October 10 & 11 / Williams & Rachmaninoff
Williams & Rachmaninoff
Celebrating the Cinematic Sounds of Hollywood
Performances
Friday, October 10, 2025
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
Saturday, October 11, 2025
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
For more information about our ticket prices, please visit our Ticketing Information Page.
About this Performance
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Timothy Loo, cello
The Modesto Symphony Orchestra is kicking off their 95th Season by rolling out the red carpet! Celebrate the cinematic sounds of Hollywood with John Williams’ Cello Concerto, a bold and expressive work that will feature Turlock native, Timothy Loo. The evening will conclude with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 taking you on a rapturous journey through lyrical swells of color and harmony.
Program
John Williams: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
⏲: ~110 minutes
Artists
Media & More
Additional Notes:
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There’s a great seat for you anywhere in the hall to fit your budget! Check out our seating chart.
-
This concert is a part of our VIP & Classics Subscription Series. As an MSO subscriber, you can save up to 30% off single tickets!
-
$15 Student Tickets are available by visiting the Gallo Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID. Students may purchase two $15 tickets per order. Prices include $3/ticket Gallo Center for the Arts facility fee.
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Groups of 10 or more save 15% off for this concert. Contact the Gallo Center Group Sales Manager at 209-338-5064 for more information
November 14 & 15 / Beethoven & Klebanov
Nicholas Hersh,conductor
Simone Porter, violin
Fri. Nov. 14, 2025 at 7:30pm
Sat. Nov. 15, 2025 at 7:30pm
Beethoven & Klebanov
Resilience & Remembrance
Performances
Friday, November 14, 2025
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
Saturday, NOvember 15, 2025
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
For more information about our ticket prices, please visit our Ticketing Information Page.
About this Performance
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Simone Porter, violin
This November, join us as we explore how music transcends cultures, history, and time to bring us together. Beethoven’s radiant Violin Concerto, featuring the brilliant Simone Porter, stands alongside the United States premiere of Dmitri Klebanov’s poignant Symphony No. 1 “In Memoriam Babi Yar”. The evening concludes with John Williams’ moving A Prayer for Peace—a timeless reminder of music’s power to inspire unity and hope.
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
Dimitri Klebanov: Symphony No. 1 “In Memoriam Babi Yar” (U.S. Premiere)
John Williams: A Prayer for Peace
⏲: ~ 113 minutes
Artists
Media & More
Additional Notes:
-
There’s a great seat for you anywhere in the hall to fit your budget! Check out our seating chart.
-
This concert is a part of our VIP & Classics Subscription Series. As an MSO subscriber, you can save up to 30% off single tickets!
-
$15 Student Tickets are available by visiting the Gallo Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID. Students may purchase two $15 tickets per order. Prices include $3/ticket Gallo Center for the Arts facility fee.
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Groups of 10 or more save 15% off for this concert. Contact the Gallo Center Group Sales Manager at 209-338-5064 for more information
Scheherazade & Márquez’s Fandango
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
Fri. Feb. 13, 2026 at 7:30pm
Sat. Feb. 14, 2026 at 7:30pm
Passionate Dances & Powerful Stories
February 13 & 14, 2026
7:30 pm
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
📍 Gallo Center for the Arts
⌛: ~107 minutes
Tickets:
About this Performance
This February, experience an evening of storytelling through the power of music. The program will open with Margaret Bonds’ Montgomery Variations—a poignant tribute to the Civil Rights Movement. Then two-time Latin GRAMMY winner and violinist Anne Akiko Meyers will perform Márquez’s fiery Fandango. The concert will end with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, a journey through the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, filled with sweeping melodies and vivid colors.
♫ Program
Margaret Bonds: Selections from Montgomery Variations
Arturo Márquez: Fandango
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
⌛: ~107 minutes
Additional Notes:
-
There’s a great seat for you anywhere in the hall to fit your budget! Check out our seating chart.
-
This concert is a part of our VIP & Classics Subscription Series. As an MSO subscriber, you can save up to 30% off single tickets!
-
$15 Student Tickets are available by visiting the Gallo Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID. Students may purchase two $15 tickets per order. Prices include $3/ticket Gallo Center for the Arts facility fee.
-
Groups of 10 or more save 15% off for this concert. Contact the Gallo Center Group Sales Manager at 209-338-5064 for more information.
Carmina Burana
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
MSO Chorus; Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
Fri. May 8, 2026 at 7:30pm
Sat. May 9, 2026 at 7:30pm
A Powerful Tribute to 95 Years of Music
May 8 & 9, 2026
7:30 pm
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
MSO Chorus
Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
Members of the MSYO performing side-by-side
Guest Soloists to be announced
📍 Gallo Center for the Arts
Tickets:
For more information about our ticket prices, please visit our Ticketing Information Page.
