MSO’s 90th Season Reimagined Through Virtual Programming

MSO’S 90TH SEASON REIMAGINED THROUGH VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING

This season marks the Modesto Symphony Orchestra’s 90th season. Back in March, we were preparing to announce a full slate of concerts including our 26th annual Picnic at the Pops, another thrilling live movie concert, and our five Music Director candidates that would help lead us into a new era. With the reality of not being able to have in-person concerts through March 2021, a new era is certainly upon us, though not the way we anticipated. 

Our reimagined 2020-21 Season will include free virtual events once a month to stay connected with the community. In July we started our MSO at Home series with a live recital featuring MSO pianist John Hillebrandt as he performed from his living room. John impressed viewers as he performed pieces by Ravel, Chopin, and one of his own compositions. We then featured our Concertmaster Dan Flanagan in August. Dan showed off his versatility when he performed two newly composed pieces inspired by paintings from his extensive collection, he displayed his technical mastery with a Bach sonata, and topped it off with a variety of fiddle tunes! Recordings of both recitals are still available on our website if you missed the live performances or want to relive the fun. Future programs will feature other MSO musicians and guest artists in recital, as well as the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra. Our virtual events, as well as our education programs, are made possible by the generosity of our dedicated supporters. 

Though, like most cultural organizations across the country, the MSO has not been immune to the financial repercussions due to the pandemic. In light of our concert cancellations, we had to make some cost-saving measures that include the furlough of musicians and the restructuring of staff and duties. 

Through these trying changes, the MSO Board of Directors remain focused on long term viability while continuing to fulfill our mission of enriching lives through music and music education. We have rescheduled our Music Director finalists’ debuts for the 2021-22 season. Though we wish they could have conducted this year, they all remain excited about the opportunity to perform in Modesto and to meet the community. 

The Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra (MSYO) will continue to meet and have virtual rehearsals and concerts. We have already received over 60 audition videos for the upcoming 2020-21 MSYO Season. Additionally, we are continuing to work with local schools and offer support for music education including engaging MSO musicians to perform and work with students. However, the Modesto Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Youth Chorus are suspended until it is safe to meet and sing together in-person. 

The MSO believes in the power of music to bring people together and to create a sense of community and these are two things we need more than ever. Stay tuned–further announcements about our new virtual offerings are coming soon. This year will be our most innovative season yet and we can’t wait to experience it with you.

Congratulations MSO Associate Conductor Ryan Murray, American Prize Finalist!

Our MSO Associate Conductor Ryan Murray recently has been awarded Second Place in the 2019-20 American Prize in Conducting (Professional Orchestra Division)! Murray was awarded for his amazing performance conducting our Sibelius & Tchaikovsky concerts on April 12 & 13, 2019.

On behalf of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra, congrats to Ryan!

The American Prize is a series of non-profit national competitions in the performing arts for the best recorded performances by ensembles and individuals each year in the United States. To learn more visit www.theamericanprize.org.

Ryan Murray conducting Sibelius Concerto in D Minor, featuring violinist Angelo Xiang Yu

MSO on Good Day Sacramento

Watch Ryan Murray on Good Day Sacramento in the 8 o'clock hour for a sneak peek of our recital with Dan Flanagan!

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Find out more about Dan’s recital here:

LIVE / MSO at Home: John Hillebrandt in Recital

John Hillebrandt in Recital

HOSTED BY RYAN MURRAY

The MSO's first virtual recital! Tune in and reconnect with Ryan Murray and MSO pianist John Hillebrandt as he performs live from his home.

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PROGRAM

Maurice Ravel
Jeux d'eau (Fountains)

Frederic Chopin
Ballade No.4 in F Minor, Op. 52

John Hillebrandt
Nocturne 

Featuring

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We’d love to hear what you thought about this program. Your feedback will help us plan future events!

This virtual performance is free for all and supported in part by Caroline Nickel & Tony Vlcek

Meet the Musician: John Hillebrandt

Our first virtual recital will be with MSO pianist John Hillebrandt on July 22nd. We connected with John to get a bit of insight on the program he’s put together for his recital and to see how he’s been since we last saw him on stage!

MSO: Thank you for doing this interview with us, we’re all excited for your upcoming virtual recital! Let’s start with your background with the MSO. You’ve been with us for 24 years. During that time, we’ve performed a couple of your compositions. Are there any specific performances that are particularly memorable or stand out?

