FRI & SAT, DEC 6 - 7, 2024 / 8 PM
SAT & SUN, DEC 7 - 8, 2024 / 2 PM
with Grand Rapids Ballet

Visions of sugar plum fairies will dance across the stage in this treasured holiday classic! The Grand Rapids Ballet returns to perform their re-envisioned production of The Nutcracker, played by our own Symphony Orchestra. Experience the holiday magic with Clara as she journeys to the Land of Sweets with the Nutcracker, a gift from her mysterious uncle. Featuring choreography from world-renowned Val Caniparoli, with the dancing set against a distinctive and lush storybook set created by celebrated The Polar Express author/illustrator Chris Van Allsburg and designed by Tony® Award winner Eugene Lee.

Join our Education Staff in the Lobby before each performance for a special activity for kids! Discover the history of nutcrackers while you create your very own souvenir to bring home! Join our Educators in the lobby the hour before the show to create your very own nutcracker ornament. 

PRIX-FIXE DINNER / Pair your evening with a Prix Fixe Dinner from Midland Center's on-site chef before the performance on DEC 7. Dinners include your choice from three entrees, a starter course, a dessert course, and a choice of one glass of our outstanding house beers, wines or soda. Click here to view the menu and reserve your spot. Pre-purchase is required, and will close on DEC 2.

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SAT, DEC 14, 2024 / 4 PM
RELAXED PERFORMANCE / SAT, DEC 14, 2024 / 1 PM (Learn More)

The caroling Choirs of the Center, accompanied by the Midland Symphony Orchestra, will be joined by Broadway talent Kevin Massey and 2024 Jimmy Awards winner Gretchen Shope for an evening of holiday celebration! Gretchen, a local talent and recent graduate of H.H. Dow High School, made her Broadway debut this summer as Michigan's first winner of the Jimmy Awards, a national competition for high school musical theatre. She’s thrilled to return to one of her hometown stages, where she recently performed with Center Stage Theatre as Natalie in NEXT TO NORMAL and Amy March in LITTLE WOMEN. Kevin Massey performed on Broadway in TARZAN, BIG RIVER, MEMPHIS, and A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER, as well as in numerous touring and regional roles. Don’t miss this signature event of the Great Lakes Bay region’s holiday season!

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SAT, FEB 1, 2025 / 7:30 PM

Jessie Montgomery / Starburst
Richard Strauss / Also sprach Zarathustra
Eric Whitacre, Deep Field

Discover the cosmos as you travel through billions of stars with the Midland Symphony Orchestra! Immerse yourself in the one-of-a-kind Deep Field experience created by Grammy® Award-winning composer Eric Whitacre – a stunning film, Deep Field: The Impossible Magnitude of our Universe, illuminates the astounding and powerful score. Experience extraordinary galactic imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope, immersive animation, and audience participation that invites guests to join in with the symphony via a smartphone app. Continue traveling to the edges of our universe with Jessie Montogomery’s dynamic Starburst and Strauss’ now iconic tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra, used in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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SAT, MAR 8, 2025 / 7:30 PM

Mozart / The Magic Flute
Mahler / Symphony No. 4
with Detroit Opera Resident Artists

This compelling performance will feature an elite ensemble of soloists from the renowned Detroit Opera Resident Artists and will be highlighted by excerpts from Mozart’s timeless and enchanting masterpiece, the fantasy quest The Magic Flute. Mahler’s spectacular Symphony No. 4 will complete the evening with its soaring and “heavenly” soprano solo. Members of Detroit’s premier producer and presenter of opera, musical theatre, and dance accompany Midland Symphony Orchestra’s performance in an unforgettable evening of music. Join us on this journey marrying spectacular voices with equally compelling music.

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SAT, APR 5, 2025 / 7:30 PM

George Gershwin / Rhapsody in Blue & Piano Concerto in F
Guest Artist / Kevin Cole, piano

The award-winning and spectacular pianist Kevin Cole performs with the MSO, as he has done with over 100 orchestras! Regarded as the leading interpreter of George Gershwin’s piano compositions, Kevin will play the incomparable Rhapsody in Blue, beloved since its premiere in 1924 for its integration of jazz and classical music and considered one of the greatest symphonic achievements of the 20th century. Kevin, a local artist living in Bay City, will continue to delight with Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. Kevin is the perfect soloist for our exploration of Gershwin - declares Edward Jablonski, renowned Gershwin scholar, “Kevin is the best Gershwin pianist since Gershwin himself – no one can touch him.”

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