Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Celebrates America’s 250th Anniversary with Family Concert

Milwaukee, Wis. (Jan. 15, 2026) — The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra invites families to experience music, imagination and storytelling at the Bradley Symphony Center on January 25 at 2:30 p.m. with Trailblazers: A Celebration of the American Spirit. Created especially for children and families, this lively concert celebrates the nation’s 250th anniversary through music that reflects America’s creativity, curiosity, and bold sense of possibility.

The program features music by American composers including John Williams, Scott Joplin, George Gershwin, Florence Price, Aaron Copland, and Carlos Simon, taking audiences on a musical journey through history, folklore, bustling cityscapes, and Olympic hopes and dreams. Designed to spark curiosity and conversation, the concert offers an engaging introduction to orchestral music for young listeners.

Associate Conductor Ryan Tani leads the performance, featuring guest pianist Paul He, a freshman at Brookfield Academy High School and Wisconsin Youth Piano Competition winner, alongside First Stage actor and teaching artist Caitlyn Nettesheim.

Trailblazers: A Celebration of the American Spirit is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Preconcert activities begin one hour before the performance and include a Bradley Symphony Center scavenger hunt, a conductor station, composer station, and more.

Tickets are available at mso.org or by calling the MSO Box Office at 414-291-7605.

TRAILBLAZERS: A CELEBRATION OF THE AMERICAN SPIRIT

Sunday, January 25 at 2:30 p.m.

Ryan Tani, conductor
Paul He, piano
Caitlyn Nettesheim, actor

RYAN TANI, ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR

Now in his third season with the MSO and his first as associate conductor, Ryan Tani is known for inventive programming and dynamic audience engagement. At the MSO, he conducts education, family, pops, and classics concerts, including stepping in for Edo de Waart and leading sold-out performances. He has also served as cover conductor for the Minnesota Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, and more.

A champion of new music, Tani was music director of Baltimore’s Occasional Symphony, commissioning more than 20 works, and has led ensembles across Montana while developing outreach and educational programs. He holds degrees from Yale, Peabody, and USC, and studied with Marin Alsop, Peter Oundjian, and others.

PAUL HE, PIANO

Paul He is a freshman at Brookfield Academy High School and an accomplished young pianist. He began piano studies at age 6 with teacher Tatyana Smith and has since earned top honors in numerous regional and state competitions. His awards include first place in the Wisconsin Youth Piano Competition in 2025 and second place in 2023, sponsored by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and PianoArts. He is also a multiple-time first-place winner in the Wisconsin Music Teachers Association State Keyboard Competitions and the WMTA True State Keyboard Competition. Additional honors include first-place awards in Piano Concerto and Piano Solo Federation State Competitions and a first-place finish in the Lake Country Baroque Competition’s High School Division. Paul has performed in Milwaukee Music Teachers Association Youth Concert recitals and received an exemplary award at the Wisconsin School Music Association Festivals. He also studies violin and performs with his school orchestra.

CAITLYN NETTESHEIM, ACTOR

Caitlyn Nettesheim is an actor, director, choreographer, educator and writer based in southeastern Wisconsin. She is a full-time teaching artist with First Stage’s Education Department, where she has taught since 2022, using theater skills to build confidence and life skills in young people. Her recent performance credits with First Stage include The Dinosaur Play, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical. Directing and choreography work includes Spring Awakening with First Stage’s Theater Academy and productions with Lake Country Playhouse’s Performing Arts Academy. Additional credits include performances with Wisconsin Classic Stage, Vanguard Productions and Pink Umbrella Theatre. This spring, she will understudy for the role of Queen Iduna in Frozen at First Stage. Nettesheim is passionate about storytelling, arts education and creating inclusive, engaging theater experiences.

About the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Led by Music Director Ken-David Masur, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is Wisconsin’s largest cultural institution and one of the nation’s leading orchestras. Since its founding in 1959, the MSO has performed more than 130 concerts annually, including classics, pops, family, education, and community programs throughout the state. The orchestra has premiered works by composers such as John Adams, Philip Glass, J.E. Hernández, Roberto Sierra, Marc Neikrug, Matthias Pintscher, and Dobrinka Tabakova, earning national recognition for artistic innovation. The MSO was also the first American orchestra to offer live recordings on iTunes.

In 2021, the MSO completed the restoration of a historic downtown movie palace, opening the Bradley Symphony Center. The venue has become a vibrant hub for music and community engagement, sparking renewal along West Wisconsin Avenue and serving as a catalyst for cultural activity in Milwaukee.

The MSO’s commitment to education and outreach reaches tens of thousands of students annually. Its nationally recognized Arts in Community Education (ACE) program, now in its 36th year, integrates music across subjects and provides vital opportunities in schools where arts programming may be limited. ACE offers lesson plans, classroom visits by MSO ensembles, and concerts tailored to each grade level. Along with Youth and Teen concerts, Family Series, and Meet the Music pre-concert talks, these programs provide students and families with meaningful, transformative experiences in music.

Through its artistic excellence, innovative programming, and community engagement, the MSO continues to inspire new audiences, nurture the next generation of musicians, and strengthen Milwaukee’s reputation as a vibrant center for music and the arts.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.