WYSO News

Musical Notes is the WYSO membership’s annual family fundraiser. The fundraiser began as a way for WYSO members to share their WYSO experience with friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors through letter-writing. Monetary donations raised through the Musical Notes campaign help keep tuition costs affordable. The campaign has since evolved into a multi...

When 80 students of WYSO’s Youth Orchestra stepped off the plane in Cusco, Peru during their international tour this past July, they were at 10,860 feet, 10,119 feet higher than Madison, WI. Altitude adjustment was one of many logistical considerations, but in the end, the trip was a major success. The historic city of Cusco, once the capital of the vast...

Kyle Knox has been selected as WYSO’s music director and conductor of the Youth Orchestra effective July 1, 2018. “I couldn’t be more excited about taking on this position,” Mr. Knox said. “WYSO is one of the pillar musical organizations of our state, with over half a century of artistic excellence and community service behind it. It is a humbling thought...

WYSO presented its third and final concert series of the season, the Eugenie Mayer Bolz Family Spring Concerts, on May 19 and May 20, 2018 in Mills Concert Hall. Programed pieces included works from Dmitri Shostakovich, Arturo Márquez, Aaron Copland, Jacques Offenbach, and more. The concert weekend featured four concerto performances from Philharmonia...

Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras is pleased to announce that Charles and Eva Tibbetts of Eau Claire, WI have recently made a major commitment to the WYSO endowment. In recognition of this gift, the newly created WYSO Honors Brass Quintet will be named the Tibbetts Brass Quintet. Charles grew up in Beloit, WI where as a sophomore in high school he played...

WYSO is pleased to sponsor this year’s NBC15 broadcast of “Sounds of the Season,” a special holiday concert featuring local high school music ensembles, the WYSO Youth and Sinfonietta Orchestras, the WYSO Honors Brass Quintet, and an interview with Sinfonietta conductor Mark Leiser. Click here to view the broadcast.

WYSO Music Makers hosted their inaugural concert on Sunday, November 19 at UW-Madison Music Hall, 925 Bascom Mall. The group performed pieces by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Harold Arlen, and more. The Madison Music Makers program was acquired by WYSO in July of 2017. Currently directed by accomplished violinist Paran Amirinazari, WYSO Music Makers aims to...

The WYSO Percussion Ensemble was featured at the prestigious Wisconsin State Music Conference on Thursday, October 26. Held annually at the Monona Terrace Convention Center, the conference is attended by countless music educators, students, parents, and music industry leaders. This year, Percussion Ensemble Director Vicki Jenks was chosen to present a...