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Experience the Performing Arts!

Explore our five performance series to discover a world of possibilities right here in the Great Lakes Bay Region. 

        

2024/25 Season

Midland Symphony Orchestra Series

Firebird & Friends

SAT, OCT 12, 2024 / 7:30 PM

Felix Mendelssohn / Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor / Concerto for Violin in G minor, op. 80.
Igor Stravinsky / The Firebird Suite
Guest Artist / Hannah White, violin

OPENING NIGHT! Appropriately, the Midland Symphony Orchestra launches our season of journey and discovery with an evening that begins as a calm voyage, progresses through lyrical enchantment, and finally builds to an imaginative fiery peak! We start with an epic 19th-century sailing adventure — Mendelssohn’s delightful Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, inspired by Goethe’s poetry. Traveling into the early 20th century, the Orchestra pairs with the award-winning violinist Hannah White for a performance of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Violin Concerto in G minor, op. 80, a powerful and emotive work.

Hannah White, described by New York Concert Review as “phenomenal,” has soloed with prestigious symphonies across four continents. Her performances have graced stages from Carnegie Hall to the World Economic Forum, earning critical acclaim.

Stravinsky’s enchanting The Firebird Suite, made familiar to many in Disney’s Fantasia 2000, follows the heroic adventure of a blazing and beautiful Firebird, closing out this exciting and intrepid evening with a monumental crescendo!

Sponsored by Tri-Star Trust  WCMU Public Media

Hannah White replaces Nathan Amaral due to scheduling conflicts

The Nutcracker

FRI & SAT, DEC 6 - 7, 2024 / 8 PM
SAT & SUN, DEC 7 - 8, 2024 / 2 PM
with Grand Rapids Ballet

Visions of sugar plum fairies will dance across the stage in this treasured holiday classic! The Grand Rapids Ballet returns to perform their re-envisioned production of The Nutcracker, played by our own Symphony Orchestra. Experience the holiday magic with Clara as she journeys to the Land of Sweets with the Nutcracker, a gift from her mysterious uncle. Featuring choreography from world-renowned Val Caniparoli, with the dancing set against a distinctive and lush storybook set created by celebrated The Polar Express author/illustrator Chris Van Allsburg and designed by Tony® Award winner Eugene Lee.

Join our Education Staff in the Lobby before each performance for a special activity for kids! Discover the history of nutcrackers while you create your very own souvenir to bring home! Join our Educators in the lobby the hour before the show to create your very own nutcracker ornament. 

Sponsored by Tri-Star Trust Poznak Dyer Kanar Schefsky Thompson PLC Cumulus Media

Holiday Pops

SAT, DEC 14, 2024 / 4 PM
RELAXED PERFORMANCE / SAT, DEC 14, 2024 / 1 PM (Learn More)

The caroling Choirs of the Center, accompanied by the Midland Symphony Orchestra, will be joined by Broadway talent Kevin Massey and 2024 Jimmy Awards winner Gretchen Shope for an evening of holiday celebration! Gretchen, a local talent and recent graduate of H.H. Dow High School, made her Broadway debut this summer as Michigan's first winner of the Jimmy Awards, a national competition for high school musical theatre. She’s thrilled to return to one of her hometown stages, where she recently performed with Center Stage Theatre as Natalie in NEXT TO NORMAL and Amy March in LITTLE WOMEN. Kevin Massey performed on Broadway in TARZAN, BIG RIVER, MEMPHIS, and A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER, as well as in numerous touring and regional roles. Don’t miss this signature event of the Great Lakes Bay region’s holiday season!

Sponsored by Tri-Star Trust Cumulus Media

Outer Space: The Infinite

SAT, FEB 1, 2025 / 7:30 PM

Jessie Montgomery / Starburst
Richard Strauss / Also sprach Zarathustra
Eric Whitacre, Deep Field

Discover the cosmos as you travel through billions of stars with the Midland Symphony Orchestra! Immerse yourself in the one-of-a-kind Deep Field experience created by Grammy® Award-winning composer Eric Whitacre – a stunning film, Deep Field: The Impossible Magnitude of our Universe, illuminates the astounding and powerful score. Experience extraordinary galactic imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope, immersive animation, and audience participation that invites guests to join in with the symphony via a smartphone app. Continue traveling to the edges of our universe with Jessie Montogomery’s dynamic Starburst and Strauss’ now iconic tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra, used in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Sponsored by Tri-Star Trust 

An Enchanting Journey

SAT, MAR 8, 2025 / 7:30 PM

Mozart / The Magic Flute
Mahler / Symphony No. 4
with Detroit Opera Resident Artists

This compelling performance will feature an elite ensemble of soloists from the renowned Detroit Opera Resident Artists and will be highlighted by excerpts from Mozart’s timeless and enchanting masterpiece, the fantasy quest The Magic Flute. Mahler’s spectacular Symphony No. 4 will complete the evening with its soaring and “heavenly” soprano solo. Members of Detroit’s premier producer and presenter of opera, musical theatre, and dance accompany Midland Symphony Orchestra’s performance in an unforgettable evening of music. Join us on this journey marrying spectacular voices with equally compelling music.

Sponsored by Tri-Star Trust 

Rhapsody in Blue

SAT, APR 5, 2025 / 7:30 PM

George Gershwin / Rhapsody in Blue & Piano Concerto in F
Guest Artist / Kevin Cole, piano

The award-winning and spectacular pianist Kevin Cole performs with the MSO, as he has done with over 100 orchestras! Regarded as the leading interpreter of George Gershwin’s piano compositions, Kevin will play the incomparable Rhapsody in Blue, beloved since its premiere in 1924 for its integration of jazz and classical music and considered one of the greatest symphonic achievements of the 20th century. Kevin, a local artist living in Bay City, will continue to delight with Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. Kevin is the perfect soloist for our exploration of Gershwin - declares Edward Jablonski, renowned Gershwin scholar, “Kevin is the best Gershwin pianist since Gershwin himself – no one can touch him.”

Sponsored by Tri-Star Trust 

Midland Symphony Orchestra programs are made possible in part through the generosity of Sarah & Dan Opperman and Ken & Gina Pederson.

More to Know

About the Midland Symphony Orchestra

More than 70 of the best professional musicians across the State of Michigan and beyond join together to provide the Great Lakes Bay Region with symphonic music featuring renowned guest artists, family programs and special events since 1936. The Symphony has become the finest entertainment in the region with continued SOLD OUT performances!

Interested in Auditioning?

Midland Symphony Orchestra Auditions

The Midland Symphony Orchestra is seeking professional musicians for performances in its 2024/25 Season, with auditions taking place on October 10, 2024. Auditions require registration and will be approximately 10 minutes long, consisting of required excerpts, solo selection(s) and possible sight-reading.
Bohuslav Rattay

Music Director

Bohuslav Rattay


Czech conductor and Music Director Bohuslav Rattay continues to bring a new style and flare to the podium, taking your classical music experience outside of the box. An enthusiastic promoter for classical music, Mr. Rattay strives to bring traditional and innovative programs together in a manner that’s exciting and fresh for his audience.

Bohuslav divides his time between the United States and Europe, always continuing his quest to find new ways to bring great music into the lives of people on both continents.