“Music of the Soul”
Sunday, September 14, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.
Sharon Lynne Wilson Center
Violins of Hope-Wisconsin, presented
by Milwaukee Youth Symphony
Orchestra, is a collection of instruments owned and played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. In partnership with Chabad Jewish Center of Waukesha County,
audiences will experience the haunting beauty of Nigunim, traditional Jewish folk melodies, alongside classical selections, performed by Wisconsin Philharmonic musicians on these instruments, that celebrate resilience and remembrance. Visit violinsofhopewisconsin.org for more information.
“Prairie Voices”
Sunday, October 12, 2025 at 3:00 p.m.
Oconomowoc Arts Center
Soloist: Alex Chambers-Ozasky, cello
Wisconsin composer William Neil debuts his original work, a serene musical tribute to the beauty of the American prairie. Howard Hanson’s “Romantic” Symphony features young musicians from Brookfield High Schools, and Madison based cello star Alex Chambers-Ozasky performs:
- Schumann’s lyrical 19th-century masterpiece.
- William Neil: Prairie Music, for Orchestra (world premiere)
- Schumann: Cello Concerto (Alex Chambers-Ozasky, cello)
- Howard Hanson: Symphony No.2, “Romantic”
“A Mostly Mozart Matinee”
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
Sharon Lynne Wilson Center
Join the Wisconsin Philharmonic for an exciting debut in the Wilson Center’s Wednesday Matinee Series, where we’ll bring the magic of the string orchestra to life. Led by our distinguished Maestro, a select group of musicians will present a rare, full performance of one of Mozart’s most treasured works.
- Mozart: Divertimento in D, K.136
- Arensky: Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky
- Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (complete)
“An American Christmas”
Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 3:00 p.m.
Oconomowoc Arts Center
Guests: James Groh, narrator, and the
Choirs of Waukesha North and Brookfield
East High Schools, and the Waukesha Choral Union
The ultimate American Christmas celebration -- with many of your favorite Holiday gems, plus a new/old version of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”, for narrator and orchestra -- from our Maestro, Alexander Platt, and James Groh, TMJ4 News Reporter who covers all things fun, weird, positive, inspiring and historical and owns over 20 Christmas sweaters!. An array of our young choral singers
make this the perfect Holiday celebration in Waukesha County. Always a sellout -- don’t miss it!
- Leroy Anderson: A Christmas Festival
- Berlin, arr. Bennett: White Christmas
- Chip Davis (Mannheim Steamroller): Stille Nacht
- Torme, arr. Lowden: The Christmas Song
- Lucas Richman: Hanukkah Festival Overture
- William Henry Fry: Santa-Claus Symphony
(“’Twas the Night Before Christmas....”) - Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride
- John Finnegan: Christmas Sing-Along
- Randall Thompson: from Frostiana: “The Road Not Taken”,
- “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening”, “Choose Something Like a Star”
- Randall Thompson: Allelulia (1940)
- Handel: “Hallelujah” Chorus, from Messiah
“Out of this World” JanBoree Concert
Sunday, January 25, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.
Instrument Petting Zoo and Children’s Activities at 1:00 p.m.
FREE Admission for Children!
St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Waukesha
One of the Philharmonic’s great traditions, the annual Waukesha JanBoree concert is the perfect way to introduce young people to the delights of classical music! This year, we travel to the heavens -- all with the help of gorgeous, out-of-this-world music from some of history’s greatest composers.
- Music for strings and piano by Mendelssohn, Debussy, Sibelius, Holst and Shostakovich
$10 General Admission for adults
Children are Free
“Gershwin and Friends!”
Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Oconomowoc Arts Center
Soloist: Jason Kutz, piano
Join us as the Philharmonic gives its first performance in a decade of one of the most beloved of American masterpieces, George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody In Blue” -- all surrounded by much of the great American popular music that Gershwin himself would have recognized. Jason Kutz, the young piano genius behind Madison’s hottest Jazz ensemble, Mr. Chair, joins us as soloist for what promises
to be an unforgettable event.
- George Gershwin, arr. Bruce Chase: Fascinatin’ Rhythm
- Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, arr. Chris Brubeck: The Time Out Suite
- Gershwin, arr. Robert Russell Bennett: Porgy and Bess
- Various, arr. Calvin Custer: Salute to the Big Bands
- Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (Jason Kutz, piano)
“New York Stories”
Sunday, April 26, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Oconomowoc Arts Center
Soloist: Andrey Gugnin, piano
Concluding a year in which the Philharmonic celebrates great Wisconsin artists, we finally bring the world to Waukesha with Andrey Gugnin, one of the great young Russian pianists of our time, now residing in Western Europe and making his name on the international scene. He’ll bring his extraordinary gifts to one of the very greatest of romantic Russian piano concertos -- given its world premiere, once upon a time, by no less than the New York Philharmonic. Juilliard School president William Schuman, and Connecticut Yankee Charles Ives -- two of the very favorite American composers of Leonard Bernstein during his tenure as the Philharmonic’s maestro -- bring our gloriously American season to a triumphant close.
- William Schuman: New England Triptych
- Charles Ives: Symphony No.3, “The Camp Meeting”
- Serge Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.3
(Andrey Gugnin, piano)