February 18, 2025

On Saturday, FEB 22, at 7:30 PM, MSM’s largest student-run orchestra will perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, marking the first time the piece has been performed at MSM since 1998.

The concert will open with a new commission by Marco Catella (BM ’26), “Mourn Not for Adonais”, which will serve as a prologue to Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, featuring mezzo-soprano Morena Galan (MM ’25) and harpist Shirley Guo (MM ’25).

We sat down with the coordinators of the student project, Daniel Jansen (BM ’25), Gabriel Levy (BM ’26), and Arianna Behrendt (BM ’25), to discuss the performance.

MSM STUDENT PROJECT

The MSM Mahler Project: Symphony No. 6 in A Minor

FEB 22 | SAT
7:30 PM

Gabriel Levy (BM ’26), Conductor and Music Director
Arianna Behrendt (BM ’27), Project Coordinator
Daniel Jansen (BM ’25), Project Manager

Featuring a new work by Marco Catella (BM ’26)
Morena Galan (MM ’25), mezzo-soprano
Shirley Guo (MM ’25), harp

Free, no tickets required 

Neidorff-Karpati Hall

Meet Daniel Jansen (BM ’25), Arianna Behrendt (BM ’27), and Gabriel Levy (BM ’26) 

ABOUT DANIEL JANSEN 

Daniel Jansen (BM ’25) is a classical horn major studying with Richard Deane. Along side his studies as a performer, Daniel is breaking into the world of orchestra contracting and management with a handful of student projects at MSM, including The MSM Mahler Project and Symphony and Song – A Queer Benefit Concert. Additionally, Daniel has been asked to contract an orchestra for an upcoming world premiere at Carnegie Hall. Outside the music world, Daniel enjoys traveling and loves returning to the mountains to ski with his family.

ABOUT ARIANNA BEHRENDT 

Arianna Behrendt (BM ’27) is a classical violin major studying with Isaac Malkin. Since her Carnegie Hall debut with the Sunset Youth Orchestra at the age of 10, her love for orchestral music has taken over and she has held various roles and principal positions in orchestras such as the Golden State Youth Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, World Youth Symphony Orchestra at Interlochen Arts Camp, and Eastern Music Festival’s Young Artists Orchestra where she served as concertmaster. Her involvement in The MSM Mahler Project is a testament to her long-standing dedication to building and strengthening musical communities, and love for orchestral music.

ABOUT GABRIEL LEVY

Originally from Toronto, Canada, Gabriel Leavy (BM ’26) is a classical percussion student studying with Chris Lamb. His recent appearances include as Music Director of La Traviata at Snug Harbor Opera, Tchaikovsky 5 with the MSM Symphony and Song Orchestra, and as Assistant Conductor of the Toronto Summer Music Festival Orchestra. He will be an Orchestra Assistant at the Pierre Monteux Music Festival this summer. Gabriel also plays lead guitar in ‘The Risky Businessmen’, a rock band he started with his two brothers.

Tell us about The MSM Mahler project!

Daniel, Arianna, and Gabriel: “Mahler 6: The MSM Mahler Project” is an opportunity for young musicians around the city to push the limits of orchestral collaboration. We have players in our roughly 100-piece orchestra from eight different schools, as well as early-career professionals and even the former principal timpanist of the Met Opera Orchestra, Duncan Patton. With this eclectic group, we hope to bring a fresh and vivid approach to Mahler’s incredible 6th Symphony.

Why should people come to this performance?

Daniel, Arianna, and Gabriel: This performance is entirely student-run. It will be one of the largest student projects in MSM’s history and an opportunity for audience members to see what students are truly capable of. Additionally, Mahler 6 is music that can change a person’s life—and the opportunity to hear it live comes sparingly.

Tell us how you ended up choosing Mahler 6!

Daniel, Arianna, and Gabriel: The idea of a student-run Mahler symphony came up over a year ago in light of the success of the Tchaikovsky and Britten concert we presented in December 2023. The Mahler 6 ended up being the perfect balance between grandiosity and feasibility. No choir is involved, as in many other Mahler symphonies, but the orchestra will still be filling the stage of Neidorff-Karpati Hall to capacity. The piece has not been performed at MSM since 1998 and is one of our conductor, Gabriel’s, absolute favorites.

Tell us about the student composition leading into the Mahler 6!

Daniel, Arianna, and Gabriel: “Mourn Not for Adonais” is a song for mezzo-soprano and harp that we commissioned from Argentine composer Marco Catella for this concert. It was written specifically as a prelude to Mahler 6 and moves attacca into it. It is a beautiful piece that we believe perfectly sets the mood for the great journey of this symphony. It will be sung by Morena Galan (MM ’25), with Shirley Guo (MM ’25) on harp

If you could ask Gustav Mahler a question about any of his works, what would it be?

Gabriel: If I could ask Mahler a question, I would ask “How do you go about your everyday life with such incredible music bouncing around in your head?”