Present Music’s “All Souls Eve” Concert to Debut Renowned Composer Viet Cuong’s Newest Work

MILWAUKEE, WI — This Halloween night at the Milwaukee Art Museum, several ancient traditions will get a modern makeover in a concert to raise the dead. Present Music’s All Souls Eve brings together ancient folk traditions such as Aztec Día de los Muertos, Celtic pagan Samhain, and Roman Catholic All Souls Day, reimagining them in a concert equal parts spooky, joyful, and profound.

Ticket holders are encouraged to arrive as early as 5:30 for the Día de los Muertos festivities: Mexican and Vietnamese food trucks, access to the museum exhibits (free admission) as well as an ofrenda by artist Francisco X Mora that everyone can add to, so bring photos or items that represent deceased loved ones. There will be a pre-concert conversation with composer Viet Cuong and guest conductor Deanna Tham at 6:30 before a concert of music that moves between the sacred and the surreal.

At the heart of the evening will be the world premiere of Viet Cuong’s Music on a While, a commission for Present Music that takes inspiration from Henry Purcell but bursts with Cuong’s signature imagination and adventurous textures. Hailed by The New York Times as “wildly inventive,” Cuong is one of today’s most in-demand young composers whose works have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Kronos Quartet, and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The program:

• A world premiere of “Music On A While” by Vietnamese-American composer Viet Cuong, widely respected for his innovative approach to instrumentation.
• Evan Chambers‘ “The Old Burying Ground,” a poignant song cycle with lyrics adapted from tombstones. The performance will feature the stunning voices of soprano Alisa Jordheim, tenor Brian Giebler, and folk singer Ben Russell.
• A masked performance of Gabriela Ortiz‘s “Altar de Muertos,” a string quartet inspired by Mexico’s Day of the Dead festivities.
• Miguel del Aguila‘s “Conga Line In Hell,” an instrumental work described by the composer as humorous, sarcastic, grotesque, and terrifying. Pianist John Orfe will perform against a relentless, distorted conga rhythm.
• Composer George Crumb’s American Songbook VI reinterpretation of the familiar Pete Seeger tune “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” for piano with four percussionists, and two singers.

All Souls Eve Concert
Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Drive, Milwaukee, WI
Friday, October 31st, 2025
5:30 p.m. Doors | 7:30 p.m. Show
Pre-concert conversation at 6:30 in the Lubar Auditorium
Tickets: presentmusic.org

Tickets

Concert sponsors: Suzanne & Richard Pieper and PieperPower

Viet Cuong Commissioners:

Randall Lindert in honor of Cecile Cheng, and Christine Rundblad

In partnership with the Milwaukee Art Museum, featuring The Bradley Collection of Modern Art: A Bold Vision for Milwaukee, an exhibition honoring “Peg” Bradley’s extraordinary gift of nearly 400 twentieth-century masterpieces by icons of modernism.

Viet Cuong’s music has been performed on six continents and featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center. His works for wind ensemble have amassed several hundred performances, and he was recently featured on the PBS NewHour. He is currently the Pacific Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence and serves as Assistant Professor of Music Composition at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Deanna Tham is currently the Associate Conductor with the Oregon Symphony and Music Director of the Union Symphony Orchestra. Previously, she served as Assistant Conductor with the Omaha Symphony and Assistant Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony. She last appeared with Present Music in the 2022-23 season, conducting The Blue Hour with Shara Nova at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Alisa Jordheim has been described as “vocally resplendent,” “powerful,” and possessing “impeccable coloratura,” and been praised for her compelling and vocally assured performances in opera, concert, musical theatre, new music, early music, and recital. A Fulbright Scholar and Fellow of the American Scandinavian Foundation, Ms. Jordheim is a two-time winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions.

Brian Geibler, a “faultless high tenor” (Seattle Times), studied at the University of Michigan, the Eastman School of Music, and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He performs with chamber ensembles throughout the United States, including Conspirare of Austin, Seraphic Fire of Miami, Clarion Music Society in New York City, and he is a member of the Trinity Wall Street Choir in Manhattan.

Ben Russell is a violinist, vocalist, and composer who has played all over the world with all sorts of people. He is a member of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) and co-creator of the songwriting collective Founders. He has toured and recorded with several artists, including Sufjan Stevens, Arcade Fire, The National, Max Richter, and Jóhann Jóhannsson. Ben was featured last season when Present Music performed Kamran Ince’s “then, nothing.”

Pianist John Orfe has earned critical acclaim for his interpretations of five centuries of keyboard repertoire. He has been a keyboardist for Present Music since 2019. In 2021, he edited and premiered the organ part central to Raven Chacon’s Voiceless Mass, which won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Music. As the core pianist and a founding member of Alarm Will Sound, Orfe has performed in music series and festivals across the United States, Europe, and Asia, and recorded on the Kairos, Albany, Nonesuch, Cantaloupe, and Parma labels.

Artist Francisco X Mora was born in Mexico City, Mexico and moved to Milwaukee in 1980 to study printmaking. He has shown his work in galleries across the United States, including the Milwaukee Art Museum, Museum of Wisconsin Art, Racine Art Museum, and the Mexican Museum of Art.

About Present Music:

Since its founding 1982, Present Music’s mission has been to commission and perform new concert music, bringing over 100 new works to life. Ensembles range from a core group of seven musicians to an ensemble of 20 or more. Present Music has had the privilege of working closely with many of the nation’s top composers, including John Adams, Henry Brant, David Lang, Caroline Shaw, Ingram Marshall, Missy Mazzoli, Bright Sheng, Roberto Sierra and Michael Torke.

The not-for-profit organization has a long and impressive track record for identifying outstanding talent early in the artists’ careers. Present Music’s discography includes world premiere recordings on the Cantaloupe, New World Records, Argo, Albany, Aoede, Northeastern, Naxos and Innova labels. The group is led by Artistic Director Eric Segnitz and Conductor/Advisor David Bloom. Present Music was founded by conductor Kevin Stalheim, who was Artistic Director for the first 37 years of the ensemble’s existence until 2019.

www.presentmusic.org

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.