About this Performance
The MSO’s final Classics concert of the season will have us all celebrating! This program will celebrate the MSO’s 95th season, the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra’s 45th season, and the Modesto Symphony Orchestra Chorus’s 25th season. This finale showcases one of the most well-known pieces of the 20th century, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. This bombastic epic combines powerful brass, rich harmonies, and the full force of the MSO Chorus.
♫ Program
Mikhail Glinka: Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture
Carl Orff: Carmina Burana
Additional Notes:
-
There’s a great seat for you anywhere in the hall to fit your budget! Check out our seating chart.
-
This concert is a part of our VIP & Classics Subscription Series. As an MSO subscriber, you can save up to 30% off single tickets!
-
$15 Student Tickets are available by visiting the Gallo Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID. Students may purchase two $15 tickets per order. Prices include $3/ticket Gallo Center for the Arts facility fee.
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Groups of 10 or more save 15% off for this concert. Contact the Gallo Center Group Sales Manager at 209-338-5064 for more information.
October 5 / Branford Marsalis with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Branford Marsalis, saxophone
Branford Marsalis with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra
propulsive
•
vigorous
•
lush
•
propulsive • vigorous • lush •
Performance
Saturday, October 5, 2024
7:00 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
Tickets starting at $31
Prices include $3 Gallo Center for the Arts facility fee. For more information about our ticket prices, please visit our Ticketing Information Page.
About this Performance
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Branford Marsalis, saxophone
The MSO kicks off their 94th season with acclaimed saxophonist Branford Marsalis! Marsalis will be featured on Milhaud’s Scaramouche and John William’s Escapades, a full symphonic work derived from the score of Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can. This one-night-only concert is one you won’t want to miss!
Program
Alexander Borodin: Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor
Darius Milhaud: Scaramouche
John Williams: Escapades from Catch Me If You Can
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances
⏲: ~101 minutes
(includes 20 min. intermission)
Artists
Media & more
1-Minute music notes:
Alexander Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances has been used widely in popular culture, including being adapted into the 1953 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Kismet and was featured in 2014 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies in Sochi.
Darius Milhaud’s Scaramouche features incidental music that he composed for two plays: Molière’s Le Médecin volant (The Flying Doctor)—where Scaramouche gets its name after the acting troupe named who performed the play, Theater Scaramouche—and Jules Supervielle’s opera, Bolivar.
John Williams’ 1960s jazz-inspired score for Catch Me If You Can was turned into the suite, Escapades, which he premiered as part of the 205th anniversary concert of the United States Marine Band in 2003 conducted by Williams himself.
Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances was his only piece written in its entirety while living in the United States and is remarkable for its use of the alto saxophone as a solo instrument
Additional Notes:
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There’s a great seat for you anywhere in the hall to fit your budget! Check out our seating chart.
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Become an MSO Subscriber by June 30, 2024 to receive Special Subscriber pricing for this concert.
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Groups of 10 or more save 15% off for this concert. Contact the Gallo Center Group Sales Manager at 209-338-5064 for more information.
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Starting October 2, 2024 : $20 Student Tickets are available by visiting the Gallo Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID. Students may purchase two $20 tickets per order. Prices include $3/ticket Gallo Center for the Arts facility fee.
November 1 & 2 / The Four Seasons Mixtape
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Audrey Wright, violin
The Four Seasons Mixtape
firey
•
captivating
•
crystalline
•
firey • captivating • crystalline •
Performances
Friday, November 1, 2024
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
Saturday, NOvember 2, 2024
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
Tickets starting at $23
Prices include $3 Gallo Center for the Arts facility fee. For more information about our ticket prices, please visit our Ticketing Information Page.
About this Performance
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Audrey Wright, violin
To start our Classics Series, Music Director Nicholas Hersh and the MSO will guide us through the four seasons. The evening will start with Mendelssohn’s romantic Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ortiz’s La Calaca which features driving rhythms and stirring melodies inspired by the traditions of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) that celebrate the afterlife in Mexican culture. Finally, we’ll dive deeper into each season with a “mixtape” from Hersh featuring one movement each from Vivaldi, Richter, Ysaÿe, and Piazzolla to create an exploration not only of the seasons, but of each of their cultures.
Program
Felix Mendelssohn: Overture from Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 21
Gabriela Ortiz: La Calaca for String Orchestra
The Four Seasons Mixtape:
Antonio Vivaldi: L'estate (Summer)
Max Richter: Autumn from The Four Seasons Recomposed
Eugène Ysaÿe: Chant d'hiver (Wintersong)
Astor Piazzolla: Primavera porteña (Buenos Aires Spring)
⏲: ~ 65 minutes
(no intermission)
Artists
MEdia & More
Additional Notes:
-
There’s a great seat for you anywhere in the hall to fit your budget! Check out our seating chart.
