Now considered one of Bach’s most opulent musical achievements, his Christmas Oratorio went unheard for over a century after its first performances, until a resurgence of holiday celebrations brought it back into fashion. Each of its six cantatas was intended for a Christmas high feast day; Music Director Ken-David Masur and the MSO are joined by the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus to ensure the oratorio’s messages of contemplation, abundance, and jubilation ring from the rafters.

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Bach’s Christmas Oratorio

Warner Grand Theater

Poulenc’s Gloria, with its unexpected blend of secular and sacred sounds, fascinated (and scandalized) audiences from its first performances. “While writing it I had in mind those Crozzoli frescoes with angels sticking out their tongues,” the composer remarked. Lili Boulanger’s impressionistic “Of a Spring Morning” introduces the program with a bright festivity. Jean-Marie Zeitouni, a conductor of “ebullience and infectious enjoyment” (Boulder Weekly), leads this vivacious performance, which invites the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and soprano Joélle Harvey to the stage for an evening of exultation that will keep music-lovers enraptured to its final whispered “Amen.”

Poulenc’s Gloria

“I am completely filled with your Requiem,” wrote Clara Schumann to her friend Johannes Brahms. “It is an immense piece that takes hold of one’s whole being like very little else.” Music Director Ken-David Masur conducts the orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, and Artistic Partner Dashon Burton through Brahms’s personal journey of sorrow and consolation.

Brahms Requiem

Music director Ken-David Masur leads the Milwaukee Symphony and Chorus in a grand season finale. Thrill to favorite selections by master composers including Wagner, Mozart, Verdi, and more.

Milwaukee Symphony Chorus

11 - 13 Apr, 2025

Brahms Requiem

13 - 15 Jun, 2025

Great Moments In Grand Opera

22 - 24 Nov, 2024

Bach’s Christmas Oratorio

25 - 26 Oct, 2024

Poulenc’s Gloria

Milwaukee Symphony Chorus