Press Room
Press Release: Modesto Symphony Orchestra & Chorus to Perform Carmina Burana, Celebrating 95 Years of Music
MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will close their Classics Series with performances of Carmina Burana on May 8 & 9, 2026 led by Music Director Nicholas Hersh. The concerts will feature the MSO Chorus, directed by Daniel R. Afonso Jr., the Central Valley Youth Chorus, directed by Beth Holtan, and will also feature guest soloists: soprano Anastasia Malliaras, tenor Daniel Ebbers, and bass Malcolm MacKenzie. Members of the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra will have the opportunity to perform side-by-side with the professional musicians of the MSO on Glinka’s Overture from Ruslan und Ludmilla.
Press Release: Modesto Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Brings Verdi’s Epic Requiem to Modesto
MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) presents Verdi’s Requiem on May 9 & 10, 2025 led by Music Director Nicholas Hersh. The concerts will feature the MSO Chorus, directed by Daniel R. Afonso Jr., and will also feature guest soloists: soprano Alexandra Loutsion, mezzo-soprano Alice Chung, tenor Ben Gulley, and bass DeAndre Simmons.
Press Release: Celebrate the Holidays with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra
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.
Press Release: Modesto Symphony Orchestra Performs Mozart Requiem May 12 & 13
MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will be led by conductor Anthony Parnther for their Mozart Requiem concerts on May 12 & 13, 2023 at the Gallo Center for the Arts. The weekend’s program will open with Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, K. 626, featuring the MSO Chorus, directed by Daniel R. Afonso Jr. The Requiem will also feature guest soloists: soprano Jennifer Lindsay, mezzo-soprano Maria Dominique Lopez, tenor Orson Van Gay, II, and baritone Zachary Gordin. The program will conclude with Florence Price’s Symphony No. 3 in C minor. This symphony is a tribute to Price’s heritage, with influences of blues, jazz, ragtime, and the third movement is a Juba, a dance style created by central Africans enslaved on plantations in the American South.
Press Release: Celebrate the Holidays with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra
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 2nd at 7:30 pm and Saturday, December 3rd at 2pm at the Gallo Center for the Arts. Conducted by Principal Pops Conductor Ryan Murray, this lively and festive concert features Broadway star Nikki Renée Daniels and the MSO Chorus. The Holiday Candlelight Concert will be held on December 20th at the St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. MSO Chorus Director, Daniel R. Afonso Jr., will conduct this traditional holiday concert and St. Stanislaus Church is the perfect setting for a more intimate concert that will also feature the MSO Chorus.