Masterworks I: Pictures and Poetry
Saturday, October 17, 2026 | 7:30 PM
Kirkland Fine Arts Center
Decatur, Illinois
Matthew Sheppard, Conductor
Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra
Experience an evening where music, poetry, and visual art come together in the opening Masterworks concert of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra’s 2026–2027 season.
Under the direction of Matthew Sheppard, the MDSO presents Pictures and Poetry, a program filled with music inspired by stories, images, imagination, and the written word.
The evening culminates in Mussorgsky’s magnificent Pictures at an Exhibition, orchestrated by Maurice Ravel. Inspired by a collection of artworks, Mussorgsky’s musical journey moves listeners from one vivid scene to another. For this performance, projected images will accompany the music, adding a visual dimension to one of the orchestral repertoire’s most colorful and beloved works.
Program
Franz von Suppé
Overture to Poet and Peasant
Claude Debussy
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Charles Tomlinson Griffes
The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan
Jessie Montgomery
Starburst
Modest Mussorgsky, orchestrated by Maurice Ravel
Pictures at an Exhibition
Featuring projected images presented during the music
Concert Details
Date: Saturday, October 17, 2026
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Kirkland Fine Arts Center, Decatur, Illinois
Conductor: Matthew Sheppard
Orchestra: Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra
Join us for an evening that invites you not only to hear the music, but to see where it can take you.
October 17 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
