BY VIVIENNE AGUILAR

CV Journalism Collaborative

The Modesto Symphony Orchestra isn’t just for your grandparents, even if they’re the same age.

The local symphony orchestra has a lot of history to honor during its 2026 season.

Earlier this month, MSO celebrated its 95th birthday with a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at the State Theatre. In May, the symphony orchestra players will be joined by the local volunteer choir and youth orchestra to perform pieces from the MSO’s first-ever show in 1931.

“Our goal is to continue to serve the community with music and to reinforce what we are in this community,” said MSO President and CEO Caroline Nickel. “There’s a lot of things we do that people don’t necessarily know about, as we try to bring music into people’s lives.”

During her nearly two decades of working for MSO, Nickel has simultaneously raised her family to appreciate the arts. When her children were younger, she would bring them to rehearsals where they’d fall asleep to the music.

“They’d come in their sweats and bring their books with them, and they’d sit in the chair, and we’d watch rehearsal, and they’d ask questions,” she reminisced. “Then at the end of rehearsal, I’d scoop one up, and the music director at the time, David Lockington, would scoop one up and carry them to my car for me.”

With a deep love for the work, Nickel has led the nonprofit orchestra, and helped produce countless opportunities for musicians and singers throughout the years. Bringing artists and community together has been a longstanding tradition for the organization.

As the orchestra became more established it sprouted other performance groups, bringing in talent of all ages.

What was once a community-based music group, has become a network of professionals who travel from the Bay Area, Los Angeles and other areas to play in Modesto.

The 2026 season also marks the 50th season of the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra and the 25th season for the MSO Chorus. The organization has several community partnerships and a residency in the Gallo Arts Center, where most performances take place.

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Other times, musicians will find themselves in local hospitals and elder-care homes to play intimate live performances for residents, patients and staff, said Erin Nishimori, director of marketing and communications.

“Link Up!” is another example of how MSO brings music into the community. The program offers third through fifth grade students in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties time and space to perform alongside professional musicians from the orchestra.

On Nishimori’s first day on the job, she got to experience one of these events. The program is so engrained in the community, it has become a staple of the third grade curriculum at Modesto City Schools.

“That could not have been a better introduction to working here,” she said, “It’s just a nice little cultural gem that we have.”

Support isn’t always financial

Nishimori said Modesto was the smallest city in the country to have an orchestra when it first started in 1931. Today MSO shares performers with prestigious institutions like the San Francisco Symphony.

Appreciating an orchestra doesn’t come easy to everyone, says Gail Edwards, a woodwind instrumentalist and educator who specializes in the flute and piccolo, but MSO makes it accessible for anyone to give it a shot.

Edwards plays in the San Francisco, Sacramento and Modesto symphony orchestras, so she’s often travelling between the three. At 70, she jokes that she’s the oldest performer in Modesto’s orchestra, and the youngest in Sacramento’s.

Since she started in the early 2000s, Edwards has worked with three conductors at MSO and said the orchestra has only gotten better over the years. Nickels said complements like this from traveling professionals like Edwards are a true testament to the work they do.

It’s not only the work Edwards enjoys in Modesto, but how well equipped the community is to appreciate musicians and classical arts. For example, the organization coordinates with local residents who offer guest rooms to musicians in the symphony.

Edwards sometimes stays with Phyllis Rose, an usher at the Gallo Center, when she’s in town.

“I think that my hosts are very happy to introduce me to their friends and are kind of proud that they know somebody from the symphony,” she said. “(Rose) doesn’t know about classical music, so she’s learned a lot from me, and she’s very stylish, so I’ve learned quite a bit from her, too.”

Reciprocity has been a byproduct of Edward’s work with MSO. Over the years she’s participated in programs where the youth orchestra plays alongside the professionals. Edwards recalls briefly connecting with a girl in Modesto during one such performance, and years later ran into her at Flute World in San Francisco.

“We met when she was in the youth orchestra, and then she went to college for flute, and now I think she’s trying to play professionally,” Edwards said.

Founded by Frank Mancini, Malin Langstroth, and Leonard Fristrom, MSO’s current mission is to engage young people and expose them to music as a profession. Nearly 100 years later, the organization is fully reaping the benefits.

Fostering a life-long love of music

While not every musician goes on to play professionally, the exposure to classical music and professionals in the symphony business inspires people to support the arts in other ways.

That includes Modesto resident Amy Collier Carroll, who is now a MSO board member and was a former youth orchestra oboe player.

“I think a lot of people who (grew) up here in the 80s, 90s, kind of couldn’t wait to get out of here,” she said, “because there just didn’t seem to be enough exciting opportunities or cultural amenities, or diverse experiences. But, instead of leaving and trying to find that elsewhere, I think there’s a strong contingent of us that decided to create it here, and have worked at that over time.”

While in high school, Collier Carrol traveled to Paris and London with the Modesto Youth Orchestra. They even played in a castle.

“To see kind of this other world, and be able to broaden my horizons about where music could take you and the experiences that you could have,” she said, “and be playing the kinds of classical or textual music that was written hundreds of years ago in kind of the same areas that we were traveling through and seeing with modern eyes was really an amazing experience.

It wasn’t until her adulthood that she realized these experiences were not common across the country, increasing her deep respect for MSO’s work.

Same appreciation, shorter attention spans

As orchestras and other performing arts struggle to compete with digital entertainment and modern live music, Collier Carroll, Nickels and their team have gotten creative to attract audience members.

The decision to host MSO’s 95th birthday celebration at the State Theatre instead of the Gallo Center is one way they’re hoping to meet people where they’re at.

“We’re trying a different venue, because ticket sales haven’t been what they used to be,” Collier Caroll said. “It seems having a more intimate experience in a small venue might be something worth trying.”

Another tactic they’re trying is performances of movie soundtracks. In May, MSO will perform iconic composer John Williams’ music from “Jurassic Park” at Gallo. In the past they’ve performed Williams’ music from “Star Wars.”

Edwards said she likes that MSO has added movies to their lineup, because she’s noticed the last few brought more people in, including the “Star Wars” shows which all sold out.

Collier Carrol said the organization is also talking about the possibility of creating shorter concerts to meet the needs of younger audiences. She said they’ve noticed folks leave performances at intermission, 45 minutes into the show.

“It’s just a sign of the times,” Collier Carroll said. “There’s a lot more competition for our time and our entertainment dollars. I think orchestras all over the place are kind of reinventing themselves in unique ways, and ours is no different. But we definitely have a strong support network in our community. We could use more support, but I am thrilled that we’re inching our way to 100 years of music in Modesto.”

— Vivienne Aguilar is a reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact her at vivienne@themodestofocus.org.