What Music Is

On Sale July 1

Masterworks

What Music Is

Nov 16

Sunday

3 PM

Century II Concert Hall

featuring Thomas Heuser & Bill Barclay

Thomas Heuser, guest conductor
Bill Barclay, narrator
Shawn Feeney, animations

Step into a world where science, art, and music converge in What Music Is, a transformative concert-theatre experience that explores the profound role music plays in our lives and the universe. Created by composer Bill Barclay, this immersive, family-friendly performance features a full orchestra, captivating spoken narrative, and stunning animations that bring to life the universal language of music.

Through a compelling 80-minute journey, What Music Is delves into the intricate connection between sound and the cosmos, from the harmonious vibrations of the Big Bang to the patterns found in biology and the orbits of planets. The production takes audiences on an exploration of the harmonic series, showcasing how music is woven into the very fabric of the universe and deeply embedded in our well-being.

With projections by animator Shawn Feeney and narration grounded in cutting-edge scientific research, this production reveals music’s extraordinary ability to resonate with the human brain. Whether you're a lifelong music lover or a newcomer to the art form, What Music Is invites you to experience music in a completely new light — as a living force that connects us all.

CLAUDE DEBUSSY Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faune
JESSIE MONTGOMERY Starburst for Orchestra
EDWARD ELGAR “Nimrod” from the Enigma Variations
KAIJA SAARIAHO Asteroid 4179: Toutatis
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1, “Classical”
GUSTAV HOLST “Jupiter” from The Planets

Sponsored by

About Thomas Heuser

American conductor Thomas Heuser has been widely recognized for his stirring leadership and energetic presence both onstage and in the community. Dr. Heuser was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for Orchestral Conducting in Germany while serving as a Conducting Fellow with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. His Fulbright residency at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München included orchestral performances in Munich and Berlin and his European operatic debut with Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland. Moving from Munich to San Francisco, Thomas enjoyed three seasons as the Principal Guest Conductor of the San Francisco Academy Orchestra, working alongside members of the San Francisco Symphony.

Currently he serves as Music Director of the Idaho Falls Symphony in Idaho Falls, Idaho, as well as the San Juan Symphony, an innovative regional orchestra based in Durango, Colorado, and Farmington, New Mexico, that serves the Four Corners. Thomas lives in scenic Durango with his wife, violinist Lauren Avery, and their son Theodore.

About Bill Barclay

Director, writer, and composer Bill Barclay has created dozens of theatrical concerts with the world’s most prominent ensembles. He is Artistic Director of Concert Theatre Works and Music Before 1800, NYC’s oldest early music presenter, and was Director of Music at Shakespeare’s Globe from 2012-2019.

He has collaborated with soloists Yo-Yo Ma, John Williams, Ian Bostridge, Anoushka Shankar and Alison Balson, and dozens of the world’s most prominent conductors including Dame Jane Glover, Louis Langree, Bramwell Tovey, JoAnn Falletta, Sakari Oramo, and Trevor Pinnock.

A lauded actor, Barclay received a Fox Foundation Fellowship, the largest grant for actors in the US. A Boston native and past acting company member at Shakespeare & Company (11 years), the Actors Shakespeare Project (10 years, Artistic Associate), and The Mercury Theatre (UK), he trained in Bali, The National Theatre Institute and Vassar College. MFA in Playwriting, Boston University.

About Shawn Feeney

Shawn Feeney is a multidisciplinary artist working within the realms of drawing, sculpture, music, and animation. His clients and collaborators have included Adobe, Teatro alla Scala, the San Francisco Arts Commission, Concert Theatre Works, and the Exploratorium. His creative work has been featured in New York Magazine, The Today Show, The New Yorker, Esquire, NY Daily News, SF Weekly, Food Network, and Guinness World Records. Shawn is based in the Hudson Valley of New York.

If you’d like to work with Shawn, get in touch.

Arrive Early for Concert Talks

If you’d like to learn more about the music in our concert programs, Concert Talks are just what you need! Before every Masterworks Concert, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra will present pre-concert talks which help prepare you and deepen your understanding of the music to be performed in the program. Sometimes our guest soloists even join Maestro Hege for a discussion of their concerto collaboration! Free to all ticket holders, Concert Talks take place in the Concert Hall one hour prior to each Masterworks performance.