Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony April 18 at Rozsa celebrates 25 Years of Rozsa performances

By Michele Bourdieu, with information from the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts 

Joel Neves conducts the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. For the first-ever Upper Peninsula performance of Mahler's Resurrection Symphony on Saturday, April 18, in the Rozsa, the KSO will perform with visiting  musicians from around the UP, downstate Michigan, Wisconsin, and even Kansas -- to total of more than 175 musicians and members of Michigan Tech Choirs, with soloists Lara Neves and Kathryn Summersett. Click on photos for larger versions. (Photo courtesy Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts)

HOUGHTON -- On Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, Choirs of Michigan Tech, musicians from the Upper Peninsula and Midwest, and soloists Lara Neves and Kathryn Summersett, combine for the Upper Peninsula’s first-ever performance of Gustav Mahler’s transcendent Resurrection Symphony. In celebration of the Rozsa Center's 25th Anniversary Season, over 175 musicians and choir members will take the stage to perform one of the most ambitious pieces of music ever composed.

Conductor Joel Neves, Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities at Michigan Technological University, has wanted to bring this experience to our local community for a long time.

Conductor Joel Neves addresses members of the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra and visiting musicians during the April 15 dress rehearsal for Mahler's Resurrection Symphony. (Photo © John Peiffer for Keweenaw Now)

"The Mahler Resurrection Symphony, I think, is the G.O.A.T. of all symphonies, the greatest of all time," says Joel. "In the Resurrection Symphony, Mahler grapples with existential questions of the human soul: Why is life so painful? Why is death so tragic? Why are joyous moments so fleeting? Is there really any hope? Will mankind really live again after death? Mahler answers these questions throughout the five movements."

During the April 15 dress rehearsal, Joel Neves conducts selected parts of Mahler's Resurrection Symphony, sometimes working with one section of the orchestra at a time. (Photo © John Peiffer for Keweenaw Now) 

"The symphony begins with a dark funeral march (first movement)," Joel notes, "followed by a dance that nostalgically reflects on happier times when life was filled with joyous possibility (second movement). The third movement is the sardonic, shrieking dance of a 'tortured soul.' The fourth movement is titled Primal Light, in which the mezzo-soprano soloist sings that 'humanity lies in great agony' and how she longs for spiritual union with God and the eternal life he promised.

"Then comes perhaps the greatest finale in all of music (over 30 minutes long!) which invokes the Day of Judgement and the Great Call for the dead to arise from their graves, with the choir proclaiming the miraculous Resurrection of all mankind."

Members of the Michigan Tech Choirs perform in the Rozsa Center during a previous concert. About 80 choir members will perform during Mahler's Resurrection Symphony on April 18. (Photo © Brockit and courtesy Rozsa Center)

Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, 90 minutes long, calls for a massive orchestra, including ten horns, eight trumpets, two harps, two sets of timpani, organ, and off-stage horns and trumpets placed way up in the rafters; and a large chorus with two soloists.

"The symphony is such a behemoth that we had to bring in musicians from the Marquette Symphony Orchestra, Northern Michigan University, Sault-Sainte Marie, Escanaba, Iron Mountain, downstate Michigan, Wisconsin, and even Kansas, to augment our numbers," Joel adds. "This will be the largest choral-orchestral symphony ever performed on the Rozsa stage!"  

Here are some brief clips of Mahler's music from the dress rehearsal held in the Rozsa Center on April 15:  

During the April 15 dress rehearsal for the April 18, 2026, performance of Mahler's Resurrection Symphony at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts in Houghton, MI, Conductor Joel Neves directs members of the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra in a selection from the beginning of the symphony. (Video by John Peiffer for Keweenaw Now)

During the April 15 dress rehearsal, Conductor Joel Neves directs musicians of the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, who are joined by visiting musicians from various towns in Michigan and from Wisconsin and Kansas. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

"This year has been a celebration -- and a reminder of how important it is to be in this space together as a community," says Kiersten Birondo, Executive Director of the Rozsa Center. "With so much talent from across the Upper Peninsula coming together, this concert represents the kind of collaboration, coordination, trust, and willingness to build something together that makes our surrounding community and the Rozsa Center so special."

This will be the first time Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony has ever been performed in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It includes possibly the greatest number of performers that have ever graced the Rozsa stage.

Steve Jones, Production Manager for the Rozsa Center, commented on the challenges posed by this very large performance.

