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to our generous sponsors for supporting these performances
Fernando and Carla Alvarado
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The Overture Concert Organ is the gift of Pleasant T. Rowland.
Support for all Overture Concert Organ Programs is provided by the Diane Endres Ballweg Fund.
We wish to thank our other organ contributors, the Malmquist Family, Margaret C. Winston, and Friends of the Overture Concert Organ.
Greg Zelek is the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Organist and the Elaine and Nicholas Mischler Curator of the Overture Concert Organ.
WELCOME TO THE MSO!
ver re o er rg Serie | S ri io Progr No. 3
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 | 7:30 pm
Limmie Pulliam, Tenor
Greg Zelek, Organ
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Triumphal March from Aïda
Celeste Aïda
(These two Verdi works will be played as a pair)
PIETRO MASCAGNI
Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana (arr. Greg Zelek)
GIACOMO PUCCINI
E’lucevan l’estelle from Tosca
GIUSEPPE VERDI
La donna è mobile from Rigletto
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Overture to Guillaume Tell (arr. Edwin Lamare and Greg Zelek)
TRADITIONAL
Give Me Jesus (arr. Moses Hogan)
TRADITIONAL
Ride On, King Jesus (arr. Hall Johnson)
WALLACE AND MINERVA WILLIS
Steal Away (arr. Harry T. Burleigh)
ANDRAÉ CROUCH
Through It All (arr. Greg Zelek)
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Nessun dorma from Turandot
Please note: This program will be performed without an intermission.
Please silence your electronic devices and cell phones for the duration of the concert. Photography and video are not permitted during the performance. You may take and share photos during applause. Thank you!
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Limmie Pulliam
tenor
Rising dramatic tenor Limmie Pulliam has thrilled audiences with his captivating stage presence and his “stentorian, yet beautiful,” sound. The 2024-25 season will feature a combination of exciting debuts and returns for Mr. Pulliam, including his role debut as Calaf in Turandot for a special enefit concert for niversit of Houston’s Moore School of Music, followed by further performances of the role in his debut with the Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Søndergård. Also on the symphonic stage, he joins Franz Welser-Möst for Mahler’s Das Lied von d er Erde, at the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich. He debuts with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as Radamès in Aida led by Music Director Jonathan Heyward, and collaborates again with Yannick Nézét-Seguin in his debut with the Orchestre Métropolitain for Bruckner’s Te Deum. Elsewhere during the season, he makes his role and house debut as Samson in Samson et Dalila with New Orleans Opera, house debuts with Austin Opera for Verdi’s Requiem and Arizona Opera as Radamès in Aida, and returns to Oberlin Conservatory for special performances of Rhiannon Giddens’ Omar During the 2023-2024 season, the tenor made his European debut with the Gewandhaus Orchester as the tenor soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, continuing his
collaboration with Maestro Franz Welser-Möst. In the States, Mr. Pulliam debuted the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca with Madison Opera, and returned to the role of Canio in Pagliacci in his company debut with Florida Grand Opera. While in Florida, he also made his debut with the New World Symphony for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Other concert appearances during the season include holiday concerts with the Madison Symphony, and a “Best of Verdi” concert with the Lubbock Symphony.
In 2022, Pulliam made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Radamès in Aida, which also served as his role debut. He later performed Radamès with Tulsa Opera for their 75th anniversary gala concert. Mr. Pulliam also returne to he Clevelan Orchestra for his first performances as Dick Johnson in Puccini’s La fanciulla del West, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. In concert, he debuted with the San Diego Symphony singing Verdi’s Requiem, and made his Carnegie Hall debut performing The Ordering of Moses in collaboration with Oberlin Conservatory, his alma mater. He joined pianist Mark Markham in recital with the Nashville Symphony and Delta Symphony, and closed the season with the Ojai Festival, presenting selections from Rhiannon Giddens’ critically-acclaimed new opera, Omar
Mr. Pulliam’s 2021-2022 season included his company and role debut with Los Angeles Opera as Manrico in Il Trovatore e a itionall a e two si nificant orchestra debuts, singing the title role in Otello with The Cleveland Orchestra and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with The Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Yannick Nézét-Seguin. He also appeared in concert with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City for a night of operatic greatest hits, and the Memphis Symphony for their rescheduled Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. During the summer, he joined Madison Opera for their widely popular Opera in the Park concert, and the Bard Music Festival as Albert in Rachmaninoff’s rarelyperformed The Miserly Knight, led by Leon Botstein.
An in-demand concert artist, Mr. Pulliam has performed Verdi’s Requiem with the Sprin fiel S phon Orchestra, and the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. He also made a much-anticipated return appearance with Vashon Opera where he was featured in a sold-out Limmie Pulliam & Friends concert. He has also joined The National Opera Association’s 2016 convention to
honor of their Lifetime Achievement Award recipient George Shirley, and appeared with The Concord Chorale as tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and the tenor soloist in Stainer’s Resurrection with New Covenant nite etho ist Church r ullia has been featured in numerous appearances with the internationally renowned chorale Gloriae Dei Cantores, as tenor soloist (Ahab/Obadiah) in Mendelssohn’s Elijah as well as in concerts featuring Intimations of Immortality and For St. Cecelia by Gerald Finzi. He appeared as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Forum Sinfonia Orchestra of Finland and soloist in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the San Angelo Symphony. Mr. Pulliam was also a featured soloist on The American Spiritual Ensemble’s 2013 Winter Tour.
The Missouri native trained with the late renowned pedagogue Richard Miller. He is also a former participant in the young artist programs of Cleveland Opera, Opera Delaware and Opera Memphis. He was the 2012 Artist Division Winner of the National Opera Association’s Vocal Competition and, in 2013, was a winner in the 3rd Annual Concorso Internazionale di Canto della Fondazione Marcello Giordano in Catania, Sicily.
Greg Zelek organ
Praised as “extraordinary in the classical music world” (Jon Hornbacher, PBS Wisconsin Life) and a “musical star” (Bill Wineke, Channel 3000), Greg Zelek is the Principal Organist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Curator of the Overture Concert Organ, where he oversees all of the MSO’s organ programming. Since September 2017, Greg has proudly held the Elaine and Nicholas Mischler Curatorship.
n a ition to concerti in throu hout the nite States, Greg regularly performs with orchestras as both a soloist and professional ensemble member, including the MET Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, Florida Orchestra, New World Symphony, Ridgewood Symphony, Miami Symphony, and Madison Symphony. He regularly performs as a soloist around the country, including venues such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jacoby Symphony Hall with the Jacksonville Symphony, and St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN, among others.
