THE GODFATHER IN CONCERT FILM WITH ORCHESTRA
Friday, January 2, 2026 at 7:30 pm Saturday, January 3, 2026 at 7:30 pm ALLEN-BRADLEY HALL Ryan Tani, conductor
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola Produced by Gray Frederickson and Albert S. Ruddy Written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola Starring Marlon Brando Al Pacino James Caan Richard S. Castellano Robert Duvall Sterling Hayden John Marley Richard Conte Diane Keaton Music by Nino Rota Cinematography by Gordon Willis Edited by William Reynolds and Peter Zinner Produced by Alfran Productions Distributed by Paramount Pictures Justin Freer President, Founder, and Producer Brady Beaubien Co-Founder and Producer Andrew P. Alderete Chief XR Officer and Head of Publicity and Communications Andrew McIntyre Director of Operations Brittany Fonseca Senior Marketing Manager Si Peng Senior Social Media Manager 14
MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Worldwide Representation Opus 3 Artists Music Preparation JoAnn Kane Music Service Sound Remixing Justin Moshkevich, Igloo Music Studios Today’s performance lasts approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission. The performance is a presentation of the feature film The Godfather with a live performance of the film’s score. Out of respect for the musicians and your fellow audience members, please remain seated until the conclusion of the end credits. Film projectors generously donated by MARCUS CORPORATION. This weekend’s media sponsor is ONMILWAUKEE. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra can be heard on the Naxos, Telarc, Koss Classics, ProArte, AVIE, and Vox/ Turnabout labels. MSO Classics recordings are available for digital streaming and download on Spotify, Apple Music, and more.
Composer Biography NINO ROTA Composer Nino Rota (1911 – 1979) was born into a family of musicians in Milan. He was initially a student of Giacomo Orefice and Ildebrando Pizzetti until he moved to Rome while still a child and completed his studies under Alfredo Casella at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in 1929. In the meantime, he became an enfant prodige, famous as both a composer and a conductor. His first oratorio, L’infanzia di San Giovanni Battista, was performed in Milan and Paris as early as 1923, and his lyrical comedy, Il Principe Porcaro, was composed in 1926. From 1930 to 1932, Rota lived in the U.S.A. He won a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia and studied composition under Rosario Scalero and conducting under Fritz Reiner. Rota returned to Italy and earned a degree in literature from the University of Milan. In 1937, he began a teaching career that led to the directorship of the Bari Conservatory, a title he held from 1950 until his death in 1979. Rota’s work in film dates back to the early forties, and his filmography includes virtually all of the noted directors of his time. The first of these is Federico Fellini. Rota wrote the scores for all of Fellini’s films, from The White Sheik in 1952 to The Orchestra Rehearsal in 1979. Rota also collaborated with other directors, including Renato Castellani, Luchino Visconti, Franco Zeffirelli, Mario Monicelli, Francis Ford Coppola (he received the Oscar for Best Original Score for The Godfather II), King Vidor, René Clément, Edward Dmytrik, and Eduardo de Filippo. Additionally, he composed the music for many theatrical productions by Visconti, Zefirelli, and de Filippo.
MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
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Elizabeth Breslin Georgi Dimitrov Nathan Hackett Michael Lieberman** Erin H. Pipal
2025.26 SEASON
CELLOS Susan Babini, Principal, KEN-DAVID MASUR Dorothea C. Mayer Principal Cello Chair Music Director Shinae Ra, Assistant Principal (2nd chair) Polly and Bill Van Dyke Music Director Chair Scott Tisdel, Associate Principal Emeritus Madeleine Kabat EDO DE WAART Peter Szczepanek Music Director Laureate Peter J. Thomas BYRON STRIPLING Adrien Zitoun Principal Pops Conductor Stein Family Foundation BASSES Principal Pops Conductor Chair Principal, Donald B. Abert Principal Bass Chair RYAN TANI Andrew Raciti, Acting Principal Associate Conductor Nash Tomey, Acting Assistant Principal (2nd chair) CHERYL FRAZES HILL Brittany Conrad Chorus Director Broner McCoy Margaret Hawkins Chorus Director Chair Paris Myers TIMOTHY J. BENSON Assistant Chorus Director HARP FIRST VIOLINS Jinwoo Lee, Concertmaster, Charles and Marie Caestecker Concertmaster Chair Ilana Setapen, First Associate Concertmaster, Thora M. Vervoren First Associate Concertmaster Chair Jeanyi Kim, Associate Concertmaster Alexander Ayers Autumn Chodorowski Yuka Kadota Elliot Lee Dylana Leung Kyung Ah Oh Lijia Phang Vinícius Sant’Ana** Yuanhui Fiona Zheng SECOND VIOLINS Jennifer Startt, Principal, Andrea and Woodrow Leung Principal Second Violin Chair Ji-Yeon Lee, Assistant Principal (2nd chair) Hyewon Kim, Acting Assistant Principal (3rd chair) Heejeon Ahn Lisa Johnson Fuller Clay Hancock Paul Hauer Sheena Lan** Janis Sakai** Yiran Yao VIOLAS Victor de Almeida, Principal, Richard O. and Judith A. Wagner Family Principal Viola Chair Samantha Rodriguez, Acting Assistant Principal (2nd chair), Friends of Janet F. Ruggeri Assistant Principal Viola Chair Alejandro Duque, Acting Assistant Principal (3rd chair)
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Julia Coronelli, Principal, Walter Schroeder Principal Harp Chair FLUTES Sonora Slocum, Principal, Margaret and Roy Butter Principal Flute Chair Heather Zinninger, Assistant Principal Jennifer Bouton Schaub PICCOLO Jennifer Bouton Schaub
Rudi Heinrich, Assistant Principal Matthew Melillo CONTRABASSOON Matthew Melillo HORNS Matthew Annin, Principal, Krause Family Principal French Horn Chair Krystof Pipal, Associate Principal Dietrich Hemann, Andy Nunemaker French Horn Chair Darcy Hamlin Dawson Hartman TRUMPETS Matthew Ernst, Principal, Walter L. Robb Family Principal Trumpet Chair David Cohen, Associate Principal, Martin J. Krebs Associate Principal Trumpet Chair Tim McCarthy, Fred Fuller Trumpet Chair TROMBONES Megumi Kanda, Principal, Marjorie Tiefenthaler Principal Trombone Chair Kirk Ferguson, Assistant Principal BASS TROMBONE John Thevenet, Richard M. Kimball Bass Trombone Chair TUBA Robyn Black, Principal, John and Judith Simonitsch Principal Tuba Chair TIMPANI Dean Borghesani, Principal Chris Riggs, Assistant Principal
OBOES Katherine Young Steele, Principal, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra League Principal Oboe Chair Kevin Pearl, Assistant Principal Margaret Butler
PERCUSSION Robert Klieger, Principal Chris Riggs
ENGLISH HORN Margaret Butler, Philip and Beatrice Blank English Horn Chair in memoriam to John Martin
PERSONNEL Antonio Padilla Denis, Director of Orchestra Personnel Paris Myers, Assistant Manager of Orchestra Personnel
CLARINETS Todd Levy, Principal, Franklyn Esenberg Principal Clarinet Chair Jay Shankar, Assistant Principal, Donald and Ruth P. Taylor Assistant Principal Clarinet Chair Besnik Abrashi E-FLAT CLARINET Jay Shankar BASS CLARINET Besnik Abrashi BASSOONS Catherine Van Handel, Principal, Muriel C. and John D. Silbar Family Principal Bassoon Chair*
MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
PIANO Melitta S. Pick Endowed Piano Chair
LIBRARIANS Paul Beck, Principal Librarian, James E. Van Ess Principal Librarian Chair Matthew Geise, Assistant Librarian & Media Archivist PRODUCTION Tristan Wallace, Production Manager/Live Audio Lisa Sottile, Production Stage Manager * Leave of absence during the 2025.26 season ** Acting member of the MSO for the 2025.26 season