert Series, formerly Sunday for Families, introduces children ages 3–10 to classical music. These performances combine themes to which young listeners can easily relate with music, multimedia, guest artists, scenery, and animation. A month before each concert, "Learn and Play" materials are mailed to subscribers. These packets offer playful and educational activities for families to do together in preparation for the concert. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra League sponsors activities before the concert, where children can visit the Musical Instrument Petting Zoo, learn to conduct the beat using brightly colored scarves, and create their own dances.
in 1999, the first American symphony orchestra to do so since the U.S. embargo against Cuba
was implemented in 1962.
In an era when many major orchestras have curtailed their state touring programs, the MSO remains committed to its role as Wisconsin's state orchestra. For more than 37 years, the MSO's State Tour travels to communities throughout Wisconsin, offering many adult and youth audiences unique opportunities to hear live classical music. Among other destinations, the Orchestra has traveled to Fish Creek
, Fond du Lac
, Marinette
, Ripon
, Rhinelander
, Three Lakes
, West Bend
, Whitewater
, Wisconsin, and Naperville, Illinois
.
Through the annual Patrice "Patti" Bringe and Richard Bloomist Hometown Holiday Tour, the MSO brings free concerts to Milwaukee area residents. Designed to bring music to those who might not be able to attend a concert in the Marcus Center, the tour has played at hospitals and community centers.
, American Indian Center and Milwaukee Ballet
.
The MSO also offers concerts for youth and high school students. The MSO's education programs served over 40,000 children from Milwaukee, southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois
. Schools attending youth concerts received free in-school presentations by MSO League docents and MSO musicians to prepare and help them understand the performances. Students attending high school concerts were invited to participate in talk-backs with the conductor, guest artists and MSO musicians. The MSO and Milwaukee Public Schools
continued a partnership that provided MPS students the opportunity to attend MSO youth or high school concerts for substantially reduced ticket prices.
The MSO offers several opportunities for Milwaukee area students to develop their performance abilities. The Private Lesson Scholarship Program provides area music students with financial need the unique opportunity to study one-on-one with professional orchestra players from the MSO for free. Furthermore, young violin students are invited to audition for the annual Bach Double Violin Concerto Competition, the winners of which perform at a spring ACE concert. Gifted Wisconsin high school instrumental musicians who win the MSO's annual Young Artist Competition receive the honor of performing as soloists or as stand partners in an evening concert with the MSO.
's Hansel und Gretel. It was recorded on the Avie
label and was released internationally to rave reviews. In 2002, the MSO released a CD featuring Prokofiev
’s Romeo and Juliet
and Tchaikovsky
’s The Nutcracker
. The Cuba Concerts CD features a live recording made during the MSO's 1999 Cuba Millennium Tour. 1999 also saw the release of an a cappella CD featuring the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus.
The MSO has also released 14 recordings on the Koss Classics and Telarc labels. These include such projects as the complete symphonies of Antonín Dvořák
; an all-Kodaly
disc; an acclaimed recording of Beethoven
's Symphony No. 9
; Berlioz
' Symphonie Fantastique
; Prokofiev
’s Alexander Nevsky
; and Smetana
's Ma Vlast
. On September 16, 2005, the MSO became the first American orchestra to sell recordings of recent concerts for download on iTunes
and through the orchestra's web site.
Through the WFMT
Radio Network, recordings of MSO concerts reach 2.6 million people across the U.S. and are taped for international radio syndication and statewide television broadcast. In 2004, radio programs were syndicated by WFMT to 241 cities across the United States including Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and Dallas. MSO performances have been carried to the UK
and Europe over the BBC. Also each season, MSO concerts are carried statewide on commercial and public television.
Harry John Brown, 76, a conductor and a Local 802 member since 1954, died August 30.
Born in Chicago, Mr. Brown was educated at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Chicago. He worked extensively with the Miami Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Pops and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He became the MSO's first music director in 1959 and, during his nine-year tenure, led the orchestra's transition from a semi-professional pops group to a fully professional symphony.
In 1968 he joined the music faculty at the State University of New York at Fredonia, remaining there until he retired in 1991. Mr. Brown also had a busy career in New York City studios. He conducted orchestras and bands on many television shows, including "The Voice of Firestone," "The Steve Allen Show," "The Arthur Godfrey Show" and many ABC Christmas specials.