In 2016, Greg was chosen by The Diapason magazine as one of the top “20Under30” organists, a feature which selects the most successful young artists in the fiel e was the irst ri e winner in the 2012 o ers North American Classical Organ Competition, 2012 est Chester niversit Or an Co petition, an the 2010 ast Carolina niversit Or an Co petition recipient of the inaugural Kovner Fellowship, Greg received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, as well as an Artist Diploma, from the Juilliard School as a student of Paul Jacobs. Greg, who is Cuban-American and a native Spanish speaker, grew up in Miami, Florida. For more information on upcoming performances, please visit greg e ek o
program notes
Feb 25, 2025
program notes by J.
Michael Allsen
Tenor Limmie Pulliam has already thrilled Madison audiences with a pair of back-to-back performances last season: in the Madison Opera production of Tosca in November 2023, and MSO’s 2023 holiday program in December. He returns to Italian opera in this performance with Greg Zelek, singing selections by Verdi and Puccini. Later in the program, he turns to black spirituals and gospel music. For his part, Zelek plays transcriptions of instrumental sections of operas by Mascagni and Rossini.
In 1869, Giuseppe Verdi (18131901) was asked to provide an appropriate piece to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal. Though he refused this commission, a few months later, he read a scenario by the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, an invented story about Aïda, an Ethiopian princess held captive by the Egyptians. Camille du Locle, a Parisian impresario had sent the story in hopes of interesting Verdi in writing a piece for the opening of the new Cairo opera house. Verdi, who had grown fairly picky about the stories he set to music by this time, was intrigued, and quickly engaged Antonio Ghislanzoni to create a libretto. Though its premiere was delayed by the Franco-Prussian War (the sets could not be sent from Paris), Aïda was finall pre iere in Cairo on December 24, 1871. Verdi did not attend—he hated sea travel and jokingly remarked that “I might turn into a mummy.” However, the premiere was wildly successful,
as was a second performance in Milan a few months later. The great Triumphal March comes from Act II. In the great square of Thebes, an Egyptian army is parading after their victory over the Ethiopians. he populace strews owers in their path, and sings a joyous h n he oo is ro en rie as the priests intone a solemn prayer. The scene ends with the famous Triumphal March, featuring an onstage “banda” of herald trumpets. At this program, we hear an adaptation for solo organ by Edwin Lemare. One of grand opera’s grandest scenes, this is usually staged with a large chorus and as many non-singing “extras” (Egyptian soldiers and enslaved thiopians as will fit on sta e And, of course, no self-respecting production would be without live horses or an elephant or two! The great tenor aria Celeste Aïda is sung in Act I by the young Egyptian captain Radamès, who hopes not only for victory over the Ethiopians, but who also dreams of winning over the princess Aïda, with whom he is secretly in love.
n his first opera, Cavalleria rusticana (Rustic Chivalry), Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) was at least partly responsible for inaugurating the new verismo (realism) style. This style featured gritty stories in contemporary settings, with plots driven by sex, violence, and revenge. It began as Mascagni’s entry in a contest for young Italian opera composers, sponsored by a music publisher. The winners would receive a fullscale production in Rome in 1890, and there were some 73 entries. Two of the winning operas—by Niccola Spinelli and Vincenzo Ferroni—have long since been forgotten, but Cavalleria rusticana was a sensation. Mascagni was
called back to the stage some 40 times at the premiere and it was quickly performed across Europe— and almost as quickly crossed the Atlantic to be produced several ti es in the nite States t remains a part of the standard repertoire today, often produced as a double bill with Ruggero Leoncavallo’s verismo masterpiece Pagliacci Cavalleria rusticana, based upon a popular play by Giovanni Varda, is a torrid tale set in a small Sicilian village. A soldier, Turridu, returns home to the village to fin his fianc ola has arrie another. In revenge, he seduces the girl Santuzza, setting off a series of events that will end in her disgrace and his own death. The wistful Intermezzo heard here is a melancholy but fervent orchestral interlude which portrays Santuzza’s state of mind as her world crumbles around her. Zelek plays his own arrangement here.
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) composed the grand romantic aria E’lucevan l’estelle for the final act of Tosca (1900). Another great example of verismo style, this opera was centered on the doomed love affair between the painter Mario Cavaradossi, and the singer Floria Tosca. The aria is sung by Cavaradossi as he is languishing in prison, awaiting execution, a passionate love song to Tosca. Cavaradossi is indeed executed, as part of a high “body count” in this work, including Tosca herself in the last moments of the opera: the passionate main theme of this aria returns in the orchestra as she hurls herself from the ramparts.
Verdi’s 16th opera Rigoletto initially had great trouble getting by the Austrian censors who controlled everything that went
on stage in most of Italy. Its dark story, centered on the immoral Duke of Mantua, his court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda was cited for its “immorality and obscene triviality.” When Verdi and his librettist Francesco Piave did manage to get it on stage at Venice’s Teatro La Fenice , on March 11, 1851, it was a triumph. The hit of the night was clearly the Duke’s Act III canzone La donna è mobile—one of Verdi’s greatest tunes used to set a text brimming with toxic masculinity. Not only was it encored multiple times, it was being sung on the streets in Venice the day after the premiere.
Just whether or not there was a real William Tell is uncertain, but Switzerland’s greatest folk hero was mentioned in writing for the first ti e in the 1 th centur By that time, most of his legend was complete: a 14th-century Swiss crossbowman who was forced to shoot an apple from his son’s head as punishment for disrespecting the tyrannical Austrian governor. He later led a revolution against the Hapsburgs who had conquered his homeland. Gioacchino Rossini’s (17921868) Guillaume Tell is based upon an 1804 play by Friedrich Schiller, where the Swiss hero became a more universal romantic hero and a symbol of freedom from oppression. By the time he completed Guillaume Tell in 1829, Rossini was, without a doubt, the most popular opera composer in Europe. But for a whole host of reasons—personal, medical, and political—he retired from opera composition after Guillaume Tell, ver nearl his final lar e scale work. (Only the grand sacred Stabat Mater of 1841 was yet to come, though in the last few years of his life, he returned to
composition, producing over a hundred small pieces he referred to as the “sins of my old age.”) William Tell was something new for the great master of Italian comic opera—a true romantic grand opera, set in the French style. Though he had written several earlier serious operas, William Tell is unique in the depth of its characters and the grandeur of its plot. It is also Rossini’s longest work: if performed without cuts—as it almost never is today—it lasts over four hours ts first pro uction in Paris was a success every bit as huge as the opera itself.