"We're doing things for this show that we've never done in my ten years working here," Jones told Keweenaw Now. "We've got musicians performing up in the spotlight booth and some of the lighting areas up there. For them to be able to perform up there we had to hook up a video monitor of Joel's conductor cam (normally used for the livestream of the concert)."

Horn musicians prepare to play their off-stage parts in the tiny spotlight booth high above the Rozsa audience. The video monitor for viewing Conductor Joel Neves's direction is visible in the upper left of the photo. (Photo © John Peiffer for Keweenaw Now)

During the April 15 dress rehearsal, off-stage horn musicians located in a spotlight booth high above the audience play their part in the symphony. In order to see conductor Joel Neves, they must view his directions on a livestream screen. (Video by John Peiffer for Keweenaw Now)

"There's a ton of behind-the-scenes work that goes into preparing the show," Jones added, "and with the help of my student crew that makes it all possible."

One of the visiting horn musicians playing in the small spotlight booth -- Brian Carter of Alpena, Michigan -- spoke with Keweenaw Now after the April 15 dress rehearsal. Brian has also played French horn with the Marquette Symphony, the Soo Opera, and the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra in Petoskey.

Visiting musician Brian Carter of Alpena, Michigan, speaks about his experience playing French horn in several Michigan orchestras as well as the Keweenaw Symphony. (Video interview by Keweenaw Now)

Joel Neves is Director of Orchestral Activities at Michigan Tech, where he conducts the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra. The KSO was awarded 2nd Place nationally in the American Prize in Orchestral Performance for its recordings of Jupiter and Sinfonia antartica. The orchestra recently premiered Joel’s new tone poem -- Kalaupapa --about his great-grandparents’ imprisonment in Molokai’s leper colony. Joel conducted the Hawaiian premiere of Kalaupapa in Honolulu in December 2024.

Joel is a regular guest conductor of professional, college, and all-state orchestras. He has guest conducted the Hubei Symphony Orchestra in Wuhan, China (2015), the Orquesta Sinfónica de Entre Ríos in Argentina (2015, 2017), and the Filarmonica de Stat Sibiu in Romania (2024). He is currently Artistic Director and Conductor of the Pine Mountain Music Festival, a professional opera and classical music festival in Michigan. Joel has also directed numerous opera, ballet, and music theatre productions.  

"The Resurrection Symphony is a life changer. If you’ve never been to a symphony before, this is the one to go to," Joel suggests. "It will alter you. You will remember it for a long time. It takes you on a beautiful emotional journey that forces you to think about life and what it’s about in all its pain, tragedy, beauty and triumph. You don’t want to miss it."

Also appearing in Saturday's concert are soloists Lara Neves, mezzo-soprano (Joel's wife), and Kathryn Summersett, soprano.

Lara Neves, a graduate of Brigham Young University, performed at BYU in Magic Flute, Der Fledermaus, Tales of Hoffmann and Marriage of Figaro. Since living in Houghton she has soloed with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah, Berlioz' Les nuits d'été, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, and most recently, Mosaic for Earth. In 2014, she played Amahl’s mother in Michigan Tech’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. Lara has performed with Pine Mountain Music Festival’s operatic productions and was also the mezzo-soprano soloist for the festival's Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. In 2018 she sang the role of Mercedes in PMMF's production of Carmen. (Inset photo of Lara Neves © and courtesy Adam Johnson, Brockit)  

Kathryn Summersett, Doctor of Music and McClosky voice technician, currently works as a vocalist, private instructor, and music teacher in local schools. She earned her Doctor of Music in Historical Performance from Indiana University, her MM from University of North Texas, and her BM from University of Massachusetts. In 2013, she also became a certified McClosky voice technician. Kathryn also enjoys performing a wide variety of genres including, but not limited to, medieval chant, Renaissance lute songs, baroque and classical opera, romantic art songs, early 20th century jazz, and modern pop. (Inset photo of Kathryn Summersett © DS Sanchez and courtesy Rozsa Center)

Jared Anderson, director of choral activities at Michigan Tech, prepared the choir for this Mahler concert. An active choral singer all his life performing in venues and festivals worldwide, Anderson will be singing in the choir during this production. Anderson is Professor of Music and Chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Michigan Tech, where he conducts conScience: Michigan Tech Chamber Singers and the Michigan Tech Concert Choir. He has worked with ensembles of all sizes and voicing, with singers of many different ages and backgrounds, including choirs at Michigan Tech, Northland College, the University of Minnesota, Brigham Young University, and an inmate choir at the Utah State Prison. 

