MSO Performs Star Wars

The Modesto Symphony Orchestra Performs Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert

MODESTO, CA – The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO), led by Associate Conductor Ryan Murray, will perform Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert on Friday, June 3^rd at 7:30 pm and Saturday, June 4^th at 2:00 pm at the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto. Fans will be able to experience the scope and grandeur of the complete film with Oscar®-winning composer John Williams’ musical score performed live to film by the MSO.

“We are so excited to finish our season with Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert,” says Caroline Nickel, President and CEO of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. “The Star Wars franchise is beloved by so many and we are thrilled to be able to present A New Hope in its entirety with our full orchestra performing John Williams’ score live! This has to be one of the most iconic film scores ever written and we guarantee you’ll have goosebumps when you see the opening titles with the full force of an orchestra performing live.”

Since the release of the first Star Wars movie, the Star Wars saga has had a seismic impact on cinema and culture, inspiring audiences worldwide with its mythic storytelling, captivating characters, groundbreaking special effects, and iconic musical scores composed by Williams. This concert is perfect for all ages as the MSO celebrates the 45^th anniversary of the movie that started the Star Wars saga.

MODESTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert
Friday, June 3, 2022 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 2:00 pm

Ryan Murray, conductor

Gallo Center for the Arts, Mary Stuart Rogers Theater

1000 I Street, Modesto

Star Wars: A New Hope In Concert is produced under license by Disney Concerts in association with 20th Century Fox and Warner/Chappell Music.

STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © & TM

TICKETS:
Pricing: $19 / 39 / 54 / 71 / 94

Tickets are available online through ModestoSymphony.org or through the Gallo Center for the Arts Ticket Office at (209) 338-2100.

Group Prices available: Groups of 10+ receive a 15% discount on tickets. Call (209) 338-5064 for more information.

Gallo Center Ticket Office Hours: Monday through Friday 10:00am-6:00pm / Saturday 12:00pm-6:00pm

All ticket holders must provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative COVID-19 test* taken within 48 hours of performance. Masks are recommended for all.

*Home tests are not accepted.

ARTIST BIOS:

Ryan Murray is currently the Artistic Director and Conductor of Music in the Mountains and the Associate Conductor of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. He is also the Director of Symphony Orchestra & Opera at California State University, Sacramento, and the Conductor for the Sacramento Youth Symphony’s premier orchestra. An award-winning opera conductor, Ryan spent his early career working as an assistant conductor and répétiteur and is currently the Music Director of Opera Modesto. He has served as assistant conductor for opera productions at the Sacramento Philharmonic and is the past Music Director of Fresno Grand Opera, and previously worked as a staff conductor for the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute (BASOTI) and The Opera Academy of California in San Francisco. Effortlessly moving between genres, Ryan currently enjoys a wide range of performance genres & platforms, including traditional orchestral and operatic repertoire, pops performances, movies in concert, and a notable emphasis on contemporary American operatic works.

Ryan was recently awarded second place in the 2019 American Prize for Professional Orchestral Conducting for his work with the Modesto Symphony, and has garnered national recognition for his dynamic, compelling performances of contemporary opera as the winner of the 2017 American Prize in Opera Conducting for his highly lauded production of A Streetcar Named Desire. He was a 2016 semi-finalist for the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music for his production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. Ryan is also a past winner of the Vienna Philharmonic’s prestigious Ansbacher Fellowship for Young Conductors, and spent the summer in residence alongside the Vienna Philharmonic at the 2014 Salzburg Festival.

A charismatic pops conductor, Ryan has worked with prominent artists such as Storm Large of Pink Martini, SuperDiamond and the phenomenal symphonic tribute to David Bowie. He has led some of the top vocalists from Broadway and beyond, including Ben Crawford (Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera), Ashley Brown (Broadway’s Mary Poppins), and Alli Mauzey (Glinda from Wicked), as well as some of today’s top young jazz vocalists including Tony DeSare and James Tormé. With an enthusiasm for film scores, Ryan enjoys the unique challenges of conducting movies in concert and was recently added the Disney & ICM Approved Conductors list. Recent and upcoming performances include Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pixar Animation Studios’ Pixar in Concert and Star Wars: A New Hope.

Ryan holds degrees, summa cum laude, in Bassoon Performance and Voice Performance from California State University, Sacramento and also holds a master’s degree in Music Business from the Berklee College of Music where he studied with industry professionals to develop tools for success in the modern music industry, including new technology, policy, law and finance. Driven by a lifelong passion for learning, Ryan has attended conducting masterclasses and seminars around the world. Ryan recently attended the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music’s Conductors Workshop, and was one of just eight conductors worldwide to be invited to the Musiikin aika Summer Festival Masterclass in Finland led by Musical America’s 2017 Conductor of the Year & Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Susanna Mälkki. He also recently attended a contemporary music symposium led by Alan Gilbert featuring the New York Philharmonic. Past events include the Aurora Chamber Festival in Sweden, where he studied under Maestro Kurt Masur, the Lucerne Festival Academy’s Conducting Masterclass in Switzerland, and the Eastman School of Music’s Summer Conducting Institute. Widely praised for his tireless work ethic, natural poise, and impassioned, inspired performances, Ryan continues to connect deeply with orchestras and audiences alike, and has proven to be a formidable presence on the podium.

ABOUT DISNEY CONCERTS

Disney Concerts is the concert production and licensing division of Disney Music Group, the music arm of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Concerts produces concerts and tours, and licenses Disney music and visual content to symphony orchestras and presenters on a worldwide basis. Disney Concerts’ concert packages include a variety of formats, such as “live to picture” film concerts and themed instrumental and vocal compilation concerts, and range from instrumental-only symphonic performances to multimedia productions featuring live vocalists and choir. Current titles include the Star Wars Film Concert Series (Episodes IV-VII), Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Fantasia, Pixar In Concert, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Alice In Wonderland, Frozen, Ratatouille, The Pirates of the Caribbean series (Episodes I-IV), and Silly Symphonies, which last year collectively accounted for over 400 performances in many of the world’s top concert venues, including Lincoln Center, Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Tokyo Forum and the Hollywood Bowl. Numerous new concert packages and touring productions from Disney’s portfolio of studios, including Disney’s feature animation and live action studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel, are currently in development.

2021-22 SEASON PARTNER: Boyett Petroleum