April 16, 2026 | 8:00 pm
University Symphony Orchestra
Free - no tickets required
Hill Auditorium
Please join us for the final concert of the GRAMMY-winning University Symphony Orchestra’s 2025-2026 season. This culminating concert features Gustav Mahler’s Sixth Symphony, known as “The Tragic.” With its brilliant marches, lyrical Andante – some of the most beautiful music he ever wrote – and other-worldly finale, famous for its hammer-blows of fate, Mahler’s Sixth speaks of the composer’s dark inner life and intuition about his future. The concert will begin with Preamble: An introduction to Mahler’s Sixth, hosted by Kenneth Kiesler, with musical excerpts played by the USO, and performances by Esther Van Zyl as Alma Mahler, and Joseph Horowitz as Gustav. The preamble will explore Mahler’s Sixth in the context of his life and times – and its pertinence right now.