MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) presents Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 on May 10 & 11, 2024 led by Music Director Nicholas Hersh. The weekend’s program includes living composer, Arvo Pärt’s Fratres, Amy Beach’s Peace I Leave With You, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor. The concerts will feature the MSO Chorus, directed by Daniel R. Afonso Jr., and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 will also feature guest soloists: soprano Georgiana Adams, mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich, tenor Alex Boyer, and bass Matt Boehler.

MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) presents their 94th season led by MSO Music Director Nicholas Hersh. The MSO’s season will kick off with Picnic at the Pops! Dancing in the Street: The Music of Motown, featuring the music of Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross.

MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) presents Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto on April 12 & 13, 2024 led by Music Director Nicholas Hersh. The weekend’s concerts will feature the MSO’s debut of the works of Argentinian-composer Astor Piazzolla’s Tangazo (Variations on Buenos Aires), and French-composer Louise Farrenc’s Symphony No. 3 in G minor. The program also includes an arrangement by Hersh of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Fugue in G minor, also known as the “Little Fugue.” The concert will conclude with Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, featuring world-renowned violinist, Tai Murray as the soloist.

MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) presents Symphonic Soundtrack on March 15 & 16, 2024 led by Music Director Nicholas Hersh. The weekend’s concerts will be presented in a new format for the MSO. It will have no intermission and includes a program curated by Hersh and the MSO orchestra musicians that features their favorite, shorter pieces of symphonic repertoire. Another new addition is after the concert, all audience members are invited to join Hersh and the MSO orchestra musicians for a party in the Gallo Center for the Arts lobby featuring refreshments, appetizers, and the opportunity to mingle and celebrate the love of music.

MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra Association (MSOA) is proud to announce that Rylan Post , concertmaster of the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra (MSYO), has been appointed concertmaster for the Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra, located in Mariposa, California. He will be the fourth concertmaster in the organization’s 21-year history and the youngest at the age of 15. Conductor and Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra Founder, Les Marsden announced the appointment in early December 2024, emphasizing Post’s artistic maturity, technique, and tone quality.

MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will perform Gershwin’s An American in Paris on February 9 & 10, 2024 led by Music Director Nicholas Hersh. The weekend’s program includes MSO’s premiere of William L. Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony, as well as Lili Boulanger’s D’un Matin de Printemps (Of a Spring Morning) which will feature a video presentation created in collaboration with Visit Modesto. The program will end with Gershwin’s An American in Paris.

MODESTO, CA - The Modesto Symphony Orchestra’s (MSO) holiday concerts offer fun for the entire family. Complete with holiday décor and your favorite carols, the MSO’s holiday concerts have become community favorites. The first of the MSO’s two holiday concerts is Holiday Pops! on Friday, December 1, 2023 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, December 2, 2023 at the Gallo Center for the Arts. Conducted by Principal Pops Conductor Ryan Murray, this lively and festive concert features Broadway star Ashley Brown and the MSO Chorus. The Holiday Candlelight Concert will be held on December 19, 2023 at 8 pm in a new location, Our Lady of Fatima Church at 505 W. Granger Ave. in Modesto. MSO Chorus Director, Daniel R. Afonso Jr., will conduct this traditional holiday concert and Our Lady of Fatima Church is the perfect setting for a more intimate concert that will also feature the MSO Chorus and the Opus Handbell Ensemble.

MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will perform Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” featuring a screening of Disney’s timeless holiday classic with Grammy®-winning composer Danny Elfman’s musical score performed live to the film. The concert will be led by Principal Pops Conductor Ryan Murray on Friday, November 3rd, 2023 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, November 4th, 2023 at 2:00 pm at the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas will be celebrating its 30th Anniversary this October.

MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will open its 93rd season with new Music Director Nicholas Hersh with Tchaikovsky & Copland on Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14, 2023. The program will start with Mozart’s Overture to The Marriage of Figaro then will feature pianist Alessio Bax on Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The evening will conclude with Copland’s Symphony No. 3 which features the well-known theme from Fanfare for the Common Man. As part of the opening weekend festivities, the MSO will have an after-party in the lobby to celebrate the new season and their new Music Director Nicholas Hersh.

MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra Association (MSOA) is excited to announce that the Board of Directors has named Nicholas Hersh as the organization’s next Music Director. Hersh is only the ninth music director for the Modesto Symphony Orchestra and he will lead the MSOA’s 93rd season. Hersh’s artistic leadership will bring innovative, captivating, and exciting ideas and programs into our community and his passion for music education will help guide our existing education programs to new heights.