Madison Symphony Orchestra

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Lisa Marie Mazzucco

Thomas Mesa

The meditative Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B Minor and Grofé’s engulfing Grand Canyon Suite, in the same program — with a multimedia projection to accompany the latter? An embarrassment of riches, plus the MSO debut of Cuban American cellist Thomas Mesa. There are also two Madison premieres of shorter works: Honegger’s tone poem “Rugby” and Walker’s “Lyric for Strings.”

press release: The Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) continues its 2021–22 Symphony subscription season with Music Director John DeMain and the MSO performing music from Arthur Honegger, Antonín Dvořák, George Walker and Ferde Grofé. 

“Grand Panorama” features the debut of Cuban American cellist Thomas Mesa in an expressive performance of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor. Accompanied by a visually stunning multimedia projection, the MSO also performs Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite, and presents two Madison premieres, Honneger’s Rugby and Walker’s Lyric for String Orchestra.

“November brings us a rich and diverse concert featuring Cuban-American cellist Thomas Mesa for his first appearance with the full Madison Symphony Orchestra performing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor,” expressed Music Director John DeMain. “Two Madison premieres include African-American composer George Walker’s immensely popular Lyric for Strings, and Honegger’s Rugby, a musical depiction of a rugby match with all its rough and tumble tackles and passes, and a short celebration of victory at the end. A dazzling multimedia presentation of Ferde Grofé legendary Grand Canyon Suite will convey visual and musical moods of the canyon with synchronized imagery assembled by Stephen Lias.”

The MSO will perform the Grand Panorama concerts on Friday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, November 13 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 14 at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall, 201 State Street.

Concert, Ticket and Event Details

The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert. The Symphony recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations. A Prelude Discussion takes place one hour before each Symphony concert by Randal Swiggum that is free to all ticketholders.

Single tickets for all Symphony and Organ concerts are on sale now through the Overture Center Box office. Tickets can be purchased online at overture.org, in-person or by phone by calling (608) 258-4141 during Box Office hours (visit overture.org for current schedule). 21/22 Symphony subscriptions are available through November 19, 2021. More information about subscriptions and the season can be found at madisonsymphony.org.

Three performances of the Grand Panorama concerts will take place and ticket prices range from $20 to $98. More information about the November 12-14 “Grand Panorama” concerts can be viewed at madisonsymphony.org/panorama. 

About Thomas Mesa

Thomas Mesa, Cuban-American cellist, is the winner of the 2017 Astral Artists Auditions and the 2016 Sphinx Competition. He previously played with Principal Organist Greg Zelek for a recital during the 2018-19 Organ Series. He has performed in a wide variety of solo engagements across the United States including with The Cleveland Orchestra and the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl as well as at the Mainly Mozart Festival, Carnegie Hall, The Supreme Court of the United States, and at the International Beethoven Project. As an enthusiastic interpreter of music for choir and cello, Mr. Mesa was one of the featured instrumentalists on The Crossing Choir’s album called “Bonhoeffer” that was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2017. As a chamber musician, Mr. Mesa has toured with Itzhak Perlman both nationally and internationally and is a member of St. Petersburg Piano Quartet who are in high demand for the most important series in America. Mr. Mesa received his bachelor’s degree from the Juilliard School and his master’s degree from Northwestern University where he was the recipient of the Richard and Helen Thomas Fellowship and Graduate Program Honors for extraordinary contributions to the String Department. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

Health & Safety precautions

Overture Center for the Arts along with Overture Resident Companies have implemented comprehensive measures to adhere to all public health guidelines and assure the safety of audiences, staff, musicians and guest artists, including proof of vaccination or negative test, and wearing masks. Refreshments will be available before the concerts, and during intermission. More information about the many safety protocols can be found at overture.org/health, and madisonsymphony.org/faq.

Money Back Guarantee

The MSO will continue to offer a refund for tickets to any concert that cannot be performed for any reason.

We’ve created a Frequently Asked Questions page to provide answers. If you have any further questions about subscriptions, single tickets, or our 21/22 season plans, please call (608) 257-3734, or email us at info@madisonsymphony.org.