The overtures to Rossini’s operas are unfailingly good music, and many have survived as concert works, some after their operas have been forgotten. Like its opera, the overture to William Tell is longer and more profound than its predecessors: more like a programmatic symphonic poem than the usual brilliant and breezy opener. It is heard here in an adaptation by Edwin Lamare and Greg Zelek. It begins with a lovely passage—solo cello and cello/bass choir in the orchestral original—painting a quiet picture of Swiss pastoral life. There are occasional rumbles of thunder in the distance, and the music suddenly erupts into a full-blown thunderstorm. When the storm dies away, there is another pastoral interlude, with English horn in the original, a shepherd’s song in call and response. (Berlioz, who admired William Tell, stole this idea a year later for his Symphonie Fantastique.) Suddenly this calm is shattered by a trumpet fanfare, heralding the approach of Tell’s Swiss army. This passage is if course inextricably linked—for those of us of a certain age—with another reat free o fi hter of
radio and 1950s TV. Rossini’s intent was to show the summoning of the Swiss people to rise up against tyranny, and their eventual victory.
The next set draws on the rich heritage of black spirituals. These songs, many of them anonymous and dating from the time of slavery, were popularized widely in the 1870s by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a choral group—many of whom were former slaves— fro is niversit in ashville Their national and eventually international tours raised money nee e the financiall strappe college, but more importantly, brought black American music to an enormous audience. Spirituals have continued to be a touchstone for 20th- and 21st-century black singers and composers. Give Me Jesus is one of the few songs in the repertoire that originated a on white con re ations it first appeared in Baptist and Methodist hymnals in the 1840s and quickly became a popular song at outdoor revival meetings. The song was also enthusiastically sung by black congregations as well, who adapted it to more traditional spiritual style. The arrangement heard here is by composer, singer, and pianist Moses Hogan (19572003). Hogan grew up steeped in the black Baptist traditions— spirituals and gospel music—of his home church in New Orleans. He would eventually lead the acclaimed Moses Hogan Singers. Ride On, King Jesus is an upbeat “jubilee”-style spiritual, which was certainly well known by the time of the Civil War: there is a record of lac nion sol iers sin in a version of this song while on the march. Like many jubilees, it focuses on the promised life in heaven to come, with its hopeful refrain “No man can a-hinder me!”
Composer Hall Johnson (18881970), who was responsible for this setting, built his reputation largely on dramatic arrangements of spirituals like this one.
Like many spirituals, Steal Away features “coded” language— phrases that would be clear to those who sang it, but not to their overseers. Steal Away encourages those who hear it to “steal away” —whether to a prayer meeting safely away from the eyes of slaveholders, or to escape on the n er roun ailroa nli e ost spirituals, we now the songwriters and something about its origins. Steal Away is one of a couple of spirituals (including the famous Swing Low, Sweet Chariot) attributed to Wallace Willis (1802 - ca. 1884) and his daughter Minerva Willis (ca. 1838 – after 1900) They were enslaved in Mississippi by a member of the Choctaw Nation, Irish-born Britt Willis, who became a member of the Nation by virtual of his marriage to a Choctaw woman. When the S overn ent re ove the Choctaw to Indian Territory in Oklahoma, on the infamous “Trail of Tears,” the Willises travelled with them, arriving by the early 1840s. Wallace and Minerva were sent to work at the Spencer Academy, a boarding school for Choctaw boys. At some point in the early 1860s, the superintendent of the Academy, Rev. Alexander Reid, heard the Willises singing and transcribed several of their songs. In 1871, Reid heard the Fisk Jubilee Singers in concert, and gave them Steal Away, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, and other songs he had learned from the Willises. The Fisk group quickly adopted them as part of their repertoire. The arrangement heard here is by
Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949), an early 20th century composer whose arrangements were largely responsible for introducing the spiritual to classically trained singers.
We close the set with an adaptation of a gospel song by Greg Zelek. Gospel emerged in as a style in the 1930s, when Thomas A. Dorsey and others began to merge the traditional spiritual with in uences fro jazz and the blues. Though it was initially quite controversial, gospel eventually became the music of the black church and became the “soundtrack” of the civil rights struggle of the 1950s and 1960s. It has also continued to be a kind of musical sponge, absorbing in uences fro a whole series of popular musical styles over the last 60 years: rhythm and blues, rock & roll, doo-wop, soul, R&B, hip-hop, and more. Andraé Crouch (19422015) was a gospel superstar, who was widely known as “the father of modern black gospel music.” Through his own performances, and through collaborations with secular artists as varied as Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Elton John, Madonna, and many others, Crouch became a powerful in uence across several enres of music. He is credited with over 1700 songs. One of his greatest hits, Through It All, originally appeared in 1972, in a lush soulful version by his group The Disciples.