Memorial donations can be made to the Harry John Brown Musical Theatre Scholarship Fund, Fredonia College Foundation, 2148 Fenton Hall, Fredonia, NY 14063.
Awarded to: Musical Theatre major who shows dedication to the profession. (Established September 2000). Background: Harry John Brown was born in Chicago on June 6, 1924. He was the son of the late Dr. Harry Louis Brown and Libushka Bartusek Brown. Maestro Brown was appointed to the SUNY Fredonia faculty in 1968 by the N.Y.S. Board of Regents who named him one of SUNY's first Distinguished Professors. He retired from Fredonia in 1991. Prior to coming to Fredonia, Maestro Brown was Music Director and Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony for 10 years. He also was Music Director/Conductor of the Tri-City Symphony in Davenport, Iowa, and toured the country for five years with his own Manhattan Concert Orchestra. He served as guest conductor for many orchestras including five seasons with Arthur Fielder and the Boston Pops as Associate Conductor and Resident Conductor of the Miami Philharmonic Orchestra. Maestro Brown was familiar to television audiences such as the Voice of Firestone, Steve Allen Show, Arthur Godfrey Show and Christmas specials. He received many honors including New York Philharmonic Young Composers Award, The Pere Marquette Award from Marquette University, the Distinctive Civic Service Award from Mount Mary College, Honorary Citizen of Maryland, Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay and the Fredonia College Foundation's Distinguished Service Award. He completed his Bachelor of Music degree in two years at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester in 1947. He received his Master of Arts degree in 1948 from the University of Chicago. Harry John Brown died on August 30, 2000, in Fredonia, N.Y
Delfs stepped down from the music directorship in 2009. Edo de Waart
began his tenure as the orchestra's music director in 2009.
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. Its primary performing venue is the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
Marcus Center
The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It serves as the home of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Florentine Opera, Milwaukee Ballet, First Stage Children's Theater and other local arts organizations...
. Founded in 1959, the MSO presents more than 150 Classics, Classical Connections, Pops, and family concerts annually for more than 200,000 people during a season that starts in early September and continues through the end of June. From 1997 to 2009, the MSO's music director was Andreas Delfs
Andreas Delfs
Andreas Delfs is a German conductor. He is the conductor laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Honolulu Symphony.-Biography:...
. He stepped down from this position in June 2009 and became the MSO's conductor laureate. Delfs' successor is former San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
and Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Emil Oberhoffer founded the orchestra as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, and it gave its first performance on November 5 of that year. In 1968 the orchestra changed to its name to the Minnesota Orchestra...
music director and current Hong Kong Philharmonic chief conductor and artistic director Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart is a Dutch conductor, and the Music Director of both the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra....
. Maestro de Waart was named to the position on January 3, 2008. Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
is the MSO's current principal Pops conductor. He was named to the post on November 16, 2007, replacing the retired Doc Severinsen
Doc Severinsen
Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen is an American pop and jazz trumpeter. He is best known for leading the NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.-Early life:...
, who holds the title of principal Pops conductor emeritus. Stuart Chafetz became the MSO's resident conductor in July 2007.
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra serves as the orchestra for Florentine Opera
Florentine Opera
The Florentine Opera Company is Wisconsin's oldest fully professional performing arts organization and the sixth-oldest opera company in the United States. The company presents on three staged productions per season largely from the standard operatic repertoire...
productions, and also serves as the state orchestra through an extensive Wisconsin tour program. Outside Wisconsin, the Orchestra has made 13 appearances at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
and toured Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
.
The MSO has presented more than 100 world and American premieres of works by composers such as Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
, Daron Hagen
Daron Hagen
Daron Aric Hagen , is an American composer, conductor, pianist, educator, librettist, and stage director of contemporary classical music and opera.- Early life and education :...
, Daniel Schnyder, Roberto Sierra
Roberto Sierra
Roberto Sierra is a composer of contemporary classical music.Sierra studied composition in Europe, notably with György Ligeti in Hamburg, Germany...
, Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :...
, William Schuman
William Schuman
William Howard Schuman was an American composer and music administrator.-Life:Born in Manhattan in New York City to Samuel and Rachel Schuman, Schuman was named after the twenty-seventh U.S. president, William Howard Taft, although his family preferred to call him Bill...
, Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
, Roy Harris
Roy Harris
Roy Ellsworth Harris , was an American composer. He wrote much music on American subjects, becoming best known for his Symphony No...
, Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
, Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
, Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
, Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
, Erich Korngold and others. Over 22 compositions have been by MSO musicians.
Concert series
From September through June, Classics Series concerts are performed Friday through Sunday in Uihlein Hall at the Marcus Center. Maestro Delfs conducts a number of the programs, and guest conductors have included Helmuth RillingHelmuth Rilling
Helmuth Rilling is an internationally known German choral conductor, founder of the Gächinger Kantorei , the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , the Oregon Bach Festival , the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart and other Bach Academies worldwide, and the "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart"...
and former artist-in-residence Nicholas McGegan
Nicholas McGegan
Nicholas McGegan OBE is a British harpsichordist, flautist, conductor and early music expert....
. The series includes performances of works by Mendelssohn, Stravinsky, Brahms, Dvořák and Beethoven. MSO commissions include Glass’ Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra and Wuorinen’s Symphony Seven. Frequent appearances by the acclaimed Milwaukee Symphony Chorus
Milwaukee Symphony Chorus
The Milwaukee Symphony Chorus is the choral ensemble of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1976 by Margaret Hawkins at the request of then-MSO music director Kenneth Schermerhorn, it was originally called the Wisconsin Conservatory Symphony Chorus and filled a need for the MSO to have a...
, under director Lee Erickson, include Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Britten's War Requiem.
Pops concerts are also performed between September and June, taking place Friday through Sunday in Uihlein Hall. Prior guest stars have included Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
Nadja Rose Catherine Salerno-Sonnenberg is an Italian-born classical violinist, author, and teacher. She is a United States citizen.-Career:...
, Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
, Regina Carter
Regina Carter
Regina Carter is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of famous jazz saxophonist James Carter.-Early life:...
, Sarah Chang
Sarah Chang
Sarah Chang is a Korean American violinist. Her debut came in 1989 with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Shortly thereafter, Chang was recognized as a child prodigy. She enrolled at Juilliard School to study music, graduating in 1999 and continuing university studies...
, The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
and many others.
In 2004, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra premiered Classical Connections, a series offering a new format to meet the diverse interests of symphony patrons and Milwaukee’s cultural attendees. This new subscription series takes place on Thursday evenings and has a relaxed format, with a host providing informational commentary from the stage; technical effects like videos and supertitles; pre-concert social activities; and a shorter, 75-minute performance without intermission.
The Kinderkonzert Series, formerly Sunday for Families, introduces children ages 3–10 to classical music. These performances combine themes to which young listeners can easily relate with music, multimedia, guest artists, scenery, and animation. A month before each concert, "Learn and Play" materials are mailed to subscribers. These packets offer playful and educational activities for families to do together in preparation for the concert. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra League sponsors activities before the concert, where children can visit the Musical Instrument Petting Zoo, learn to conduct the beat using brightly colored scarves, and create their own dances.
Touring
The MSO made a minor media splash when it toured CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in 1999, the first American symphony orchestra to do so since the U.S. embargo against Cuba
United States embargo against Cuba
The United States embargo against Cuba is a commercial, economic, and financial embargo partially imposed on Cuba in October 1960...
was implemented in 1962.
In an era when many major orchestras have curtailed their state touring programs, the MSO remains committed to its role as Wisconsin's state orchestra. For more than 37 years, the MSO's State Tour travels to communities throughout Wisconsin, offering many adult and youth audiences unique opportunities to hear live classical music. Among other destinations, the Orchestra has traveled to Fish Creek
Fish Creek, Wisconsin
Fish Creek is an unincorporated community located in Door County, Wisconsin, United States, within the town of Gibraltar and is located on Highway 42 along Green Bay.-History:...
, Fond du Lac
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Fond du Lac is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The name is French for bottom of the lake, for it is located at the bottom of Lake Winnebago. The population was 42,203 at the 2000 census...
, Marinette
Marinette, Wisconsin
Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,749 at the 2000 census.Marinette is the principal city of the Marinette, WI–MI Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Marinette County, Wisconsin and Menominee...
, Ripon
Ripon, Wisconsin
Ripon is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,828. The City of Ripon's official website claims the city's current population to be 7,701. The city is surrounded by the Town of Ripon....
, Rhinelander
Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Rhinelander is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population was 7,735 at the 2000 census.-Claim to fame:...
, Three Lakes
Three Lakes, Wisconsin
Three Lakes is a town in Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,339 at the 2000 census. The census-designated place of Three Lakes is located in the town.-Geography:...
