Russia on the brain? It will be music to the ears at Modesto program

With all the talk about Russia, Russia, Russia going on across the nation, the next Modesto Symphony Orchestra program feels timely.

MSO presents two evenings of Russian music – Tchaikovsky, Prokoviev and Shostakovich to be exact – for its next program. The “Romantic Evening from Russian Masters” concerts will be held Feb. 2 and Feb. 3 at the Gallo Center for the Arts.

Music Director David Lockington leads the symphony in the all-Russian program that will feature Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture” and a MSO premier performance of Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 featuring violinist Dylana Jenson.

This will be a return performance by Jenson, Lockington’s wife, who has appeared with MSO several times since 2009.

A child prodigy, Jenson started the violin at the age of two and a half. At 17, she was the youngest and first American woman to win the silver medal in the prestigious Tchaikovsky competition.

She has performed with most major orchestras in the United States and traveled to Europe, Australia, Japan and Latin America for concerts, recitals and recordings.

After Jenson’s success at the Tchaikovsky Competition she made her Carnegie Hall debut playing the Sibelius Concerto with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Lockington has been directing the MSO since 2007 and continues to direct or work with other orchestras including the Pasedena Symphony and the Grand Rapids Symphony.

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Russia on the brain? It will be music to the ears at Modesto program."