Puccini s final opera, Turandot, is based upon a dramatic fairytale by the 18th-century playwright Carlo Gozzi. Puccini had seen a production of the play in Vienna in 1911, and in 1919 he and his librettists Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni began adapting Turandot as an opera. It proved to
be one of the most complex tasks of Puccini’s career, and in the end it was left unfinishe at his eath in 1924. The opera was completed by Puccini’s protege Franco Alfano and was premiered at La Scala on April 25, 1826. As in his earlier , Puccini worked to create an “exotic” character by using oriental elements—Chinese in this case. The story tells of the Chinese Princess Turandot, who can only be wed by a Prince who answers her three riddles. The penalty for answering wrong is death, and a dozen princes have already tried and been beheaded. Calaf, a young prince whose name is unknown to her, announces that he will try the challenge, and to Turandot’s dismay, he answers the riddles correctly. He offers her a challenge of his own: if she can discover his name by dawn, he will renounce his claim and be put to death. Turandot decrees that no one in the city may sleep until his name is discovered. Calaf’s aria Nessun dorma comes after this decree, as he exults in his love for Turandot, and swears to triumph. Even the sound of women in the distance lamenting their punish ent for not fin in his name cannot break the mood, and he ends with a passionate Vincerò! (I will win!)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Requiem in D minor, K. 626
PRESENTING SPONSOR
Rosemarie and Fred Blancke
MAJOR SPONSORS
The Madison Concourse Hotel & Governor’s Club
Martha and Charles Casey
Skofronick Family Charitable Trust
ADDITIONAL SPONSORS
Rodney Schreiner and Mark Blank von Briesen & Roper, s.c. Wisconsin Arts Board
The lasting impact of two composers, Richard Strauss and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is explored through
one of Strauss’ great tone poems Don Juan, soprano
Amanda Majeski takes the stage with the orchestra for what Strauss himself called his Four Last Songs. Majeski, mezzo-soprano Kirsten Lippart, tenor Martin Luther Clark, bass Matt Boehler, and the Madison Symphony Chorus come together for Mozart’s Requiem, the
concert. After opening with work he wrote from his death bed and left unfinishe
When he passed, his associate Franz Xaver Süssmayr completed the composition. It lives on as one of the most profoundly beautiful works ever created.
Text and Translations
Verdi, Celeste Aïda from Aïda Celeste Aïda, forma divina, Celestial Aïda, O divine form, stical arlan of li ht an owers, del mio pensiero tu sei regina, you are the queen of my thoughts, tu di mia vita sei lo splendor. you are the splendor of my life. Il tuo bel cielo vorrei ridarti, I want to give you back your beautiful sky, le dolci brezze del patrio suol the sweet breezes of your native land, un regal serto sul crin posarti, to place a royal garland on your hair, ergerti un trono vicino al sol. to raise a throne for you next to the sun.
Puccini, E’lucevan l’estelle from Tosca
E lucevan le stelle, How the stars used to shine, ed olezzava la terra how sweet the earth smelled; stridea l’uscio dell’orto the orchard gate would creak, and a footstep would lightly mark the sand. Entrava ella fragrante, She would come in, surrounded by fragrance, mi cadea tra le braccia. and she would fall into my arms.
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Puccini, E’lucevan l’estelle from Tosca (continued)
O dolci baci, o languide carezze,
Ah, sweet kisses, ah languid caresses; mentr’io fremente as I tremble, le belle forme disciogliea dai veli! the veils fall away from her beautiful body! Svanì per sempre il sogno mio d’amore. Now my dream of love is vanished forever. L’ora è fuggita, e muoio disperato! last hour has own, an ie, hopeless E non ho amato mai tanto la vita! And never have I loved life more!
Verdi, La donna è mobile from Rigoletto
Refrain:
La donna è mobile, o en are fic le, qual piuma al vento, like a feather in the wind muta d’accento she changes her words e di pensiero. and her thoughts.
Sempre un amabile,
Always a lovely, leggiadro viso, pretty face, in pianto o in riso, but it’s untrue, è menzognero. whether in tears or laughing.
Refrain:
La donna è mobile… o en are fic le È sempre misero
Always miserable is he who trusts her, who confi es in her mal cauto il cuore! his unwary heart!
Pur mai non sentesi
Yet, one does not feel felice appieno completely happy chi su quel seno who does not drink love non liba amore! from that bosom!
Refrain:
La donna è mobile… o en are fic le
Puccini, aria Nessun dorma from Turandot
Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma!
No one sleeps! No one sleeps! Tu pure, o Principessa, You too, O Princess, nella tua fredda stanza, in your chaste room guardi le stelle are watching the stars which che tremano d’amore e di speranza. tremble with love and hope! Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me, But my secret lies hidden within me— il nome mio nessun saprà! no one shall discover my name! No, no, sulla tua bocca lo dirò, No, no, I will reveal it only on your lips, quando la luce splendera! when daylight shines forth Ed il mio bacio scioglierà il silenzio and my kiss shall break the silence che ti fa mia! which makes you mine!
Dilegua, o notte!
Depart, O night! Tramontate, stelle!
Fade away, stars! All’alba vincerò! At dawn I will win! Vincerò! Vincerò! I will win! I will win!
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ENSURING A BRIGHT FUTURE for the OVERTURE CONCERT ORGAN
ke i g gi o e rg o e i e e r io o e rg th Anniversary!
The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Organ Endowment Fund provides a permanent source of long-term support for organ programming and care of the instrument. In honor of the Overture Concert Organ’s 20th Anniversary, the MSO and FOCO invite you to support the Organ Endowment Fund through our Adopt-a-Stop naming program.
With an endowment gift of $1,000 or more, you can “adopt” part of the organ. Your gift will help to ensure a bright future for the Overture Concert Organ!
GIFT LEVELADOPTION
$25,000Division
$10,000Stop
$5,000Façade pipe
$2,500Single pipe - Major
$1,000Single pipe - Minor
p to 999 General donation
madisonsymphony.org/adoptastop o Casey Oelkers, Director of Development, (608) 257-3734
Adopt-a-Stop gifts do not quality for Friends of the Overture Concert
ADOPT-A-STOP
Thank you to these generous donors for their gifts of $1,000 or more to the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Overture Concert Organ Endowment Fund as part of the Adopt-a-Stop program. Donors who have chosen to adopt individual parts of the organ are listed with their individual adoptions.