, West Bend
West Bend, Wisconsin
West Bend is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Wisconsin, United States in southeastern Wisconsin. The population was estimated to be 29,894 in 2008...
, Whitewater
Whitewater, Wisconsin
Whitewater is a city in Jefferson and Walworth Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located near the southern portion of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Whitewater is the home of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.-Geography:...
, Wisconsin, and Naperville, Illinois
Naperville, Illinois
Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,...
.
Through the annual Patrice "Patti" Bringe and Richard Bloomist Hometown Holiday Tour, the MSO brings free concerts to Milwaukee area residents. Designed to bring music to those who might not be able to attend a concert in the Marcus Center, the tour has played at hospitals and community centers.
Educational programs
The MSO offers a number of educational opportunities including the Arts in Community Education (ACE) program. ACE is designed to develop and build critical and creative thinking skills in children through an integration of the arts within their daily curriculum. Supporting Wisconsin's Academic Content and Performance Standards, ACE uses the arts to emphasize lessons learned in other academic subjects, including math, science, social studies, and language arts. ACE embraces diverse artistic heritages in the community by collaborating with partner groups composed of local artists from cultural organizations including the Skylight Opera TheatreSkylight opera theatre
The Skylight Opera Theatre is a professional light opera company located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1959, Skylight performs in the 358-seat Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee...
, American Indian Center and Milwaukee Ballet
Milwaukee Ballet
The Milwaukee Ballet is a professional ballet company located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1969 by Roberta Boorse and held its first performance on April 24, 1970. It is currently ranked among the top twelve ballet companies in the United States...
.
The MSO also offers concerts for youth and high school students. The MSO's education programs served over 40,000 children from Milwaukee, southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Schools attending youth concerts received free in-school presentations by MSO League docents and MSO musicians to prepare and help them understand the performances. Students attending high school concerts were invited to participate in talk-backs with the conductor, guest artists and MSO musicians. The MSO and Milwaukee Public Schools
Milwaukee Public Schools
Milwaukee Public Schools is the largest school district in Wisconsin. As of 2007, it had an enrollment of 87,360 students, and as of 2006 employed 6,100 full-time and substitute teachers in 223 schools. The Milwaukee Public Schools system is the 33rd largest in the United States by enrollment...
continued a partnership that provided MPS students the opportunity to attend MSO youth or high school concerts for substantially reduced ticket prices.
The MSO offers several opportunities for Milwaukee area students to develop their performance abilities. The Private Lesson Scholarship Program provides area music students with financial need the unique opportunity to study one-on-one with professional orchestra players from the MSO for free. Furthermore, young violin students are invited to audition for the annual Bach Double Violin Concerto Competition, the winners of which perform at a spring ACE concert. Gifted Wisconsin high school instrumental musicians who win the MSO's annual Young Artist Competition receive the honor of performing as soloists or as stand partners in an evening concert with the MSO.
Recordings and broadcasts
In 2004, the MSO released the first modern recording in English of HumperdinckEngelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province; at the age of 67 he died in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.-Life:After receiving piano lessons, Humperdinck produced his first composition...
's Hansel und Gretel. It was recorded on the Avie
Avie Records
Avie Records is an independent classical music recording company founded in 2002 by Simon Foster and Melanne Mueller.Many major classical music recording artists like Trevor Pinnock, conductors Michael Tilson Thomas, Semyon Bychkov and viol consort Phantasm record for Avie, which has released more...
label and was released internationally to rave reviews. In 2002, the MSO released a CD featuring Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
’s Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)
Romeo and Juliet is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It is one of the most enduringly popular ballets...
and Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
’s The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
. The Cuba Concerts CD features a live recording made during the MSO's 1999 Cuba Millennium Tour. 1999 also saw the release of an a cappella CD featuring the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus.
The MSO has also released 14 recordings on the Koss Classics and Telarc labels. These include such projects as the complete symphonies of Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
; an all-Kodaly
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....
disc; an acclaimed recording of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's Symphony No. 9
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
; Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
' Symphonie Fantastique
Symphonie Fantastique
Symphonie Fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un Artiste...en cinq parties , Op. 14, is a program symphony written by the French composer Hector Berlioz in 1830. It is one of the most important and representative pieces of the early Romantic period, and is still very popular with concert audiences...
; Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
’s Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir during some of the most trying times in the city's history. Commonly regarded as the key figure of medieval Rus, Alexander was the grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest and rose to legendary status on account of his military...
