Madison Symphony Orchestra

×

Expand

Peter Rodgers

A man with an oboe in front of a dark background.

Marc Fink is principal oboist for the Madison Symphony Orchestra.

The MSO opens its season with “Infinite Joy,” and the heavy-hitters on the program (delayed from the past two seasons due to COVID) should deliver just that for classical music fans. Beethoven's iconic Symphony No. 9 in D Minor features the Madison Symphony Chorus along with guest soloists soprano Laquita Mitchell, mezzo-soprano Kirsten Lippart, tenor Jared Esguerra, and bass Matt Boehler. Mozart's Oboe Concerto will feature Marc Fink, longtime principal oboist for the MSO, who retired in 2020. Concerts are at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday; tickets at overture.org.

Concert schedule: Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2:30 pm. Single tickets $98-$20, available in person at the Overture Center Box Office, 201 State Street (Box Office Hours); Online at overture.org; or by phone (608) 258-4141.

media release: Madison Symphony Orchestra’s (MSO) Subscription Symphony Season commences in Overture Hall this month with a long-awaited program featuring Mozart’s Oboe Concerto and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor.

“It will be a true expression of joy when we all come together for a thrilling return to live classical music in Overture Hall,” Music Director John DeMain exclaims. “We invite you to experience Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, one of the most iconic masterpieces of all time that celebrates the freedom and triumph of the human spirit over adversity — bringing to life its “Ode to Joy” — with more meaning now than ever before. We open this special program by honoring the brilliant tenure of our principal oboist Marc Fink with the Oboe Concerto by Mozart, who was Beethoven’s compositional inspiration. I can’t wait to welcome you back to Overture Hall this season.”

Marc Fink joined the Madison Symphony Orchestra in 1973 as English hornist and was named principal oboist in 1988. Marc’s distinguished career includes 40 years on the faculty of the UW-Madison Mead-Witter School of Music. He was oboist in the faculty Wingra Quintet and has recorded with local music groups including the Pro Arte Quartet and Russian Folk Orchestra. Read Marc’s full biography: https://madisonsymphony.org/joy

The joyous finale, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, features the Madison Symphony Chorus directed by Beverly Taylor along with Soprano Laquita Mitchell, Mezzo-Soprano Kirsten Lippart, Tenor Jared Esguerra, and Matt Boehler, Bass.

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. All ticket holders are welcome to attend a free half-hour pre-concert talk one hour before each performance by Michael Allsen in Overture Hall.

Single tickets 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. $15 student rush tickets may be purchased beginning the Friday of the concert weekend through the performance time on each day at the Overture Box Office.

Three performances of the “Infinite Joy” concerts will take place September 23, 24, & 25 and ticket prices range from $20 to $98. More information is found at https://madisonsymphony.org/joy

Subscriptions

New 22/23 symphony season subscribers save up to save up to 50% of single ticket prices. Discover more at madisonsymphony.org/22-23. 

Health & Safety precautions

Masks are optional but strongly encouraged in the lobby, during the performance, and at the post-concert receptions. Proof of vaccination is no longer required to enter Overture Center. More information about the many safety protocols can be found at overture.org/health, and madisonsymphony.org/health.

Money Back Guarantee

The MSO will continue to offer a refund for tickets to any concert that cannot be performed for any reason. The MSO will adhere to all public health guidelines and cooperate with Overture Center for the Arts for the safety of its audiences, musicians and staff. Programs, dates, and artists subject to change.

About Marc Fink

Marc Fink was Principal Oboist for the Madison Symphony Orchestra for 33 years and a professor at UW-Madison for 40 years. Fink’s career has taken him around the world, including tours of the North Slope of Alaska with the Arctic Chamber Orchestra; the South Bohemian Music Festival in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic; the Colon Theatre in Buenos Aires; and the Kremlin Kazan International Festival in Kazan, Russia. He has recorded with the Pro Arte Quartet, the University of Wisconsin Russian Folk Orchestra, and the Wingra Quartet. His former students are active in the professional world, in both orchestral and teaching positions, and he served as former president of the International Double Reed Society, an organization of more than 4,000 double reed enthusiasts all over the world. Mr. Fink’s principal teachers have been Jerry Sirucek, Ray Still, Robert Mayer, and Marcel Moyse.