ORGAN CONSOLE
Catherine Burgess, in memory of Jim Burgess
TUTTI
Nicholas and Elaine Mischler
DIVISION
Friends of the Overture Concert Organ in honor of Samuel C. Hutchison
Great Division
Gamber F. Tegtmeyer, Jr., in memory of Audrey Tegtmeyer
Swell Division
Friends of the Overture Concert Organ in honor of Gregory C. Zelek in celebration of his Golden Birthday
Solo Division
STOP
In memory of Ruth and Frederick Dobbratz
Great Principal 8’
John and Christine Gauder
Pedal Contra Bombarde 32’
Reynold V. Peterson
Swell Basson 16’
Lise Skofronick
Solo Harmonic Flute 8’
John and Carol Toussaint
Pedal Posaune 16’
Ann Wallace
Solo French Horn 8’
Susan and Rolf Wulfsberg
Great Gedeckt 8’
An Anonymous Friend
FAÇADE PIPE
Dr. Frederick W. Blancke
Great Principal 16’ – F²
Daniel and Stacey Bormann in memory of Larry Shrode
Great Principal 16’ – D²
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Lau and Bea Christensen
Great Principal 16’ – C²
John and Michele Erikson
Great Principal 16’ - E1
Thomas A. Farrell in honor of Ann Farrell
Great Principal 16’ – A³
Jane Hamblen and Robert F. Lemanske
Great Principal 16’ – B¹
Sandra L. Osborn
Great Principal 16’ – C³
Peter and Leslie Overton
Great Principal 16’ - E2
Rhonda and Bill Rushing
Great Principal 16’ - C#2
In Memory of Jennie Biel Sheskey and Biel Orchestra, The John and Twila
Sheskey Charitable Fund
Great Principal 16’ – B2
MAJOR PIPE
Anne Bolz in honor of Gre pwar
Solo Harmonic Flute 8’ – G³
In Memory of Lila Smith Lightfoot
Solo Tuba 16’ – C¹
Vicki and Marv Nonn
Pedal Double Open 32’ – C¹
Reynold V. Peterson
Choir n a aris 3
Barbara and Richard Schnell
Solo French Horn 8’ – D1
Barbara and Richard Schnell
Solo French Horn 8’ – E1
Dave Willow in honor of Mary Ann Willow
Swell Basson-Hautbois 8’ - A2
MINOR PIPE
Fernando and Carla Alvarado
Solo Principal 8’ – C³
Fernando and Carla Alvarado in honor of Nicholas and Elaine Mischler
Swell uint te 2 2
Brian and Rozan Anderson
Swell Basson 16’ – A2
Chuck Bauer and Chuck Beckwith
Choir Clarinet 8’ – B²
Nancy Becknell
Solo French Horn 8’ – C¹
Ed and Lisa Binkley
Pedal – Vox Balinae 64’ – C¹
Patricia Brady and Robert Smith
Solo French Horn 8’ – B2
Mary Kay Burton
Choir al ote 2 B1
Capitol Lakes
Swell Fugara 4’ – D3
Crystal Enslin in memory of Jon S. Enslin
Swell Basson-Hautbois 8’ - D2
Friends of the Overture Concert Organ in honor of Reynold Peterson
Great Trompete 8’ – G3
Friends of the Overture Concert Organ 2015-2016 Board of Directors in honor of Elaine Mischler
Choir Clarinet 8’ – B-Flat¹
Friends of the Overture Concert
Organ 2019-2020 Board of Directors in honor of Ellsworth Brown
Solo Harmonic Flute 8’ – E³
Paul Fritsch and Jim Hartman
Solo French Horn 8’ – A3
Paul Fritsch and Jim Hartman in honor of Karissa Fritsch
Solo French Horn 8’ – F4
Paul Fritsch and Jim Hartman in honor of Bethany Hart
Solo Harmonic Flute 8’ – B3
Paul Fritsch and Jim Hartman in honor of Paige Kramer
Solo French Horn 8’ – G2
Dr. Robert and Linda Graebner
Great Principal 8’ – C¹
Betsy and Bezalel Haimson
Swell Basson-Hautbois 8’ - B1
Kris S. Jarantoski
Swell Bordun 8’ – C³
Darko and Judy Kalan in honor of Samuel C. Hutchison
Swell Basson–Hautbois 8’ – C¹
Carolyn Kau and Chris Hinrichs
Choir Suavial 8’ – C³
Gary Lewis
Swell Basson–Hautbois 8’ – C³
Connie Maxwell
Swell Basson–Hautbois 8’ – A³
Gale Meyer
Solo French Horn 8’ – G1
Susanne M. Michler
Swell Trompette Harmonique 8’ – C³
Stephen D. Morton
Swell Bourdon 16’ – C¹
Casey, Eric, Dylan, and Kendall Oelkers in honor of Walter & Barbara
Herrod's 50th Anniversary
Solo Harmonic Flute 8' - G2
Larry and Jan Phelps
Pedal – Subbass 16’ – C¹
Hans and Mary Lang Sollinger
Swell ravers te
Harriet Thiele Statz
Choir Gemshorn 8’ – A3
Two Friends in memory of Jack Hicks
Great Principal 8’ – C3
Anders Yocom and Ann Yocom
Engelman
Solo Principal 8’ – A²
GREAT
4-1/2” wind
Principal
Principal
Offenflote
Salicional
Gedeckt
Principal
Rohrflote
Quinte
Octave
Cornett V
Mixtura mayor V
Trompete
Trompete
SWELL (enclosed)
4-1/2” wind
Bordun
Tibia
Bordun
Viola da Gamba
Voix Celeste
Fugara
Transversflote
Quintflote
Octavflote
Terzflote
Plein jeu IV
Basson
ORGAN SPECIFICATION
Johannes Klais Orgelbau — Bonn, Germany
2004 • 72 Ranks
SOLO (enclosed)
11” wind
Principal
Harmonic Flute
Stentor Gamba
Gamba Celeste
Tuba
Tuba
French Horn
PEDAL
5” wind
Vox Balinae (Resultant)
Double Open ntersat
Open Wood
Violon (Gt)
Bourdon (Sw)
Subbass
Octavbass
Harmonic Flute (Solo)
Stentor Gamba (Solo)
Gedackt
Octave
Contra Bombarde
Posaune
Tuba (Solo)
Trompete
Trompette harmonique
Basson-Hautbois
Clairon harmonique
Tremulant
CHOIR (enclosed)
4” wind
Geigen Principal
Suavial
Rohrflote
Gemshorn n a aris
Octave
Viola
Waldflote
Quinte
Terz
Mixtura minor IV
Clarinet
Tremulant
Gt to Ped
to Ped Sw to Ped Sw to Ped Ch to Ped Ch to Ped
Solo to Ped
Solo to Ped Sw to Sw Sw nison Off
Sw to Sw
Sw to Gt
Sw to Gt
Sw to Gt
Ch to Gt
Ch to Gt
Ch to Gt
Solo to Gt
Solo to Gt
Solo to Gt
Gt to Gt
Gt nison Off
Gt to Gt
to Ch
to Ch
to Ch
to Sw
General Pistons
General Toe Studs
Divisional Pistons
Pedal Divisional
Toe Studs
Divisional
Cancel Pistons
Sequencer
Programmable
Crescendo and Tutti
FRIENDS OF THE OVERTURE CONCERT ORGAN
We gratefully acknowledge the Friends of the Overture Concert Organ for their support of Overture Concert Organ programming and production for the 2024-2025 Season. This list includes current members as of February 3, 2025.
