PETER AND THE WOLF
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PETER AND THE WOLF
A Joan Steele Stein Family Concert
Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 2:30 pm ALLEN-BRADLEY HALL Ryan Tani, conductor Really Inventive Stuff, theater company Sara Valentine, narrator and performer Michael Boudewyns, narrator and performer
ANDREW MAXFIELD/Ruthie Prillaman How to Escape from the Zoo [World Premiere] Sara Valentine, narrator and performer
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Peter and the Wolf: A Symphonic Tale for Narrator and Orchestra, Opus 67 Presented under license from G. Schirmer, Inc., copyright owners Michael Boudewyns, narrator and performer
After the performance, audience members are invited to stop by the lobby to meet composer Andrew Maxfield, conductor Ryan Tani, and Really Inventive Stuff actors Michael and Sara — and collect their autographs! The length of this concert is approximately 50 minutes and will be performed without intermission. Video or audio recording of this performance is prohibited. All programs are subject to change. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra can be heard on the Naxos, Telarc, Koss Classics, ProArte, AVIE, and Vox/Turnabout labels. MSO Classics recordings are available for digital streaming and download on Spotify, Apple Music, and more.
2026.27
Family Concerts
Melody Goes to the Orchestra SUNDAY
8 FEB 2M 2:30 P
2445 N. Farwell Avenue 414.964.2323
Tuesday thru Saturday 11-5
Sunday 12 - 3 (during the holidays) littlemonstersmilwaukee.com
get your tickets at MSO.ORG • 414-291-7605
Sorel Etrog,The Source, 1964
The Lynden Sculpture Garden works with artists, educators, students, and our community to create, support, and share experiences at the intersection of art, nature, and culture.
Lynden operates as a laboratory, offering hands-on programs that integrate our collection of more than 50 monumental sculptures and temporary installations, and our community of artists, with the natural ecology of 40 acres of park, pond, and woodland.
LYNDENSCULPTUREGARDEN.ORG 2145 W BROWN DEER RD, MILWAUKEE, WI 53217
ABOUT THIS PERFORMANCE Welcome to a “wild” performance by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra! With the help of theater company Really Inventive Stuff and a menagerie of animal characters, we’ll learn some musical concepts and meet many different instruments of the orchestra. We’ll begin with the world premiere of How to Escape from the Zoo, a delightful “Scheme and Variations” by composer Andrew Maxfield and librettist Ruthie Prillaman. The zookeeper is asleep and the clever elephant has a plan: tonight, the animals will escape! The elephant whispers her plan to the lion, who passes it to the lemur, who slips it to the rhino, who spreads it to the shrew — who, alas, receives an entirely unrecognizable message…but the flexible shrew saves the day with a kazoo…and the ability to improvise! Sergei Prokofiev’s beloved Peter and the Wolf uses the adventures of a young boy, a cat, a duck, a wolf, and more to introduce children to the instruments of the orchestra. Prokofiev wrote the music and the story in 1936 for the Moscow State Musical Theater for Children, where he liked to take his own family. Ninety years later, Peter and the Wolf is still delighting audience members of all ages!
PRE-CONCERT ACTIVITIES • • • • • •
AWE (Artists Working in Education) Art Activity Bradley Symphony Center Scavenger Hunt Composer Station Schlitz Audubon Nature Center Environmental Education Station Selfie Station White House of Music Instrument Petting Zoo
A special thank you to our Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra volunteers.
ACCESSIBILITY RESOURCES Sensory Bags, Weighted Lap Pads, & Noise-Reducing Headphones: Sensory bags containing special KultureCity VIP badges, fidget tools, noise-reducing headphones, and other resources are available for checkout, at no cost, on concert days. Noise-reducing headphones and weighted lap pads can also be checked out individually. Items can be checked out from the Coat Check in the Gallery. A photo ID will be requested as security. Quiet Areas: The Bradley Symphony Center has a Quiet Room located in the pre-theater lobby on the first floor. The Quiet Room, equipped with a sink, comfortable seating, and warm lighting is available for anyone who needs a private space to escape for a few minutes. Additional Quiet Areas are located in the phone booth area on the second level. These spaces can be an escape for those feeling overwhelmed for as little or as long as they need. If you need assistance finding any of these Quiet Areas, please find an usher or Front of House staff member. Hearing Loop & Infrared Listening System: Allen-Bradley Hall is equipped with a tele-coil or T-coil loop system. No additional assistive listening devices are required for patrons with compatible hearing aids or cochlear implants. Allen-Bradley Hall is also equipped with an infrared listening system. Assistive listening devices are offered free of charge and can be checked out from the house manager. A photo ID will be requested as security.
