The UWM Symphony Orchestra and Choirs join forces for an evening of powerful choral-orchestral masterworks. In recognition of the 250th anniversary of the United States, the program features American works that reflect on the nation’s history and ideals, including Florence Price’s Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight and Aaron Copland’s iconic Fanfare for the Common Man. The program also features Mozart’s radiant Coronation Mass, bringing together orchestra, chorus, and soloists in one of his most celebrated sacred works.

This exciting night of music will feature music from Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago performed by UWM students and Milwaukee community members. The UWM Steel PANthers Steel Band and the new University Community World Music Ensemble will join forces on a program highlighting traditional and arranged music played on Guatemalan marimba doble and Trinidadian steel pans.

The UWM Middle School Honors Band Festival is one of the longest-standing events of its kind. Our festival provides the region’s most motivated and accomplished middle school instrumentalists with an opportunity to work with one another and with regionally and nationally recognized wind band conductors. In addition, students interact with UWM performance staff and experience performances by UWM ensembles.

This performance begins with a unique collaboration between the high school students selected for the 2026 UWM Honors String Orchestra and the UWM Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Prof. Jun Kim. The 2026 UWM High School Honors Band will perform on the second half of the concert, and led by our featured guest conductor, Dr. Brett Bawcum of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia. This Saturday evening concert is a culmination of a weekend of rehearsals, lessons and experiences meant to show festival students what it's like to be a musician at UW-Milwaukee.