HONORARY
LIFETIME MEMBERS
W. Jerome Frautschi & Pleasant T. Rowland
Diane Ballweg
Bruce & Suzanne Case
Samuel C. Hutchison
CURATOR CIRCLE
$1000 & above
Carla & Fernando Alvarado
Dr. Odette Anderson M.D.
Chuck Bauer & Chuck Beckwith
Jeff & Beth Bauer
James & Diane Baxter
Barbara & Norman Berven
Dr. Annette Beyer-Mears
Patricia Brady & Robert Smith
Janet & Scott Cabot
Stephen Caldwell & Judith Werner
Martha & Charles Casey
Dennis & Lynn Christensen
Lau & Bea Christensen
Mike & Quinn Christensen
Audrey Dybdahl
Kay Schwichtenberg & Herman Baumann
Lise R. Skofronick
Gerald & Shirley Spade
William Steffenhagen
Dr. Condon & Mary Vander Ark
Jennifer Younger & Tom Smith
Two Anonymous Friends
J. S. BACH SOCIETY
$650–$999
Dr. Robert Beech &
Jean-Margret Merrell-Beech
David & Karen Benton
Richard Cashwell
Jerome Ebert & Joye Ebert Kuehn
Timothy & Renée Farley
Terry Haller
Walter & Barbara Herrod
Kris S. Jarantoski
Ann & David Martin
Joan & Doug Maynard
Joseph Meara & Karen Rebholz
David Myers
Faith & Russ Portier
a es ppena
Leonard & Paula Werner
Janet Etnier
Bobbi Foutch-Reynolds & Jim Reynolds
Donna B. Fox
Brian Fritsch
Paul Fritsch & Jim Hartman
Joel & Jacquie Greiner
Vicki Hamstra
Betty & Edward Hasselkus
Jack Holzhueter & Michael Bridgeman
James & Cindy Hoyt
Mark Huth, MD
Maryanne & Bob Julian
Chris & Marge Kleinhenz
Larry M. Kneeland
Richard & Claire Kotenbeutel
Peggy Lescrenier
Bruce & Ruth Marion
Douglas & Linda McNeel
Margaret Murphy
David Parminter
Patricia Paska
William E. Petig
Sue Poullette
Lori & Jack Poulson
Ron Rosner & Ronnie Hess
SWELL
$150–$299
Carolyn Aradine
Leigh Barker Cheesebro
James Conway & Katherine Trace
John Daane
Paula & Bob Dinndorf
Donalea Dinsmore
Marilyn Ebben
Elizabeth Fadell
Douglas & Carol Fast
Jill Gaskell
Michael George & Susan Gardels
Pauline Gilbertson & Peter Medley
Lynn & Peter Gilbertson-Burke
William & Sharon Goehring
Roger & Glenda Hott
Margaret & Paul Irwin
Greg & Doreen Jensen
Dan & Janet Johnson
Jerome & Dee Dee Jones
Fr. C. Lee & Edith M. Gilbertson
Judy Lyons & Doug Knudson
Tom Kurtz
Steve Limbach
Margaret & Paul Miller
Casey & Eric Oelkers
Ron & Jan Opelt
Gerald & Christine Popenhagen
Don & Roz Rahn
John & Rachel Rothschild
Steven ennie Saffian
Gary & Barbara Schultz
Bassam Shakhashiri
Sandy Shepherd
Thomas & Myrt Sieger
Curt & Jane Smith
Eileen M. Smith
Lynne & Kenneth Spielman
Tom & Dianne Totten
Colleen & Tim Tucker
John & Christine Gauder
George Gay
Jane Hamblen & Robert F. Lemanske
Susan S. Harris
Darko & Judy Kalan
Myrna Larson
Doug & Norma Madsen
Charles McLimans & Dr. Richard Merrion
Bonnie McMullin-Lawton & Jack Lawton
Elaine & Nicholas Mischler
Genevieve Murtaugh
Vicki & Marv Nonn
Peter & Leslie Overton
Reynold V. Peterson
Walter & Karen Pridham
Charitable Fund
Bill & Rhonda Rushing
Faye Pauli Whitaker
Dave Willow
One Anonymous Friend
GREAT $300–$649
Lyle J. Anderson
Ellis & Susan Bauman
Julia Bolz
Daniel & Stacey Bormann
Dorothy & Ellsworth Brown
Thomas Bruckner
Mary & Ken Buroker
Dr. Larry & Mary Kay Burton
Karen & Preston Childs Baker
Bonnie & Marc Conway
Louis Cornelius & Pris Boroniec
Paula K. Doyle
John & Deidre Dunn
Crystal Enslin
Dean & Orange Schroeder
Andrew & Erika Stevens
Karen M. Stoebig
Karla Stoebig
David Stone
Martha Taylor & Gary Antoniewicz
Harry Tschopik
Ellen M. Twing
Jan Vidruk
Ann Wallace
John & Janine Wardale
Sally Wellman
Willis & Heijia Wheeler
Derrith Wieman & Todd Clark
Jeffrey Williamson
Susan & Rolf Wulfsberg
John & Shelly Van Note
Jim Werlein & Jody Pringle
Carolyn White
Rebecca Wiegand
Two Anonymous Friends
CHOIR
$100-$149
Ginger Anderle & Pat Behling
Emy Andrew
Allan Beatty
Betty Braden
Joyce Bringe
Catherine Buege
Charles & Joanne Bunge
Gina Degiovanni
Alan & Ramona Ehrhardt
Timothy & Mary Ellestad
Ann Ellingboe
Marthea Fox
Joan Gilbertson
Barbara Grajewski & Michael Slupski
Bob & Beverly Haimerl
Bob & Dianna Haugh
Paul L. Hauri
Karen Jeatran
Conrad & Susan Jostad
Valerie & Andreas Kazamias
Miki & Ivan Knezevic
Laurie & Gus Knitt
Joanna Kramer Fanney
Ann Kruger
Jim Larkee
Charles Leadholm & Jeanne Parus
Gary Lewis & Ken Sosinski
Dick & Cindy Lovell
Jeanne Marshall
Bruce Matthews & Eileen Murphy
Denim Ohmit
Bonnie Orvick
Ernest J. Peterson
Tom Pierce
Ellen & Kenneth Prest
Randall & Deb Raasch