-
This concert is a part of our VIP & Classics Subscription Series. As an MSO subscriber, you can save up to 30% off single tickets!
-
$15 Student Tickets are available by visiting the Gallo Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID. Students may purchase two $15 tickets per order. Prices include $3/ticket Gallo Center for the Arts facility fee.
-
Groups of 10 or more save 15% off for this concert. Contact the Gallo Center Group Sales Manager at 209-338-5064 for more information
May 9 & 10 / Verdi's Requiem
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
MSO Chorus, Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
Fri. May 9, 2025 at 7:30pm
Sat. May 10, 2025 at 7:30pm
Verdi’s Requiem
epic
•
mysterious
•
intense
•
epic • mysterious • intense •
Performances
Friday, May 9, 2025
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
Saturday, May 10, 2025
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
For more information about our ticket prices, please visit our Ticketing Information Page.
About this Performance
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
MSO Chorus
Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
Alexandra Loutsion, soprano
Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano
Ben Gulley, tenor
DeAndre Simmons, bass
Our Classics Series concludes with Verdi’s monumental Requiem. This choral masterpiece was written as an expression of Verdi’s grief. Throughout, you will be surrounded by every emotion from loss, anger, and fear to eventual hope and peace through the soaring melodies, thunderous percussion, and power of the MSO, MSO Chorus and soloists.
Program
Guiseppe Verdi: Requiem Mass (In Memory of Alessandro Manzoni)
⏲: ~89 minutes
Featured Artists:
MEDia & MOre
Additional Notes:
-
There’s a great seat for you anywhere in the hall to fit your budget! Check out our seating chart.
-
This concert is a part of our VIP & Classics Subscription Series. As an MSO subscriber, you can save up to 30% off single tickets!
-
$15 Student Tickets are available by visiting the Gallo Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID. Students may purchase two $15 tickets per order. Prices include $3/ticket Gallo Center for the Arts facility fee.
-
Groups of 10 or more save 15% off for this concert. Contact the Gallo Center Group Sales Manager at 209-338-5064 for more information.
October 13 & 14 / Tchaikovsky & Copland
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Alessio Bax, piano
Tchaikovsky & Copland
Tickets: $20 / 36 / 52 / 72 / 94
Performances
Friday, October 13, 2023
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
Saturday, October 14, 2023
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
About this Performance
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Alessio Bax, piano
Join us in welcoming our new Music Director, Nicholas Hersh! In his debut concert, Hersh will open the evening with Mozart’s bustling and energetic Overture to The Marriage of Figaro. He will then be joined by pianist Alessio Bax for Tchaikovsky’s virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 1. The evening will conclude with Copland’s Symphony No. 3. This symphony brings out the lyrical sounds of Americana that Copland is so known for and will flow into the finale which opens with the theme from his own triumphant Fanfare for the Common Man. This concert will be a celebration of music and the start of a new era for the Modesto Symphony Orchestra.
Program
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, op. 23
Aaron Copland: Symphony No. 3
Artists
Media & More
Additional Notes:
✔ Part of our VIP & Classics Subscription Series. As a subscriber, you can save up to 25% off single tickets!
✔ $12 Student Tickets are available by visiting the Gallo Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID.
✔ Group pricing is available, save up to 15% off your order!
February 9 & 10 / Gershwin's An American in Paris
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Fri. Feb 9, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Sat. Feb 10, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Gershwin’s An American in Paris
Tickets: $20 / 36 / 52 / 72 / 94
Performances:
Saturday, February 10, 2024
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
Friday, February 9, 2024
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
About this Performance
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
In February, Hersh and the MSO will explore the sounds of the 1920s and ‘30s in the U.S. and France. We’ll open the program with William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony which debuted at Carnegie Hall in 1934 to critical acclaim by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Next, discover what an actual American in Paris would’ve heard in the 1920s with Lili Boulanger’s colorful and energetic D’un Matin de Printemps (Of a Spring Morning), while immersing yourself in the beauty of springtime with a special video presentation of our region’s very own almond blossoms created in collaboration with Visit Modesto. The evening will end with An American in Paris. This Gershwin favorite is a vivid musical postcard that puts us in the footsteps of an American traveler exploring the streets of Paris. Be transported to the City of Love with this Gershwin classic that inspired the movie-musical of the same name, starring Gene Kelly, that went on to win six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Musical Score.
Program
William L. Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony
Lili Boulanger: D’un Matin de Printemps (Of a Spring Morning)
George Gershwin: An American in Paris
Media & More
Additional Notes:
✔ Part of our VIP & Classics Subscription Series. As a subscriber, you can save up to 25% off single tickets!
✔ $12 Student Tickets are available by visiting the Gallo Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID.
✔ Group pricing is available, save up to 15% off your order!
