Youth Series GRADES 3-8
Designed for grades 3 through 8, the acclaimed MSO Youth Series uses orchestral masterworks to inspire students, promote active listening, and encourage critical thinking. These concerts align with state and national standards for music education, as well as connect to multiple subjects and disciplines.
Wicked Good Music
OCTOBER 15, 20, 27, 2026 • 10:15 AM AND 12:00 PM
BRADLEY SYMPHONY CENTER
Ryan Tani, conductor
Repertoire to include:
Templeton (arr. Vinson): Thriller
John Williams: “Buckbeak’s Flight” from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Berlioz: “March to the Scaffold” from Symphonie fantastique
Mussorgsky: “Baba Yaga” from Pictures at an Exhibition
Stephen Schwartz (arr. Ricketts): Highlights from Wicked
Join the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for a magical mix of some wickedly good music. From Classical to Pop, Berlioz to John Williams (and lots in between), you’ll discover that great music crosses centuries and styles!
When the Orchestra Goes Marchin’ In
Byron Stripling
Repertoire to include:
Waller & Brooks:
Barbarin: “Bourbon Street Parade”
Jelly Roll Morton: “Black Bottom Stomp”
DeLange & Alter: “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?”
Traditional: “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In”
Celebrate Mardi Gras with jazz legend and MSO Principal Pops Conductor
Byron Stripling and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra! This lively, interactive program will explore how the history, diversity, and musical traditions of New Orleans have influenced American culture and beyond.
Pair your MSO field trip with a MAM tour: Wicked Tales in Art or Communities and Traditions
Take a fascinating adventure through artworks that spook, thrill, and mystify, or investigate the customs of people who live both near and far, discovering cross-cultural influences. For more information, email grouptours@mam.org or visit mamweb.wufoo.com/forms/school-tour-request-form to register.
Link Up GRADES
Link Up: The Orchestra Sings
MARCH 9, 2027 • 10:15 AM AND 12:00 PM
MARCH 10, 2027 • 10:15 AM
BRADLEY SYMPHONY CENTER
Ryan Tani, conductor
Repertoire to include:
Thomas Cabaniss: Come to Play
Ludwig van Beethoven: “Ode to Joy” from Symphony No. 9 in D minor
Reena Esmail: “Ram Tori Maya”
Igor Stravinsky: Finale from The Firebird Suite
Jim Papoulis: “Oye”
The Milwaukee Symphony partners with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute to bring the Link Up program to our community. Link Up pairs orchestras across the country with students in grades 3-5 to explore orchestral repertoire through a year-long hands-on music curriculum. Melody is one of the universal elements of music and defines the music we know and love. A great melody can express ideas and emotions, help tell a story, and bring people together through song. Composers create melodies through a combination of rhythmic patterns, sweeping contours, and expressive qualities.
Music for Me
A special program that is “just right” for the MSO’s youngest listeners. Designed for students in grades K4 through 2, these 40-minute programs make connections with the following fields of study: Music, Social Studies, and ELA.
Peter and the Wolf
NOVEMBER 4, 2026 • 10:00 AM AND 11:45 AM
NOVEMBER 5, 2026 • 10:00 AM
BRADLEY SYMPHONY CENTER
Ryan Tani, conductor
Really Inventive Stuff, theatre company
Repertoire:
Sergei Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf Andrew Maxfield: What About the Duck?
Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf uses the adventures of a young boy, a cat, a duck, a wolf, and more to introduce children to the instruments of the orchestra. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra welcomes back Really Inventive Stuff to add their imaginative storytelling to this concert experience. The program will be rounded out by Andrew Maxfield’s What About the Duck? — a new piece that picks up the story where Prokofiev left off.
Pair your MSO field trip with a MAM tour: Animals in Art
Discover a menagerie of friendly animals and fantastic beasts in paintings and sculptures from different cultures and times.
For more information, email grouptours@mam.org or visit mamweb.wufoo.com/forms/school-tour-request-form to register.
Teen Concert
This concert experience is curated especially for middle and high school audiences. In addition, students will receive a digital Teen Guide specifically created for this performance.
Majestic Mozart
FEBRUARY 24, 2027 • 10:15 AM
BRADLEY SYMPHONY CENTER
Ryan Tani, conductor Wisconsin High School Choirs TBA
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem in D minor (completed by Süssmayr)
Mozart did not live to hear his Requiem completed; a student put the finishing touches on what has since become one of the most beloved pieces in all choral music. Join the Teen Choral Partners and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra as they present a student-friendly performance of this magnificent musical masterpiece a fantastic field trip experience for middle and high school classes.
Pair your MSO field trip with a MAM tour: Art from Many Places & Times
Explore highlights from the Museum’s collection and discuss the making and meaning of art from different cultures while honing art vocabulary and critical-looking skills. For more information, email grouptours@mam.org or visit mamweb.wufoo.com/forms/school-tour-request-form to register.
Venue and Pricing Bradley Symphony Center
212 W WISCONSIN AVENUE
MILWAUKEE, WI 53203
We look forward to welcoming you to the Bradley Symphony Center for live Concerts for Schools performances during our 2026.27 season! Learn more about what to expect during your visit at mso.org.
Pricing and Registration
Please visit mso.org/concerts_for_schools for information.
2026.27 Concerts for Schools Digital Registration Form
3 or more concerts and save 10%!
Other Information
Docents
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra offers free docent visits leading up to Youth and Music for Me! concerts. Our docents are passionate about the orchestra and receive training prior to making their visits. Docents arrange a time to visit your school, bringing fun activities and lessons corresponding to the performance. For more information, email edu@mso.org.
Chaperones
One complimentary chaperone ticket is offered for every ten paid student tickets.
Educational Materials
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Teacher Resource Guides provide background information on the music and composers, as well as lesson plans in a full-color digital format. Lesson plans support NafME and Wisconsin State Standards in music, English language arts, and other subject areas. Spotify playlists are created for each concert.
Contact Information
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Phone: 414-226-7886 212 West Wisconsin Avenue Email: edu@mso.org Milwaukee, WI 53203
Educators’ Discount
Get 50% off regular subscription prices for any 2026.27 Classics Series concert. Call Luther Gray at 414-226-7840 or email at grayl@mso.org today. Offer applies to Friday evening performances only.
The MSO thanks the following funders for their generous annual support that makes Concerts for Schools programming possible: United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), Herzfeld Foundation, Hearst Foundations, Townsend Foundation, Educators Credit Union, and the de Hartog Family, Eleanor N. Wilson, and Irene Edelstein Memorial Funds as administered by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. Concerts for Schools is supported in part by grants from the Milwaukee Arts Board and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin. Additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and Milwaukee County Arts Fund (CAMPAC).