To Purchase Tickets!

If you haven't yet purchased tickets for this important concert, go to https://mtu.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=7868. Reserved tickets for this event are Pay as You're Able ticketing.This event is Michigan Tech Student Rush eligible. Please contact the Rozsa Box Office with any questions about this event via phone at 906-487-1906, or by email at rozsa@mtu.edu. View current Box Office Hours.

This event will be livestreamed. Should the concert be sold out, CLICK HERE and then click on View Stream.

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts cultivates a vibrant and connected community through experiences that bring the Keweenaw together. Located on Michigan Technological University's campus in Houghton, Michigan, the 80,000-square-foot Rozsa Center, the largest theater in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, dramatically expands the region’s access to large-scale performing arts events including Broadway tours, ballet, cirque, music, and more.

Eisenhower Dance Detroit to offer U.P. RootEDD program, contemporary dance performances August 13-19

This week the Rozsa Center welcomes Eisenhower Dance Detroit, offering the public -- ages 14 and above -- a local program of dancing, grounding and self-care from Sunday, August 13, to Saturday, August 19. (Poster courtesy Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts)

HOUGHTON -- The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts will present Eisenhower Dance Detroit for U.P. RootEDD, a family friendly summer vacation experience during the week of Aug. 13-19. These professional contemporary dancers will also give two performances on the Rozsa stage -- at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13, and at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19.

Find out about the program of dancing, grounding and self-care at 9 a.m. Sunday in the Rozsa. The program, for ages 14 and above, will feature the following:

• Classes in a variety of styles and disciplines
• Ballet, contemporary, jazz, partnering, contemporary ballet, alignment, EDD repertory, choreography, etc.
• Beach yoga, outdoor ropes courses, hikes, paddle boarding, guided improvisation by campfire, journaling and so much more!
• Opportunities and free time to explore the beauty of the Upper Peninsula.

Eisenhower Dance Detroit is "A professional repertory company that, through outstanding performances and educational services, strives to deepen the understanding and appreciation of contemporary dance regionally, nationally, and internationally and to reflect on and explore issues of social significance."

U.P.ROOTEDD OPENING PERFORMANCE

Eisenhower Dance Detroit dancers. (Photo courtesy Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts)

General admission tickets are available for an opening performance at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13, in the Rozsa. This will be a short performance by the professional contemporary dancers of Eisenhower Dance Detroit with a Q and A immediately following -- kicking off a week-long summer dance training and retreat experience! Click here for tickets.

U.P.ROOTEDD CULMINATING PERFORMANCE

A culminating performance by the U.P.RootEDD participants with a feature performance by Eisenhower Dance Detroit will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, in the Rozsa. General seating and open to the public. Click here for tickets.

Rozsa Introduces "Pay As You’re Able" Ticketing for its Upcoming Season

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, the Michigan Tech Visual and Performing Arts Department, and Visit Keweenaw are thrilled to announce the launch of Pay As You're Able Ticketing for the upcoming Rozsa season, including all Presenting Series events. After successful testing and positive audience feedback last year, the Rozsa is excited to extend this innovative ticketing structure to its entire season, making it easier for everyone in the community to experience the magic of live performances.

Pay As You're Able Ticketing is designed to remove financial barriers and promote greater accessibility to the performing arts. The program allows guests to pay what they can afford
for their tickets, enabling them to choose from various pricing options based on their circumstances.

Pay As You’re Able Presenting Series tickets go on sale August 15, 2023, and can be purchased online at tickets.mtu.edu, by phone at 906-487-1906, or at the Rozsa Box Office. See Tech Today, Aug. 11, 2023, for details.

41 North Film Festival: Destination Cinema at Michigan Tech, November 4-7, 2021

The 41 North Film Festival, 2021, is from Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 4-7. (Logo courtesy Rozsa Center)

HOUGHTON -- This year's 41 North Film Festival will showcase 30 award-winning independent films from around the region, country, and world. Come to see new films that are currently in distribution and under discussion! Check out the complete film lineup here.

Most films will screen in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts unless otherwise noted. See the Schedule here.

All events at the festival are free and open to the public.  

Michigan Tech Students:
Bring an I.D. and tap to enter through the south door of the theater to enter to each film.

Everyone else -- including MTU faculty, staff, and students from other schools -- needs to reserve one ticket for the entire festival in one of these ways:

•  visiting https://mtu.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=3535
•  calling the SDC Ticketing Office: 906-487-2073
•  going to the SDC Ticketing Office in person at 600  MacInnes Drive
  

Bring your ticket with you for access to all the great events of the 41 North Film Festival. Tickets will also be available at the Rozsa Center in the lobby 30 minutes prior to the start of each film.