John Hillebrandt: One memory that stands out is from just two years ago when the MSO commissioned my piece, Valley Fever, as part of the Graffiti Festival celebration. It’s always amazing to experience something that starts as a mental idea grow into an organized, written score, and then become realized by a live orchestra and dancers for a live audience. The whole process, including the marketing and collaborating, was tremendous.

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MSO: That was a truly unique performance. A concert that featured three commissions focused around the Graffiti Festival and a collaboration with Central West Ballet – all to celebrate Modesto!

What led you to choose the piano as your instrument?

JH: Fate, perhaps. I did play clarinet for a while in elementary school, and I do play organ for church services, but the piano and its repertoire just clicked with my sensibilities and personality, and I’ve never looked back.

MSO: What do you enjoy most about making music with an orchestra?

JH: Pianists typically spend much more time in isolation practicing and working on their solo repertoire, or perhaps small chamber-sized pieces. So to be immersed in the rich and massive textures and sounds of an orchestra is like a whole different world. The professional musicians that I get to work with are amazing and inspiring, and I never get tired of being a part of that incredible experience.

MSO: We certainly miss hearing you and the rest of the orchestra perform. What have you been doing to pass the time while sheltering in place?

JH: My wife, Ramona, and I have a daughter who will be four years old in August. Since the shelter in place went into effect, we’ve all been home together most of the time. Having a young child at home 24/7 is a never-ending adventure and journey of imagination and discovery. We do a lot of playing, gardening, swimming, and learning. Thankfully, I was already teaching online through Modesto Junior College, and my church work also migrated to the virtual world, so we’re able to keep the lights on.

MSO: Thinking about your recital now, can you tell us about the Ravel and Chopin pieces you’ve programmed?

JH: Ravel’s Jeux d’eau, which means “Fountains”, is a great image for a hot summer season. It’s a beautiful, sparkling masterpiece by the great French composer—fun to perform and fun to listen to! Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52, is one of Chopin’s mature masterpieces. It has everything one associates with Chopin—haunting, lyrical melodies, lush harmonies, and breathtaking pianistic writing.

MSO: You’ve programmed your composition, Nocturne, to end the program. Are there any ties from the Ravel and the Chopin to your Nocturne?

JH: My Nocturne was written in 1990 and is very much in the vein of Chopin, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, and Scriabin—all great Romantic or Impressionist composers whose music can be both poetic, yet often deep and melancholy. This Nocturne explores a twilight world, somewhere between major and minor keys, and is a kind of venture into dreamworlds.

We hope you’ll join us on July 22nd to hear more from John and enjoy our first virtual recital!

Celebrating David Lockington's Legacy

Thank you Maestro David Lockington for the past 13 years of dedication as the Music Director to the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. Best wishes to your future endeavors! Love, the MSO.

MSO at Home: Johanna Borenstein performs Debussy

Modesto Symphony's principal flute, Johanna Borenstein, blends storytelling and song in her performance of Debussy's Syrinx.

MSO at Home: Don & Andrew Grishaw perform Hans Gál

Music making at the Grishaw house in Turlock, CA. Don Grishaw, on the piano, is a longtime member of the violin section of the Modesto Symphony. He also conducts Modesto Symphony Youth Concert Orchestra. Don and his son, Andrew Grishaw, perform the Impromptu for Viola and Piano by Hans Gál. Be safe and stay well!

MSO at Home: Associate Conductor Ryan Murray plays Puccini's La bohème

Modesto Symphony's Associate Conductor and MSYO Music Director, Ryan Murray offers some insights on what he's working on while at home, and shares a piano and bassoon duet of himself performing the aria "Che gelida manina" from Puccini's La bohème.

MSO at Home: Trombonist Tony Collins plays Castérède

Modesto Symphony's Tony Collins, trombone, plays Castérède's Sonatine for Trombone and Piano: II. Andante sostenuto for our audiences at home.

LISTEN / Offstage with the MSO

Our staff wanted to share their love with music with you even offstage. Here is a small sample of what our staff has been listening to currently…

MSO at Home: Violist Katy Juneau's Practice Space

"Keep well, be healthy, take good care of yourselves." ❤️🎻 Violist Katy Juneau sends her well wishes and gives a tour of her home studio.