Kathleen Rasmussen
Sherry Reames
Richard & Donna Reinardy
Sarah Rose
Barbara & Donald Sanford
Sinikka Santala & Gregory Schmidt
Dennis & Janice Schattschneider
Thomas & Lynn Schmidt
Reeves Smith & Glenna Carter
Chris & Ronald Sorkness
Gareth L. Steen
Rob & Mary Stroud
Cheri J. Teal
Linda Thompson & Allen May
Stephen Thompson
Judy & Nick Topitzes
Karl & Ellen Westlund
Dorothy Whiting
Wade W. & Shelley D. Whitmus
Heidi Wilde & Kennedy Gilchrist
Anders Yocom &
Ann Yocom Engelman
Six Anonymous Friends
FRIEND
$35-$99
David & Ruth Arnold
Louis & Sandra Arrington
Bruce Bengtson
Bob & Bonnie Block
Dorothy Blotz
Jonathan Boott
Kathleen Borner
Mary Brewer
Waltraud Brinkmann
Barbara Constans & Deb Rohde
Nancy & Russell Dean
Lucy Dechene, Ph.D.
Joel Diemer
Paul DiMusto & Molly Oberdoerster
Connie Donkle
Elizabeth Enright
Sandra L. Erickson
Jim Esmoil
John & Joann Esser
Emily & Milton Ford
Francis & Glynis Friend
Kenneth & Molly Gage
Sam Gratz
Marjorie K. Gray
Dr. & Mrs. Frank Greer
Sean Griffin
Andrew Halbach
Kathy Hoch
Les & Susan Hoffman
Dale Hughes
Christina Hull
Joe Johnson
Marilyn Kay
Barbara Kell
Melissa Keyes & Ingrid Rothe
Noël Marie & Steven Klapper
Michael Krejci
Linda Krueger
Mary & Steve Langlie
Ellen Larson Latimer &
Dakota Latimer
Ed & Julie Lehr
Judith A. Louer
Gloria Lundquist
David MacMillan
Kathlyn Maldegen
Chuck & Linda Malone
Jan L. McCormick
David & Joan Milke
Kathleen & Richard Miller
Wendy Miller
Caleb Mitchell
Terry Morrison
Ann & David Moyer
Susan Mueller
Mary Murray
Don & Krista Nelson
Darlene M. Olson
Phillip & Karen Paulson
Tom Popp
Mark E. Puda & Carol S. Johnston
Robert A. Reed
Mark & Zoe Rickenbach
Cora Rund
Iva Hillegas Schatz
John & Susan Schauf
Jaret & Emily Schroeder
David & Gail Schultz
Roger & Kathleen Schultz
Terrell & Mary Smith
Steve Somerson & Helena Tsotsis
a iah orvi Sta p i
Robert & Barbara Stanley
lri a Swanson
Sandy Tabachnick
Mitanshu Thakore
Mary Lou Tyne
Elliott Valentine & Katelyn French
Teresa Venker
Mark Vitale & Darcy Kind
Ron & Kathryn Voss
Greg Wagner & Fred Muci
Suzy Wilkoff
Bill & Jackie Wineke
Celeste Woodruff & Bruce Fritz
Kathryn Woodson
Carolyn Young
Ledell Zellers & Simon Anderson
Eleven Anonymous Friends
We have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this list. If you have any questions about the list, please contact the MSO’s development department at (608) 257-3734.
Board of Directors and Administrative Staff
FRIENDS OF THE OVERTURE CONCERT ORGAN BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 2024–2025
OFFICERS
William Steffenhagen President
Dave Willow
Secretary-Treasurer
Robert Lemanske
Past President
DIRECTORS
Beth Bauer
Herman Baumann
Janet Cabot
Quinn Christensen
Paula Doyle
Audrey Dybdahl
Mark Huth
Charles McLimans
Doug McNeel
Caleb Mitchell
David Parminter
Rhonda Rushing
Jennifer Younger
ADVISORS
Fernando Alvarado
Diane Ballweg
James Baxter
Ellsworth Brown
John Gauder
Terry Haller
Ellen Larson Latimer
Gary Lewis
Elaine Mischler
Vicki Nonn
Reynold Peterson
Teri Venker
Anders Yocom
EX OFFICIO
Greg Zelek, Principal Organist and Elaine & Nicholas Mischler Curator of the Overture Concert Organ
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC.
ADMINISTRATION
Robert Reed, Executive Director
David Gordon, Executive Assistant & Board Liaison
Ann Bowen, General Manager
Alexis Carreon, & Personnel Manager
Jennifer Goldberg, Orchestra Librarian, John & Carolyn Petersen Chair
Lisa Kjentvet, Director of Education & Community Engagement
Katelyn Hanvey, Education & Community Engagement Manager
Casey Oelkers, Director of Development
Meranda Dooley, Manager of Individual Giving
Rachel Cherian, Manager of Grants & Sponsorships
Peter Rodgers, Director of Marketing
Heather Rose, Marketing Communications Manager
Isabella Clinton, Audience Experience Manager
ChrisFiol, Digital Marketing and Engagement Specialist
Sarah Bergmann, Bolz Marketing Associate
Greg Zelek, Principal Organist and Elaine & Nicholas Mischler Curator of the Overture Concert Organ
Empire Brass Celebration Greg Zelek , organ
Marc Reese, trumpet; Derek Lockhart, trumpet; Gregory Miller, horn; Mark Hetzler, trombone; Kenneth Amis, tuba; Matt Endres, percussion; Greg Zelek, organ
YOU ARE INVITED TO A 20th Anniv s y Pre-C c t P ty!
