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Festival City Symphony Event
April 18 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Free – $12
Festival City Symphony is back with a new free concert series event: Saturday Classics Concert Series
Festival City Symphony is thrilled to announce a new season of concerts for 2026! Their Music Director and dedicated staff have spent the summer curating a lineup that blends timeless classics with exciting new pieces.
Admission is FREE for both of our concert series, the Saturday Classics series at the Bradley Symphony Center and the Pajama Jamboree series at the Marcus Performing Arts Center.
The Saturday Classics concert series welcomes newcomers and established symphony enthusiasts alike. Held at the elegant yet inviting Bradley Symphony Center at 212 W Wisconsin Ave in Milwaukee, this concert series makes classical music accessible to all. Admission to Saturday Classics concerts is FREE with suggested donation.
Gain a better understanding of each concert’s theme and learn the secrets of the composers by attending Festival City Symphony’s pre-concert presentation, “Unlocking the Score.” Music educator Lynn Roginske will help audience members of all ages listen for harmonies, watch for crescendos, and feel the music more deeply. All are invited to this free talk from stage, which begins thirty minutes prior to the concert start time.
Admission to Saturday Classics concerts is FREE with suggested donation! Suggested donation amounts are $14 for adults and $8 for children, students, and seniors for each concert.
Festival City Symphony Event Series
- Join Festival City Symphony for a musical journey filled with sweeping grandeur and dramatic beauty!
- Festival City Symphony invites you to experience the magic of musical storytelling through three vibrant orchestral masterpieces!
- The concert begins with Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra—a dazzling exploration of each section of the orchestra. Next, selections from Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suites bring to life scenes of mystery and adventure, from the serene beauty of “Morning Mood” to the thrilling energy of “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” The program concludes with Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, a vivid musical tour through an art gallery, where each movement transforms a painting into a dynamic, emotionally rich soundscape. Join us for an unforgettable afternoon of music that paints, tells, and inspires. Reserve your tickets today!
Saturday, April 18, 2026
2:00pm Concert
1:30pm “Meet the Musicians” On-stage Presentation
Bradley Symphony Center
Allen-Bradley Hall
212 W Wisconsin Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53203
Festival City Symphony will close its classical season with an inspiring program that unites the voices of two compelling contemporary composers with the warmth of a Romantic symphonic gem.
The concert will open with Adolphus Hailstork’s Sonata da Chiesa, a radiant and expressive orchestral mass that blends lyrical elegance, joyful energy, and a heartfelt call for peace. Wisconsin-based composer Autumn Maria Reed, a passionate advocate for mental health awareness, offers her deeply personal Mental Health Suite that reflects her own journey of healing and resilience. Her music gives voice to those affected by trauma and affirms the power of art to restore and connect. The program concludes with Antonín Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony in G Major. This celebratory and beautifully crafted work weaves Czech folk melodies, classical form, and heartfelt emotion into a vibrant, uplifting finale.
Don’t miss this moving afternoon of music that speaks to the soul, the spirit, and the strength of the human experience. Reserve your tickets today!
Adolphus Hailstork
Sonata da Chiesa
Autumn Maria Reed
Mental Health Suite
~Intermission~
Antonín Dvořák
Symphony No. 8, Op. 88 in G
Audience members are encouraged to arrive early for “Unlocking the Score,” a free, on-stage pre-concert talk at 1:30 p.m. led by music educator Lynn Roginske. The presentation offers insight into the composers, themes, and musical ideas featured in the program, helping listeners of all ages engage more deeply with the performance.
Admission to the concert is FREE with a suggested donation of $14 for adults and $8 for children, seniors, and students.
To order tickets, visit https://
festivalcitysymphony.org/ order-saturday-classics- tickets/. If you need help reserving tickets online, view these directions or call the Bradley Symphony Center box office at (414) 291-7605.
Parking Options
The Avenue Parking Garage is the Bradley Symphony Center’s preferred parking partner and is located at 615 N 2nd St, on the west side of 2nd Street, between Michigan Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue. With multiple entrance and exit points and 1,700 parking spaces, the parking structure at The Avenue is a safe, convenient, and affordable choice for patrons.
The 2nd and Plankinton Garage is located at 724 N Plankinton Ave, on the west side of Plankinton Avenue, north of Wisconsin Avenue.
More parking options are available at http://www.parkmilwaukee.
You can click here to view a wayfinding map to find the best route from your parking location to the Bradley Symphony Center.
For more information on getting to the Bradley Symphony Center, visit https://www.mso.org/
About Festival City Symphony:
Festival City Symphony has been a significant member of the Milwaukee-area arts community for nearly 100 years. Formerly known as the Milwaukee Civic Symphony Orchestra, Festival City Symphony is Milwaukee’s oldest performing symphony orchestra. Its mission is to extend the reach of classical music in the Milwaukee-area community by presenting free and affordable concerts in formats that embrace people of all ages.
Striving to attract new audiences to live classical music performances, the orchestra’s collaborative programs often incorporate local arts or educational organizations, Milwaukee-based performers and artists, and children’s performing groups. Composed of professional musicians from around the Milwaukee area, FCS member musicians serve as instructors in many of Milwaukee’s universities, public and private schools, and private lesson studios.
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