MEET THE MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Georgi Dimitrov Nathan Hackett Michael Lieberman** Erin H. Pipal CELLOS Susan Babini, Principal, 2026.27 SEASON Dorothea C. Mayer Principal Cello Chair Shinae Ra, Assistant Principal (2nd chair) Scott Tisdel, Associate Principal Emeritus MUSIC DIRECTOR Polly and Bill Van Dyke Music Director Chair Esther Chae Madeleine Kabat BYRON STRIPLING Peter Szczepanek Principal Pops Conductor Peter J. Thomas* Stein Family Foundation Principal Pops Adrien Zitoun Conductor Chair BASSES RYAN TANI Principal, Donald B. Abert Associate Conductor Principal Bass Chair Andrew Raciti, Acting Principal CHERYL FRAZES HILL Nash Tomey, Assistant Principal Chorus Director (3rd chair)* Margaret Hawkins Chorus Director Chair Brittany Conrad TIMOTHY J. BENSON Nicholas De Laurentis** Assistant Chorus Director Broner McCoy Paris Myers FIRST VIOLINS Jinwoo Lee, Concertmaster, HARP Charles and Marie Caestecker Julia Coronelli, Principal, Concertmaster Chair Walter Schroeder Principal Harp Chair Ilana Setapen, First Associate FLUTES Concertmaster, Thora M. Vervoren Sonora Slocum, Principal, First Associate Concertmaster Chair Margaret and Roy Butter Jeanyi Kim, Associate Concertmaster Principal Flute Chair Alexander Ayers Heather Zinninger, Assistant Principal Autumn Chodorowski Jennifer Bouton Schaub Yuka Kadota Chihiro Kakishima PICCOLO Elliot Lee Jennifer Bouton Schaub Dylana Leung OBOES Kyung Ah Oh Katherine Young Steele, Principal, Lijia Phang Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra League Yuanhui Fiona Zheng Principal Oboe Chair SECOND VIOLINS Kevin Pearl, Assistant Principal Jennifer Startt, Principal, Margaret Butler Andrea and Woodrow Leung ENGLISH HORN Principal Second Violin Chair Ji-Yeon Lee, Assistant Principal (2nd chair) Margaret Butler, Philip and Beatrice Blank English Horn Chair in memoriam to Shannon Fitzhenry, Assistant Principal John Martin (3rd chair) Heejeon Ahn CLARINETS Lisa Johnson Fuller Principal, Franklyn Esenberg Clay Hancock Principal Clarinet Chair Paul Hauer Jay Shankar, Acting Principal, Hyewon Kim Donald and Ruth P. Taylor Assistant Principal Clarinet Chair Vinícius Sant’Ana** Besnik Abrashi, Acting Assistant Principal Yiran Yao Max Reese** VIOLAS Principal, Richard O. and Judith A. Wagner E-FLAT CLARINET Max Reese** Family Principal Viola Chair Kunjing Dai, Acting Principal, BASS CLARINET Friends of Janet F. Ruggeri Besnik Abrashi Assistant Principal Viola Chair Samantha Rodriguez, Acting Assistant BASSOONS Principal (2nd chair) Catherine Van Handel, Principal, Alejandro Duque, Acting Assistant Muriel C. and John D. Silbar Family Principal (3rd chair) Principal Bassoon Chair* Elizabeth Breslin Rudi Heinrich, Acting Principal
Matthew Melillo, Acting Assistant Principal Laressa Winters** CONTRABASSOON Matthew Melillo HORNS Matthew Annin, Principal, Krause Family Principal French Horn Chair Krystof Pipal, Associate Principal Dietrich Hemann, Andy Nunemaker French Horn Chair Darcy Hamlin Dawson Hartman TRUMPETS Matthew Ernst, Principal, Walter L. Robb Family Principal Trumpet Chair David Cohen, Associate Principal, Martin J. Krebs Associate Principal Trumpet Chair Tim McCarthy, Fred Fuller Trumpet Chair TROMBONES Megumi Kanda, Principal, Marjorie Tiefenthaler Principal Trombone Chair Kirk Ferguson, Assistant Principal BASS TROMBONE John Thevenet, Richard M. Kimball Bass Trombone Chair TUBA Robyn Black, Principal, John and Judith Simonitsch Principal Tuba Chair TIMPANI Dean Borghesani, Principal Chris Riggs, Assistant Principal PERCUSSION Robert Klieger, Principal Chris Riggs PIANO Melitta S. Pick Endowed Piano Chair PERSONNEL Antonio Padilla Denis, Director of Orchestra Personnel Paris Myers, Assistant Manager of Orchestra Personnel LIBRARIANS Paul Beck, Principal Librarian, James E. Van Ess Principal Librarian Chair Matthew Geise, Assistant Librarian & Media Archivist PRODUCTION Tristan Wallace, Production Manager/Live Audio Lisa Sottile, Production Stage Manager * Leave of absence during the 2026.27 season ** Acting member of the MSO for the 2026.27 season
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KMF2026 CIVIC MSO Ad 9_26(FTP) .pdf
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9/2/26
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RYAN TANI, CONDUCTOR Now in his fourth season with the MSO and his second as its associate conductor, Ryan Tani has built a reputation for inventive programming, as well as an energetic connection with audiences in Milwaukee and beyond. At the MSO, he conducts a wide range of concerts — including education, family, film, popular, and classical — and has stepped in for Edo de Waart and led sold-out performances in his 2025 Classics Series debut. He has served as cover conductor for the Minnesota Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, and Bozeman Symphony. A committed advocate for new music, Ryan was music director of Baltimore’s Occasional Symphony, commissioning over 20 works and supporting dozens of composers in just three years. At Yale, he served as conducting fellow of the Philharmonia and resident conductor of New Music New Haven, earning the Dean’s Prize for artistic excellence. Ryan’s community-focused work includes leading multiple ensembles across Montana, including the Bozeman, Missoula, Great Falls, and Montana State University symphony orchestras. Committed to connecting with audiences off the podium, he also developed outreach programs, taught university courses, and fostered collaborations between artists and the public — efforts that continue to shape his approach today. He holds degrees from Yale University, the Peabody Institute, and the University of Southern California, and has studied with Marin Alsop, Peter Oundjian, Markand Thakar, Larry Rachleff, and Donald Schleicher. He lives in Milwaukee with his wife Bronte and his corgi Darby and enjoys cooking, reading, and playing violin.