Join us 5:30-7:00 p.m. before the final Overture Concert Organ performance of the season for a party to celebrate the 20th anniversary with food stations, open bar and visual retrospective. A Party Pass is $100 per person in addition to your concert ticket. Learn more and register at madisonsymphony.org/party20
was luc enou h to eet the pire Brass as a hi h school stu ent when the ca e to ho etown for a clinic an a concert ac in 19 ears later, was even luc ier when was as e to oin the roup, eco in a e er of the ense le for 1 seasons, an ettin to perfor so e of the finest rass usic in the worl s reatest concert halls a so please to e part of this concert pro ra that features hi hli hts fro the roup s fa ous recor in s an roun rea in repertoire for oth rass an or an, inclu in the worl pre iere of newl co issione wor to cele rate the 20th of the Overture Concert Or an lease oin us for n pire Brass Cele ration
Tielman Susato, Basse danse bergerette
Giovanni Gabrieli,
Johann Sebastian Bach, 1
Johann Sebastian Bach, in G minor, BWV 598
Sergei Prokofiev,
Gustav Holst, Charles-Marie Widor, 1 …or, Louis Vierne, 1 1
Kenneth Amis,
Mark Hetzler, Balaenoptera usculus Blues Blue hale Blues orl pre iere in cele ration the 20th of the Overture Concert Or an George Gershwin, Fats Waller, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein,
PRESENTING SPONSOR
William Steffenhagen
MAJOR SPONSORS anet an Scott Ca ot Martha and Charles Casey
Shirley Spade, u re ahl, a Schwichten er an er an Bau ann
Yearnings
Joseph Young, GuestConductor
Time For Three:
Nicolas Kendall, Violin
Charles Yang, Violin
Ranaan Meyer, Double Bass
Samuel Barber, Second Essay for Orchestra, Op. 17
Kevin Puts,
Sergei Proko ev, Contact* Selections from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64
*MSO Premiere
MAJOR SPONSORS
WMTV 15 News
Madison Symphony Orchestra League
Nancy Mohs
University Research Park
ADDITIONAL SPONSORS
Robert Benjamin and John Fields
DeWitt LLP
Wisconsin Arts Board
Guest conductor Joseph Young gives us an idea of what to anticipate in this exciting concert. “This program is an aural invitation into the ideals of peace, love, and connection that
Barber’s concise and dramatic Second Essay for Orchestra
carries forward long after the final notes.” We begin with Samuel winning piece written specificall for the roup. Intended to one of the greatest ballet scores of the 20th century, Prokofiev’s
Next, the eclectic and genre-bending string trio Time for Three joins our Symphony performing Kevin Puts’ Contact, a Grammypremiere in the summer of 2020, Contact took on new meaning as an expression of yearning for human contact during the peak of the pandemic. Maestro Young’s selection of movements from Romeo and Juliet, will leave us longing for more.
JOSEPH YOUNG
Gershwin!
John DeMain, Conductor
Philippe Bianconi, Piano
Michelle Johnson, Soprano
Eric Greene, Baritone
Madison Symphony Chorus, Beverly Taylor, Director
George Gershwin, Cuban Overture
George Gershwin, Piano Concerto in F Major
George Gershwin/ Robert Russell Bennett, Porgy and Bess: A Concert of Songs
MAJOR SPONSORS
Madison Magazine
Diane Ballweg
Boardman Clark Law Firm
Fred A. Wileman
ADDITIONAL SPONSORS
Carla and Fernando Alvarado
Dr. Thomas and Leslie France
Ann Lindsey, in memory of Chuck Snowdon
Mary Lang Sollinger
Wisconsin Arts Board
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!
become a friend
Each season, many new individuals become Friends of the Overture Concert Organ by making gifts of support. Friends’ generosity helps us cover the costs of ticketed and free concerts that so many people in our community enjoy, as well as tuning and maintenance of the instrument.
For the Organ’s 20th Anniversary, new members can join FOCO as a First Time Friend at a special anniversary rate of just $20!
Renewing memberships start at $35. Friends, at all levels, have access to exclusive enefits an opportunities throughout the season.
Ticket sales cover less than half of the costs of producing a season.
Discover more about Friends of the Overture Concert Organ. Visit: madisonsymphony.org/foco
Member benefits are subject to change.
2024–2025 FRIENDS OF THE OVERTURE CONCERT ORGAN MEMBERSHIP LEVELS & BENEFITS
Benefits are available during the concert season your gift supports.
Recognition in organ concert program books
Special member communications
Invitation to Showcasing the Organ events
Invitation to FOCO Annual Meeting
Recognition in MSO program books
Two complimentary beverage vouchers
Invitation to one organ post-concert reception
Open invitation to all organ post-concert receptions
Private, reserved parking for organ concerts and events*
Invitation to a special member appreciation event
^Note: The First Time Friend membership level is a special introductory o er for the 2024-2025 Organ Season. New members can join FOCO for just $20 in celebration of the 20th season of the Overture Concert Organ.
*Note: The parking benefit has a fair market value of $35, and may reduce the tax-deductibility of your gift.
MEMBERSHIP DONATION FORM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2025, 7 PM, OVERTURE HALL
High school students from across the state compete, and the four finalists perform with the MSO in a free concert and competition in Overture Hall before a live audience. Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin broadcast “Wisconsin Young Artists Compete: The Final Forte” throughout the state.
The Semi-Final Round of the 2025 Bolz Young Artist Competition took place on January 9, 2025.
The finalists for the Final Forte are:
Atticus Coen, piano (Senior, Sun Prairie East High School)
Gershwin Piano Concerto in F, 1st movement
Indre Raghavan, violin (Junior, Middleton High School)
Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47, 1st movement
Vivian Van de Sype Cucu, viola (Senior, University School of Milwaukee)
Walton Viola Concerto, 1st movement
Lucy Wu, cello (Junior, Whitefish Bay High School)
Dvořák Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, 3rd movement
Register to attend this FREE concert featuring the Madison Symphony Orchestra led by Music Director John DeMain, and the four outstanding finalists of our Bolz Young Artist Competition!
