Welcome to a season of Energy! The MSO has a fantastic season of concerts that run the gamut of emotions: from Picnic at the Pops! Dancing in the Streets to a new spin on Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons to bringing Walt Disney’s beloved animated Fantasia to life on screen and stage! You’re guaranteed to move and be moved this season at the Modesto Symphony Orchestra.
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Branford Marsalis, saxophone
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Audrey Wright, violin
Ryan Murray, conductor
MSO Chorus, Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
Fri. Dec 6, 2024 at 7:30pm
Sat. Dec 7, 2024 at 2:00pm
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra, side-by-side
Fri. April 11, 2025 at 7:30pm
Sat. April 12, 2025 at 7:30pm
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
MSO Chorus, Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
Fri. May 9, 2025 at 7:30pm
Sat. May 10, 2025 at 7:30pm
Nicholas Hersh, Music Director of Modesto Symphony Orchestra, talks with co-host Linda Scheller about becoming a conductor, music in education, balancing the canon, a music director's responsibilities, and the significance of live musical performances.
MSO Chorus Director, Daniel R. Afonso Jr. joins MSO Music Director, Nicholas Hersh as they discuss the joys of uniting two musical forces: orchestra & chorus in Beethoven's masterpiece: Symphony No. 9!
They also provide insight about the challenges of singing in acapella and English for the Chorus' performance of Amy Beach's "Peace I Leave With You" (Don't get them started on diphthongs!)
See the MSO & MSO Chorus perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 live this May 10 & 11, 2024 at the Gallo Center for the Arts.
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
MSO Chorus
Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
Music Director Nicholas Hersh explores how composers Astor Piazzolla, Louise Farrenc, and Felix Mendelssohn were inspired by studying Bach and the Baroque period, and created fresh and innovative compositions.
See the MSO perform the works of Farrenc, Mendelssohn, and Piazzolla live this April 12 & 13, 2024 at the Gallo Center for the Arts.
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Tai Murray, violin
Fri. April 12, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Sat. April 13, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Programming a concert by yourself can get lonely, but with musicians to help: it's a party! Music Director Nicholas Hersh along with MSO musicians, Don Grishaw, violin and Rob Patterson, clarinet, introduce a brand new symphony experience: Symphonic Soundtrack! This performance will be a relaxed & fun concert featuring shorter pieces curated by the MSO, followed by an after-party for our audiences to meet & mingle with our musicians & music lovers.
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Rob Patterson, clarinet
Fri. March 15, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Sat. March 16, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Nicholas Hersh & Pitman High School Orchestra
The 21st-century symphony orchestra should have two fundamental missions: presenting musical experiences for the community at the highest possible artistic caliber, and providing opportunities in music education for as many children as possible. The most cynical amongst us might say we're simply preparing the next generation of music lovers to come to the symphony! Of course, anyone who has taken music lessons, or been in a school or after-school musical ensemble, knows that there’s so much more to the experience than simply “how to music.”
Music educators teach a myriad of skills, like cooperation (“open your ears and play together!”), critical thinking (“who has the important line here?”), problem solving (“try this fingering!”), attention to detail (“don’t rush the eighth notes!”), and discipline (“practice!!!”). And there is nothing so satisfying for a student as mastering a piece of music and performing it in front of gathered friends and family.
Nicholas Hersh & Johansen High School Band
My own years in school orchestra and youth orchestra were formative for my life and career, instilling in me a deep appreciation for the symphonic experience that led me to become a conductor. It’s a core tenet of my vision for the MSO to continue to invest in music education, and to expand its reach as far as possible.
Music Director Nicholas Hersh takes us back to experience what it was like to be an artist and composer during the period between World War I and World War II, both at home in America and abroad in Paris. He deep dives into three composers of the time: George Gershwin, Lili Boulanger, and William L. Dawson, and explores the connections between them.
See the MSO perform the works of Gershwin, Boulanger, and Dawson this February 9 & 10, 2024 at the Gallo Center for the Arts.
We are so excited for Nicholas Hersh’s to join our Modesto community, and we can’t wait for you to meet him. We asked him to share a bit about himself from what instrument he plays to his favorite pizza topping. Keep reading to learn more about Nicholas!
If you weren’t a conductor/musician, what would you want to be?
Probably an astronomer—I’m fascinated by space and celestial bodies!
Star Wars or Star Trek? Lifelong Star Wars nerd, reporting in
What instrument do you play?
Cello.
What was the first concert you went to? The first I really remember is The Magic Flute at the Chicago Lyric Opera when I was about 6 or 7.
Besides music, what was your favorite subject in school?
My high school had a fantastic curriculum called Chem-Phys, where you took Chemistry and Physics jointly. I wasn’t great with the Chem, but absolutely loved the Phys!
Dogs or cats?
Love them all, but seeing as I have two cats at home...
Describe yourself in three words. Curious. Creative. Committed.
Do you have a secret talent?
Not too secret (see Instagram), but I make sourdough bread.
What is your favorite pizza topping?
Cheese, cheese and more cheese!
What would be the theme music to your life?
John Williams’ “Adventures on Earth” from E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial
Go to the beach, or go to the mountains?
First one, then the other! But I just went skiing for the first time, and I LOVED it.
“I am beyond thrilled that my first music directorship will be in such a vibrant, music-loving city as Modesto. There was a certain electricity in the Gallo Center when the MSO musicians and I collaborated last year, shared not only onstage but with the audience as well; together we’ll grow that energy, creating bespoke artistic experiences for the entire Modesto community and cementing the role of music education for all ages as a driver of social good.
Orchestral music has endured, and I believe symphonies will continue to serve as a vehicle for great music. You have gathered onstage a group of virtuoso musicians working together toward a unified musical vision, and an audience gathered in the house to take it in. It’s a bit of an odd ritual—this mysterious congregation! But it’s the sense of community the orchestra creates, with every musician and concertgoer participating, that gives an orchestra concert its staying power: when the lights go down and the sound of some eighty acoustic instruments envelops you and those around you...well, there are few words to describe that sensation.”
Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
Conductor Nicholas Hersh is excited for his debut as the MSO’s new Music Director! He has put together a program that celebrates not only the partnership of MSO and himself, but also this new era for the MSO and our community.
Hear the MSO perform the works of Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Copland live this October 13 & 14, 2023!
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Alessio Bax, piano
Music Director Nicholas Hersh invites you to Hear What's Next in this Modesto Symphony Orchestra's 2023/24 Classics Season!
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Alessio Bax, piano
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Rob Patterson, clarinet
Fri. March 15, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Sat. March 16, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Tai Murray, violin
Fri. April 12, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Sat. April 13, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
MSO Chorus
Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
The Modesto Symphony Orchestra Association is excited to announce that our Board of Directors has named Nicholas Hersh as our next music director! Nick will be the ninth music director in our 93-year history, and we are eager to see how Nick’s artistic vision and passion for music education will raise the MSOA and our programs to new heights!
Guest conductor Nicholas Hersh explores the great mysteries of life and death through the works of Schubert, Rachmaninoff, and Sibelius.
Hersh will lead the MSO for the Rachmaninoff & Sibelius concerts. This program gives us the opportunity to hear Hersh’s arrangement of the second movement of Schubert’s famous string quartet, Death and the Maiden. Then pianist George Li will be featured on Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the program will finish with Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5. This breathtaking beauty captures 16 soaring swans when the strings mimic the fluttering of wings and a glorious, arching theme played by the French horns.
Hear the works of Schubert, Rachmaninoff, and Sibelius performed live by the MSO this November 11th & 12th, 2022!
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Branford Marsalis, saxophone
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