Photo by Jonathan Kirn
Ken-David Masur - MSO
Ken-David Masur with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
“I had heard that Milwaukee was a wonderful city, a best-kept-secret kind of place. And I already knew that it had a wonderful orchestra with an amazing group of musicians,” says Ken-David Masur, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s music director. He was guest conductor for the MSO in 2018 and was appointed music director in 2019. 2025-26 will be his final season with the orchestra.
Only 41 when he first conducted the MSO, Masur brought fresh perspectives to his role as music director. “A modern-day orchestra has the ability and the responsibility to make the listener feel that they belong,” he says. “Audiences should know that regardless of the composer, the music they’re hearing in that moment is a story and encounter for them and could’ve been written just yesterday—and some of it is, of course.”
During his tenure, the MSO moved to the Bradley Symphony Center, a lavishly restored theater from the age of movie palaces. Masur reflects on the experience of seeing a symphony orchestra live. “Once you’re actually sitting in the concert hall and the vibrations and the resonance of every instrument join in the atmosphere of everyone’s anticipation, audiences know viscerally the enduring power of live musical performance of a symphony orchestra,” he says.
The rich musical legacy from past centuries is a valuable inheritance, yet orchestras must keep ears open to the present, Masur insists. “I believe we demonstrate this embracing of the past, present, and future season after season at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Whether it’s with Beethoven or Bach or with contemporary composers like John Adams, Takemitsu, Wynton Marsalis or Anna Clyne, the artform continues to be as relevant in 2025 as it was in 1650.”
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In programming the MSO’s seasons, Masur has shown curiosity about less known or new composers, “music that goes under your skin and that I would feel could really profoundly move both the audience and the musicians playing it.” He programs concerts with many ideas in mind, including musical contrasts or a connecting theme. He cites the 2024 season finale featuring work by “Lyatoshinsky (Ukrainian), Sibelius (Finland) and Tchaikovsky (Russia), because we wanted pieces by composers from the region of where the Ukraine-Russian conflict was happening and show that at least in the concert hall,” harmony and peaceful dialogue is possible.
For 2025-26, Masur is “greatly looking forward” to shining a spotlight on the 50th anniversary season of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and its director, Cheryl Frazes. Masur will continue as principal conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and who knows, maybe we’ll see him on the Bradley Center podium again. He leaves with nothing but good words for Milwaukee, a city “filled with incredible trails to hike, amazing cultural experiences, a thriving arts community and “a wonderful place to raise a family.”
