MODESTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Contact:
Caroline Nickel
(209) 523-4156
cnickel@modestosymphony.org
For Immediate Release: April 4, 2025
(Pictured from left to right, row 1: Nicholas Hersh, music director; Modesto Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; row 2: Alexandra Loutsion, soprano; Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano; Ben Gulley, tenor; DeAndre Simmons, bass)
Modesto Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Brings Verdi’s Epic Requiem to Modesto
May 9 & 10, 2025 - Modesto Symphony Orchestra performs Verdi’s Requiem featuring four guest soloists
May 10, 2025 – Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra performs Season Finale concert featuring Concerto Competition Winner, Adrian Rodriguez-Mandujano, clarinet.
MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) presents Verdi’s Requiem on May 9 & 10, 2025 led by Music Director Nicholas Hersh. The concerts will feature the MSO Chorus, directed by Daniel R. Afonso Jr., and will also feature guest soloists: soprano Alexandra Loutsion, mezzo-soprano Alice Chung, tenor Ben Gulley, and bass DeAndre Simmons.
“Verdi’s Requiem achieves the impossible by being at once supernaturally massive and intimately human,” says Music Director Nicholas Hersh. “By its very nature, a requiem mass deals with subject matter that is considered incomprehensible—perfect for a musical treatment, of course. But thanks to Verdi’s vast experience in opera, he is able to so effectively combine the orchestra with the human voice to express the complex emotions associated with facing death, whether it’s the terrifying orchestral strikes in the infamous Dies Irae or the sorrowful grief of the Lachrymosa. Everyone should experience the awe and beauty of this piece performed live, and we’re so thrilled to perform it for Modesto.”
The weekend also includes the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra (MSYO) in their Season Finale Concert on May 10, 2025. The MSYO comprises two orchestras with students from grades 5 through 12 and is led by a deeply engaged leadership team. Their Season Finale Concert will feature works by Copland, Schubert, Florence Price, and John Williams. This concert will also feature the MSYO's annual Concerto Competition winner, Adrian Rodriguez-Mandujano performing Carl Maria von Weber’s Concertino for Clarinet in E-flat major. Learn more about the MSYO at ModestoSymphony.org/about-msyo.
Modesto Symphony Orchestra performs Verdi’s Requiem
Friday, May 9, 2025, at 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 7:30 pm
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
MSO Chorus, Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director
Alexandra Loutsion, soprano
Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano
Ben Gulley, tenor
DeAndre Simmons, bass
PROGRAM
Guiseppe Verdi: Requiem Mass (In Memory of Alessandro Manzoni)
Gallo Center for the Arts, Mary Stuart Rogers Theater
1000 I Street, Modesto
Tickets
Pricing: Tickets start at $23
Student Tickets available: $15 student tickets available at the Gallo Center Ticket Office. Students can purchase two $15 tickets with their student ID.
Group Prices available: Groups of 10+ receive a 15% discount on tickets. Call (209) 338-5064 for more information.
Ticketing Information
Tickets are available online through ModestoSymphony.org or through the Gallo Center for the Arts Ticket Office at (209) 338-2100.
Gallo Center Ticket Office Hours: Monday through Friday 10:00am-6:00pm / Saturday 12:00pm-6:00pm
MODESTO SYMPHONY YOUTH ORCHESTRA PERFORMS SEASON FINALE CONCERT
Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 2 pm
Elisha Wells, MSYO music director & symphony orchestra conductor
Donald Grishaw, MSYO concert orchestra conductor
Adrian Rodriguez-Mandujano, clarinet & MSYO Concerto Competition Winner
PROGRAM:
Featuring the works of Copland, Schubert, Florence Price, and selections from John Williams’ Star Wars. MSYO Concerto Competition Winner, Adrian Rodriguez-Mandujano performing Carl Maria von Weber’s Concertino for Clarinet in E-flat major.
Gallo Center for the Arts, Mary Stuart Rogers Theater
1000 I Street, Modesto
Tickets:
Pricing:
Adult ticket pricing starts at $17
Youth ticket pricing starts at $8
Ticketing Information: Tickets are available online through ModestoSymphony.org or through the Gallo Center for the Arts Ticket Office at (209) 338-2100.
Gallo Center Ticket Office Hours: Monday through Friday 10:00am-6:00pm / Saturday 12:00pm-6:00pm
ADRIAN RODRIGUEZ-MANDUJANO, clarinet & MSYO Concerto Competition Winner
Adrian spent most of his younger years living in a low-income Bay area neighborhood without a Music Education Program. After moving to Modesto halfway through elementary school, he was introduced to his first Clarinet in an elementary band setting. Since then, he has expanded to be a natural leader, instrumentalist, conductor, and musician. While never having a private teacher, Adrian has evolved his performance level to receive principal seatings in multiple Honor Ensembles–including the Stanislaus County Honor Bands, San Jose State Honor Wind Ensemble the MSYO–and even broadening his musical scope through participating in the Stanislaus County Conducting Symposium (2 years), participating in a Drum Corp International setting with the Blue Devils B, being featured at the CASMEC Youth Composer Symposium for an original String Quartet Work. Inspired by the educational ideals of his area’s music programs, Adrian hopes to become a future Music Educator and plans to study Instrumental Music Education at the University of the Pacific after graduating with the Gregori HS Class of 2025.
###
The Modesto Symphony Orchestra is a Resident Company of The Gallo Center for the Arts.
The DoubleTree Hotel is the official hotel of the MSO.
