Marquette Symphony Orchestra Programs

The Marquette Symphony Orchestra's (MSO) mission is to present symphonic music performances of the highest artistic merit for students, adults, and children of the central Upper Peninsula of Michigan and surrounding areas and to provide opportunities to individuals for cultural growth and intellectual enrichment.

The MSO has recently completed its fourteenth season, the past three years under the stellar direction of Conductor Jacob Chi.

On October 9, cellist, Meogwon Cho's performance of the Elgar cello concerto was brilliant followed by Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.6.

The December Holiday Pops Concert proved to be very popular and was the first sell out concert the MSO has had.

Hannah Linz, a student at Indiana University, was the winner of the string competition and performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major on February 12, 2011. The Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 was a fitting tribute to Phyllis Reynolds. This concert was conducted by guest conductor Robert Ritsema.

Jacob Chi returned for the final concert in May. Local pianist, Nancy Royce Railey, gave a stunning performance of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No 2 by Franz Lizst. The MSO reached a new level in their performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5.

The partnership with the Besse Center in Escanaba has continued and four ensemble concerts were successfully presented there in the 2010-2011 season.

There have been some changes in personnel during this season. The business manager's resignation was effective after the December concert. Lea Dziesinski took over in January, and she has proven a rapid learner. Mid January the MSO president resigned for health reasons. I took over MSO Board President at the January board meeting. Everyone is working well together and we are learning as quickly as we can.

We have come close to meeting our expenses and budget of about $125,000. This has been accomplished by an increase in ticket sales and generous donations from individuals, service clubs, businesses and corporations. The conductor, musicians and employees have been a very dedicated group and have performed well. Of necessity, their stipends were held to the previous year's levels. Car pools have helped to reduce the travel budget for musicians from out of the Marquette area.

As this year has not been financially strong for the arts, the MSO has remained positive about our financial position; we are however experiencing a decrease in private donations and grant funding. It is a great time to remind symphony-lovers in the area to remember the MSO when planning philanthropic efforts. The state of Michigan has recently instated, and I have worked to complete our profile on, the Cultural Data Project, an online database that will assist the MSO when applying for grant funding. It also allows us to compare our organization with those in other communities of similar size to show the impact the arts have on our state. The board needs to continue with innovative methods of fund raising, marketing and long term planning.

I am still new to this position and I am extremely appreciative of the members of the MSO Board. Thank you for your help and support.

With best regards,

Kathy Maynard, President

Marquette Symphony Orchestra