Ilana Setapen

MSO violinist Ilana Setapen’s made quite a splash in the years since she took her place as the Symphony’s associate concertmaster at the start of the 2009-10 season. The young, vibrant performer has performed solo recitals, worked with two different instrumental groups (the Arcas Quartet and Bowing Rogue duo, both comprised of MSO members) and taken center stage with her orchestra numerous times over the last four years. This weekend, she does so again, in a de Waart-directed program that features her in a solo role performing Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2.

In anticipation of her latest turn upon the stage, Mark sat down with Ilana in our office, to talk about how she came to Milwaukee, and what it’s like to serve as both an orchestra member and a prominent artist in the community. And we even got her to play a little bit of the Prokefiev, to give us a taste of what she has in store for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Listen now:

[audio:https://urbanmilwaukeedial.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ilanapodcast.mp3|titles=Backstage with Mark Metcalf – Ilana Setapen]

“Backstage with Mark Metcalf,” a 2011 Milwaukee Press Club award-winner, is engineered and produced by Sahan Jayasuriya. The weekly series, focusing on many of Milwaukee’s behind-the-scenes personalities, alternates between short (10-15 min.) and long (25-30 min.) segments. For the full archive of these podcasts, check out TCD’s Podcasts page.