About Laquita Mitchell

Soprano Laquita Mitchell consistently earns acclaim on eminent international opera and concert stages worldwide. In her compelling début as Bess in Porgy and Bess with the San Francisco Opera, Opera News said “Laquita Mitchell, in her first outing as Bess, dazzled the SFO [San Francisco Opera] audience with her purity of tone and vivid theatrical presence.” Ms. Mitchell performed as the soprano soloist in the world première of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road at Carnegie Hall with Oratorio Society of New York which was nominated for a 2021 Grammy for Best Choral Performance. Additional recent performances include the title role in Tom Cipullo’s Josephine with Opera Colorado, as well as The Promise of Living, a concert program conceived by Ms. Mitchell, Bess in Porgy and Bess with Grange Park Opera in the UK, Lithuanian State Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and Baltimore Symphony, a reprisal of Sanctuary Road with the Columbus Symphony, a Gala Concert for Colorado Symphony, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Barber’s Knoxville: Summer 1915 with the Augusta Symphony.

About Kirsten Lippart

Kirsten Lippart is a lyric mezzo-soprano based in Madison, WI. She frequently performs operatic, musical theatre, and concert stages, both in choral groups and as a soloist. During the 2019-20 season, Ms. Lippart was the Studio Artist with the Madison Opera. With a wide range and vocal flexibility, she has performed a variety of operatic and musical theatre roles such as Alisa, Lucia di Lammermoor; Third Wood Sprite, Rusalka; Fox, The Cunning Little Vixen; Lola, Cavalleria Rusticana; Third Spirit, The Magic Flute; and Flora, La Traviata; among others.

About Jared Esguerra

Filipino-American tenor, Jared Esguerra, is a dedicated performer of vocal works ranging from opera to concert repertoire and musical theater. The Chicago native has been praised for his “pleasing tenor” voice and continues to be in high demand. In addition to his role debut as Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff at the Crested Butte Music Festival in 2018, he has portrayed Miles in The Turn of the Screw with Chicago Fringe Opera and Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte with the Floating Opera Company. He has also sung Pirelli in Sweeney Todd with the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center, the Messenger in Il Trovatore at Sarasota Opera, and the Englishman in Angélique, Luiz in The Gondoliers, and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus all at DePaul University, of which he’s an alumnus. On the concert stage, Jared recently appeared as the tenor soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Now Let’s Sing and with Chicago Sinfonietta in its MLK Tribute concert series. After a sold-out run of West Side Story as A-Rab at the Edinburgh International Festival, Jared returned to appear with Chicago Opera Theater (COT) in the critically acclaimed world premiere of Freedom Ride in 2020. He also covered the role of Giovanni in COT’s live-streamed production of La hija de Rappaccini in April 2021.

About Matt Boehler 

Hailed by The New York Times as “a bass with an attitude and the goods to back it up,” Matt Boehler is a singer equally at home on the international opera stage as well as the concert platform. He has appeared as a principal artist with The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Dallas Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Theater St. Gallen, and Canadian Opera Company, as well as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and the New York Festival of Song, among many others. Frequently in demand as a collaborator and interpreter of new music, Matt’s discography features many world premieres. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, he trained as an actor at Viterbo College, an opera singer at Juilliard, and as a composer at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

About the Madison Symphony Orchestra

The Madison Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 97th season in 2022–2023. The MSO has grown to be one of America’s leading regional orchestras, providing Madison and south-central Wisconsin with cultural and educational opportunities to interact with great masterworks and top-tier guest artists from around the world. 2023–2024 is Music Director John DeMain’s 30th anniversary season. The MSO’s 100th anniversary season celebration will take place during the 2025–2026 season. Learn more at madisonsymphony.org

The presenting sponsor for “Infinite Joy” is Myrna Larson. Major funding is provided by Rosemarie and Fred Blancke, BMO Harris Bank, Ernest and Louise Borden, Madison Symphony Orchestra League, David and Kato Perlman, and Cyrena and Lee Pondrom. Additional funding is provided by Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.