; and Smetana
Bedrich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
's Ma Vlast
Má vlast
Má vlast is a set of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. While it is often presented as a single work in six movements and – with the exception of Vltava– is almost always recorded that way, the six pieces were conceived as individual works...
. On September 16, 2005, the MSO became the first American orchestra to sell recordings of recent concerts for download on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and through the orchestra's web site.
Through the WFMT
WFMT
WFMT is an FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a format of fine arts, classical music programming, and shows exploring such genres as folk and jazz). The station is managed by Window To The World Communications, Inc., owner of WTTW, one of Chicago's two Public Broadcasting Service ...
Radio Network, recordings of MSO concerts reach 2.6 million people across the U.S. and are taped for international radio syndication and statewide television broadcast. In 2004, radio programs were syndicated by WFMT to 241 cities across the United States including Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and Dallas. MSO performances have been carried to the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Europe over the BBC. Also each season, MSO concerts are carried statewide on commercial and public television.
Music directors
- Harry John Brown (1960–1968)
Harry John Brown, 76, a conductor and a Local 802 member since 1954, died August 30.
Born in Chicago, Mr. Brown was educated at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Chicago. He worked extensively with the Miami Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Pops and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He became the MSO's first music director in 1959 and, during his nine-year tenure, led the orchestra's transition from a semi-professional pops group to a fully professional symphony.
In 1968 he joined the music faculty at the State University of New York at Fredonia, remaining there until he retired in 1991. Mr. Brown also had a busy career in New York City studios. He conducted orchestras and bands on many television shows, including "The Voice of Firestone," "The Steve Allen Show," "The Arthur Godfrey Show" and many ABC Christmas specials.
Memorial donations can be made to the Harry John Brown Musical Theatre Scholarship Fund, Fredonia College Foundation, 2148 Fenton Hall, Fredonia, NY 14063.
Awarded to: Musical Theatre major who shows dedication to the profession. (Established September 2000). Background: Harry John Brown was born in Chicago on June 6, 1924. He was the son of the late Dr. Harry Louis Brown and Libushka Bartusek Brown. Maestro Brown was appointed to the SUNY Fredonia faculty in 1968 by the N.Y.S. Board of Regents who named him one of SUNY's first Distinguished Professors. He retired from Fredonia in 1991. Prior to coming to Fredonia, Maestro Brown was Music Director and Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony for 10 years. He also was Music Director/Conductor of the Tri-City Symphony in Davenport, Iowa, and toured the country for five years with his own Manhattan Concert Orchestra. He served as guest conductor for many orchestras including five seasons with Arthur Fielder and the Boston Pops as Associate Conductor and Resident Conductor of the Miami Philharmonic Orchestra. Maestro Brown was familiar to television audiences such as the Voice of Firestone, Steve Allen Show, Arthur Godfrey Show and Christmas specials. He received many honors including New York Philharmonic Young Composers Award, The Pere Marquette Award from Marquette University, the Distinctive Civic Service Award from Mount Mary College, Honorary Citizen of Maryland, Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay and the Fredonia College Foundation's Distinguished Service Award. He completed his Bachelor of Music degree in two years at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester in 1947. He received his Master of Arts degree in 1948 from the University of Chicago. Harry John Brown died on August 30, 2000, in Fredonia, N.Y
- Kenneth SchermerhornKenneth SchermerhornKenneth Dewitt Schermerhorn was an American composer and orchestra conductor, most notably for the Nashville Symphony.-Biography:Schermerhorn was born in Schenectady, New York, where he studied clarinet, violin, and trumpet in school. At age 14, he forged a baptismal certificate to appear older so...
(1968–1980) - Lukas FossLukas FossLukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
(1981–1986) - Zdeněk MácalZdenek MácalZdeněk Mácal is a Czech conductor.Mácal began violin lessons with his father at age four. He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, where he graduated in 1960 with top honors. He became principal conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and...
(1986–1995) - Andreas DelfsAndreas DelfsAndreas Delfs is a German conductor. He is the conductor laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Honolulu Symphony.-Biography:...
(1997–2009) - Edo de WaartEdo de WaartEdo de Waart is a Dutch conductor, and the Music Director of both the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra....
(2009–present)
Delfs stepped down from the music directorship in 2009. Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart is a Dutch conductor, and the Music Director of both the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra....
began his tenure as the orchestra's music director in 2009.