Please consider making a donation to help support the festival when you purchase your ticket. Your donations are tax-deductible and will help us keep the festival free and open to the community.

Pre-register and donate here. 

Editor's Note: If you missed this in our right-hand column, you can see the Rozsa Center's COVID-19 Policies here: https://www.mtu.edu/rozsa/covid-policies/ 

UPDATED: Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra to perform rich, exotic "Sheherazade" Apr. 24

Sheherazade. (Image courtesy Rozsa Center)

[Editor's Note, Apr. 25: If you missed this concert Saturday, Apr. 24, it can still be viewed on the Rozsa Facebook page.]

HOUGHTON -- The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra (KSO) will perform Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 24, at the Rozsa Center, where the show can be seen in person. It will also be streamed free online.

The work, composed in 1888 and adapted into a ballet in Paris in 1910, is inspired by One Thousand and One Nights, the collection of folk tales from the Islamic Golden Ages, and is being performed for the first time by the KSO. The complex piece sparkles with vivid orchestral color, exotic harmonies and gorgeous melodies.

"We are thrilled to present one of the most technically challenging works in the orchestral canon," said Joel Neves, the orchestra’s music director. "It’s really a soloist’s paradise, featuring major solos for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, cello and -- uniquely -- second trombone."

Neves said the most important individual contribution is the recurring violin solo that will be performed by concertmaster Brian Wall.

"It represents the mysterious Princess Sheherazade," he said.

The story, as originally described by Rimsky-Korsakov, is the tale of the Sultan Schariar, who decides to put each of his wives to death in the belief that "women are false and faithless." Sheherazade, though, prevents her own death by entertaining the sultan with tales for the 1,001 nights in the original collection’s title.

Many may best know the composer for "Flight of the Bumblebee," an interlude from his opera Tale of the Tsar Saltan.

To watch the free livestream of the performance click here for the livestream link, which will be available 10 to 30 minutes before the performance. It will also be available on the Rozsa Facebook page.

To attend the concert in the Rozsa Center, you will need a ticket. Limited socially distanced seats will be available for students and the general public. Patrons will be required to wear a facemask and fill out a symptom monitoring form in order to attend. Follow this link to fill out a ticket form from the Michigan Tech Ticket Office to request tickets. Due to pandemic restrictions, the ticket office will first take ticket requests and then will contact audience members with more instructions on seat placement and payment. Ticket prices are $19 adult, $6 youth, MTU students admission with Experience Tech.

Founded in 1971, the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra is the Upper Peninsula’s oldest orchestra and one of five symphony orchestras in the Lake Superior region. The KSO is a college-and-community ensemble composed of Michigan Tech students, faculty and staff, and community musicians.

Rozsa Center to livestream Jazz in New Formations Oct. 23-24

The Rozsa Center will livestream Jazz in New Formations at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, October 23-24. (Poster courtesy Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts) 

The reality is that all music has been happening in "new formations" lately. Musicians all over the world are collaborating remotely, making videos and recordings with musicians they might not have otherwise worked with, in groups they might not have otherwise played with. Michigan Tech jazz students can relate. After a concert recorded remotely spring of 2019, these musicians wanted to find a way to rehearse and perform in person. Slit masks for mouthpiece access and bell covers that boast "MTU Jazz" have allowed them that opportunity.

More importantly, each big band was split into multiple bands to form smaller sized groups. This has offered the opportunity to explore the fun, danceable, and singable New Orleans brass band styles both past and present, as well as octet music composed by tenor saxophonist Benny Golson for his friend Dizzy Gillespie in 1957.

MTU's premier jazz ensemble, the Jazz Lab Band, will perform Miles Davis' iconic Birth Of The Cool album, originally written for 9 musicians. The performance will feature every member of the Lab Band rotating in and out of the line-up. The concert will happen live and in real time both nights of the Rozsa's usually close and cozy backstage jazz concert series. 

One thing that quarantine has made clear is that musicians need an audience. The show will be broadcast live, and it will have the energy of a live performance without having an in-person audience. The Rozsa Center invites you to join via live stream.

Stream on the Rozsa event page by clicking on the "View/Stream" button, or for a more interactive experience, visit the Rozsa facebook page and look for the Jazz in New Formations livestream.