The Soldier's Tale by Igor Stravinsky

A Benefit Concert for Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras

Notes & Narratives is Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras’ signature benefit concert experience, designed to deepen the way audiences listen and connect with great music.

Each program unfolds in two parts. The evening begins with Narratives, a brief, engaging talk by Music Director Kyle Knox, offering context about the featured work — its creation, the composer’s life, and the ideas that shaped it. After intermission, Notes brings the work fully to life in performance, enriched by the insights shared earlier and heard anew through sound, movement, and storytelling.

This year’s program features The Soldier’s Tale by Igor Stravinsky, a groundbreaking work that blends music, theater, and dance into a single, compelling narrative. Performed in its full theatrical form, the work comes vividly to life through movement, narration, and music.

Featuring members of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and Madison Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kyle Knox, with special guests Kanopy Dance and narration by James Ridge, this performance invites audiences to listen more deeply and hear the music anew.

Buy Tickets
Become a Sponsor
slide 1

Photography by Bill Rosholt.

Resume Slideshow

slide 2

Photography by Bill Rosholt.

Resume Slideshow

slide 3

Photography by Bill Rosholt.

Resume Slideshow

slide 4

Photography by Bill Rosholt.

Resume Slideshow

slide 5

Photography by Bill Rosholt.

Resume Slideshow

slide 6

Photography by Bill Rosholt.

Resume Slideshow

slide 7

Photography by Bill Rosholt.

Resume Slideshow

slide 8

Photography by Bill Rosholt.

Resume Slideshow

slide 9

Photography by Bill Rosholt.

Resume Slideshow

The Story at the Heart of the Music

A soldier returning home meets a mysterious stranger who offers him wealth and power, in exchange for his soul.

Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale is a darkly playful, sharply modern fable about temptation, ambition, and the cost of getting what we think we want. Told through music, narration, and movement, the story unfolds with wit and urgency, shifting between humor and unease as the soldier’s bargain begins to reveal its consequences.

At once intimate and theatrical, the work blurs the boundaries between concert, theater, and dance, drawing audiences into a story that feels both timeless and unmistakably of our own moment.

Notes & Narratives Schedule

12:30pm: VIP Pre-Performance Lunch

1:30pm: General Reception (All are welcome!)

2:30pm: Performance Begins

Thank you to our sponsors!

Title Sponsor

Barbara Merz

Barbara Merz

Presenting Sponsor

Diane Mayland and Michael Hennessy

Diane Mayland and Michael Hennessy

Musician Sponsor

New Health Chiropractic & Integrated Healthcare

New Health Chiropractic & Integrated Healthcare

Graham and Margaret Fuguitt

Graham and Margaret Fuguitt

Javier Garay

Javier Garay

Nicholas and Elaine Mischler

Nicholas and Elaine Mischler

Friend of WYSO Sponsor

Andrée and John Valley

Andrée and John Valley

Ron Zerofsky and Rita Applebaum

Ron Zerofsky and Rita Applebaum

About WYSO

The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras was established in 1966, in large part by Professor Marvin Rabin of the University of Wisconsin-Extension Music Department. More than 5,000 young musicians from communities throughout southern Wisconsin have participated in WYSO during its almost 60 years of existence. Under the current artistic direction of Music Director Kyle Knox and Executive Director Michelle Kaebisch, WYSO includes three full orchestras, two string orchestras, a chamber music program, a harp program, a percussion ensemble, a brass choir program, and the WYSO Music Makers program.
 

All Notes & Narratives funds go toward WYSO's general operating fund, which supports scholarships, community outreach tours, public performances, private lessons, instrument repair, workshops, masterclasses, and much, much more! Your gift helps WYSO keep tuition as low as possible for students and families. Thank you for supporting WYSO.