REALLY INVENTIVE STUFF, THEATER COMPANY Really Inventive Stuff is delighted to return to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for a third time! In 2005, Sara Valentine and Michael Boudewyns co-founded Really Inventive Stuff, a production company dedicated to creating playful, theatrical programs with symphony orchestras for young audiences; it has since become one of the most popular presenters of its kind. Really Inventive Stuff’s signature production of Peter and the Wolf debuted in 2005; it was created for maestro Rossen Milanov and New Jersey’s Symphony in C with Michael Boudewyns as narrator and performer. Sara Valentine designed the production and directed the staging. For over 21 years, Really Inventive Stuff has presented their vaudeville-inspired Peter and the Wolf more than 180 times with numerous orchestras in North America and abroad, including those of Singapore, Winnipeg, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Detroit, Seattle, Jacksonville, Princeton, Richmond, Indianapolis, Annapolis, New Haven, the Music Academy of the West, and 17 performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Really Inventive Stuff is over the moon to narrate the world premiere of How to Escape from the Zoo!
Along with orchestral performances, Michael and Sara are hosts of the YouTube series Taphotopia, celebrating noteworthy people and their remarkable achievements (taphotopia. com). Sara is a certified Antigym® practitioner and the director of Centered Heart Collective, a collaborative space for holistic practices, classes, and workshops. Michael and Sara live in Maine with their sweet-faced cat, Pippy.
ANDREW MAXFIELD, COMPOSER The compositions of Andrew Maxfield — hailed as “rhythmically vital … superbly judged … [and] tender” by Fanfare — have been performed throughout the U.S. and Europe. A recent winner of the King’s Singer’s New Music Prize (Jury Special Commendation), Andrew has been a composer fellow of the National Collegiate Choral Organization and composer in residence for the Newburyport Choral Society, Southern Virginia University, and Sound of Ages. Andrew’s music has recently been performed by the Utah Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Salt Lake Symphony, Utah Opera, USC Thornton Chamber Singers, Choral Arts Initiative, The Choir of Royal Holloway, The Gesualdo Six, Choral Chameleon, and many others. Andrew’s work has also been championed and commissioned by soprano Chelsea Helm. Recent commissions include the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, Southeast Kansas Symphony Orchestra, Center for Latter-day Saint Arts in New York City, NEXT Ensemble, and a concert-length score for SALT Contemporary Dance, showcased at Lincoln Center. His album, Celebrating Wendell Berry in Music, was released by Tantara Records, and his “well-crafted, approachable” works (George Case, The Boston Cecilia) are published by Walton Music, Santa Barbara Music Publishing, and Yalecrest Music. Andrew learned his craft at the European America Musical Alliance Institute in Paris, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and the University of Bristol via mentorship with Philip Lasser (The Juilliard School), John Pickard, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and Marti Epstein. He also holds a Master of Business Administration in arts administration from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Andrew lives with his wife Liz Davis Maxfield and their two handsome, high-octane boys (plus their fearless labradoodle, Felix) just downhill from Sundance Mountain Resort in Provo, Utah.
RUTHIE PRILLAMAN, LIBRETTIST Ruthie Prillaman is a best-selling writer, librettist, and musician from Potomac, Maryland, whose work approaches her bookish interests with a sense of humor and discovery. Her first middle grade novel, Maple’s Theory of Fun, written with Kate McMillan, was published by Aladdin Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, and became a USA Today best-seller. The sequel, Maple’s Formula for Victory came out in the spring of 2025. As a librettist, Ruthie has received commissions from choirs and orchestras across the country, including the Utah Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Swarthmore College, Haverford College, Yale University, and more. She is one half of the classically inflected cosmic folk duo Small Fools along with her brother, Nathan, and recently toured with indie folk outfit The Oh Hellos. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California, where she writes and consults for television and works with student writers at the Wesley School and the Institute for Educational Advancement.
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