March 15 & 16 / Symphonic Soundtrack
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Rob Patterson, clarinet
Fri. March 15, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Sat. March 16, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Symphonic Soundtrack
Experience the Symphony in a Brand New Way!
Tickets: $20 / 36 / 52 / 72 / 94
Performances:
Saturday, MArch 16, 2024
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
Friday, MArch 15, 2024
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
About this Performance
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Rob Patterson, clarinet
The Modesto Symphony Orchestra musicians have curated a concert just for you with music that they love, including Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, John Williams’ “Princess Leia Theme,” and Copland's Clarinet Concerto featuring the MSO's principal clarinet Rob Patterson! This will be a fun, exciting, new format with no intermission and an afterparty where you can meet the orchestra!
Program
Gioachino Rossini: Overture to La Gazza Ladra
Giovanni Gabrieli: Sonata pian’ e forte
Jessie Montgomery: Starburst
Aaron Copland: Clarinet Concerto
Gabriel Fauré: Sicilienne from Pelléas and Mélisande Suite
Igor Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird (1919)
John WIlliams: "Princess Leia’s Theme" from Star Wars
Experience the Symphony in a Brand New Way!
Experience the Modesto Symphony in an entirely new light with our innovative program designed to captivate and engage audiences like never before! Say goodbye to intermissions and hello to an uninterrupted journey through a curated selection of shorter musical pieces carefully crafted by our talented musicians. Following the performance, you’re invited to join us in the lobby for a festive afterparty with refreshments and drinks, providing the perfect setting for audience members to mingle with both musicians and fellow music enthusiasts. It’s an opportunity to deepen your connection with the music and the performers, forging unforgettable memories and fostering a vibrant community of classical music lovers.
Featured Artists
Media & More
Additional Notes:
✔ Part of our VIP & Classics Subscription Series. As a subscriber, you can save up to 25% off single tickets!
✔ $12 Student Tickets are available by visiting the Gallo Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID.
✔ Group pricing is available, save up to 15% off your order!
✔ Have a promo code? Click here to learn how to redeem it.
April 12 & 13 / Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Tai Murray, violin
Fri. April 12, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Sat. April 13, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto
Tickets: $20 / 36 / 52 / 72 / 94
Performances:
Saturday, April 13, 2024
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
Friday, April 12, 2024
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
About this Performance
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Tai Murray, violin
Music Director Hersh has put together a wonderfully exciting and energetic program for our April Classics concert. This program opens with “the Tango King” Piazzolla’s Tangazo, followed by Louise Farrenc’s lyrical and spirited Symphony No. 3. Then we will explore J. S. Bach’s “Little Fugue” in G minor with an arrangement by Hersh himself. We’ll close out the evening with Mendelssohn’s uplifting and energetic Violin Concerto in E minor featuring Tai Murray. This concerto remains among the world’s most prominent and highly regarded violin concertos in history.
Program
Astor Piazzolla: Tangazo (Variations on Buenos Aires)
Louise Farrenc: Symphony No. 3 in G minor
Johann Sebastian Bach (arr. Nicholas Hersh): Fugue in G minor BWV 578 “Little Fugue”
Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, op. 64
Artists
Media and More
Additional Notes:
✔ Part of our VIP & Classics Subscription Series. As a subscriber, you can save up to 25% off single tickets!
✔ $12 Student Tickets are available by visiting the Gallo Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID.
✔ Group pricing is available, save up to 15% off your order!
✔ Have a promo code? Click here to learn how to redeem it.
May 10 & 11 / Beethoven's Symphony No. 9
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
MSO Chorus
Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9
(Ode to Joy)
Tickets: $20 / 36 / 52 / 72 / 94
Performances
Saturday, May 11, 2024
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
Friday, May 10, 2024
7:30 pm / Gallo Center for the Arts
About this Performance
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
MSO Chorus
Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
Georgiana Adams, soprano
Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano
Alex Boyer, tenor
Matt Boehler, bass
The MSO will close out its Classics Series with Ludwig van Beethoven’s epic Symphony No. 9. This symphony has reached beyond concert halls across the globe and become part of popular culture, most notably with the “Ode to Joy” theme in the final movement. Featuring the MSO Chorus and four spectacular vocal soloists, this concert captures Beethoven’s vision of hope with power, and authenticity.
Program
Arvo Pärt: Fratres
Amy Beach: Peace I Leave With You
Ludwig van Beethoven:
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
Artists
media & more
Additional Notes:
✔ Part of our VIP & Classics Subscription Series. As a subscriber, you can save up to 25% off single tickets!
✔ $12 Student Tickets are available by visiting the Gallo Center Ticket Office with a valid student ID.
✔ Group pricing is available, save up to 15% off your order!
✔ Have a promo code? Click here to learn how to redeem it.
