Gold: Metropolis
Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent film WITH A new score by MSO’s Michelle McQuade Dewhirst PERFORMED LIVE-To-FILM!
7:30pm Saturday, Oct 3, 2026
Capitol Civic Centre
Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent film reveals a world forged in the polished perfection of technology, luxury, and industry’s power. Experience it with live orchestra and a rich, luminescent new score by Michelle McQuade Dewhirst.
A cult classic, it’s a fairytale. It’s of the best and most influential films in history. Gold is the shimmering tether between the divine and the mechanical in Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent masterpiece Metropolis. Gold speaks to the film’s obsession with luxury, industry and the worship of the polished perfection of technology. A new score composed for the film by one of our own, MSO composer and performer Michelle McQuade Dewhirst, brings a luminous humanity to the screen—warmth and soul set against the machine.
Metropolis is one of the great achievements of the silent era, a work so audacious in its vision and so angry in its message that it is, if anything, more powerful today than when it was made.”
—Roger Ebert
Concert tickets $48 / $45 / $41
Ages 35 and under $18.96 + tax. Children 11 & under free.
Save when you purchase tickets to all 4 shows!
Aschenbrenner Foundation of Lakeshore Community Foundation
Tom & Virginia Bare Charitable Foundation
Mark Barkley Miller
Paula & Terry Fox
Season Benefactor
Roy & Darlene Geigel Foundation
Season Benefactor
Mark & Michelle Klaiber
Season Benefactor
The Wage Family Foundation
Season Benefactor
Jim & Barbee Lester
Season Sponsor
Season Sponsor
Season Sponsor
Season Sponsor
Season Media Underwriter
Season Media Underwriter
Tom & Julia Angst
Community Partner
Community Partner
Community Partner
Biff & Sheila Hansen Family
Community Partner
Community Partner
Community Partner
IMO Harlan Schwartz
Community Partner
John & Laurale Stern
Community Partner
Hospitality Sponsor
Michelle McQuade Dewhirst
Metropolis
Live to Film: Metropolis (1927)
Directed by Fritz Lang
Based on Metropolis, a novel by Thea von Harbou
The Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra led by Dylan Chmura-Moore
VIOLIN I
Carrie Kulas, Concertmaster
Jim VanLanen Jr.
Lori Bonin
Jaci Collins
Kylie Bowman
Taylor Giorgio
Debbie Williamson
Shoua Xiong
Heidi Barker
Iuliia Mykolyk
VIOLIN II
Joan Geraldson, Virginia Bare Memorial Principal Second
Violin Chair
Beth Kreutzer
Joyce Malloy
Krista Hettinger
Mary Biemann
Ryan Kraemer
Taylor Rudlaff
Rebecca Briesemeister
Cyiler Frison
VIOLA
Jane Bradshaw Finch, principal
Ann Stephan
Sarah Oftedahl
Amy Beekhuizen
Andy Bruzewicz
Julianna Whitney
CELLO
Charles Stephan, Karen Steingraber Principal Cello Chair
Nic Cywinski
Michael Dewhirst
Wendy Scattergood
Nancy Kaphaem
Anne Keran
Rori Beatty
Anna Herrera
Steve Westergan
Ali Koenig
DOUBLE BASS
Brian Kulas, principal
Shelby Baize
Ann Boeckman
Jessica Otte
FLUTE
Kristen Fenske, Michelle Garnett Klaiber Principal Flute Chair
Amanda Fuerst
PICCOLO
Kristen Fenske
OBOE
Suzanne Geoffrey, Les J. Graebel Memorial & Emily and Mike Howe Family Principal Oboe Chair
Jennifer Bryan
ENGLISH HORN
Jennifer Bryan
CLARINET
Orlando Pimentel, Mark Klaiber Principal Clarinet Chair
Jill Hanes
BASS CLARINET
Corynn Nordstrom
BASSOON
Josh Fleming, David Satchell Memorial Principal Bassoon Chair
Susan Lawrence McCardell
HORN
Michelle McQuade Dewhirst, principal
Wanda Braden
Andrew Parks
Keith Powell
TRUMPET
John Daniel, John & Laurale Stern Principal Trumpet Chair
Jessica Jensen
Bill Hampton
TROMBONE
Kenneth Johnson
Rick Seybold
BASS TROMBONE
Eric High
TUBA
Mike Forbes
TIMPANI
John Aaholm, principal
PERCUSSION
Victoria Daniel, Ellen Jane Lohmeyer Memorial Principal Percussion Chair
Marisol Kuborn
Joe Vetter
Mary Keppeler
Matthew Thorne
Nick Towns
Marcus Wakefield
About Michelle McQuade Dewhirst
An accomplished composer, horn player, and music educator, Michelle McQuade Dewhirst is the artistic director of the Weidner Philharmonic in Green Bay, as well as a long-time member of the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra.
As Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, she teaches courses in music theory, music history, composition, horn, and popular music. Her recent work includes original scores for the silent films Metropolis, Man with a Movie Camera, and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari; a commissioned orchestral work for the Fox Valley Youth Symphony; and a collaborative work for chamber orchestra and solo tap dancer featuring Jumaane Taylor.
Michelle looks forward to hearing her music on forthcoming commercial recordings by trumpet player Adam Gaines and two-time Grammy-nominated soprano Laura Strickling. Her next film project will be a new score for Dracula (1931), starring Béla Lugosi.
When not teaching, performing, or composing, Michelle enjoys reading, knitting, and consuming every cooking and baking competition show she can find (unless it features Gordon Ramsay yelling). She lives in Green Bay, with her husband Michael, her son Sebastian, and her border collie Otis.
Tickets are sold by the Capitol Civic Centre Box Office, 913 S. 8th Street, Manitowoc WI, 920.683.2184.
- Individual ticket prices are Tier 1-$48, Tier 2-$45, and Tier 3-$41 plus sales tax.
- Ages 35 and under may purchase Tier 2 or Tier 3 tickets for $18.96 plus sales tax.
- Children ages 11 & under are free.
Attend this concert as part of a season subscription and save up to $25! Please see our Season Ticket page for prices and to purchase, or visit the Capitol Civic Centre’s website.
This performance is not rated.
Got Spotify?
Check out Dylan’s “What’s on Deck” playlist, updated with each concert to give you a taste of what we’ll play. A free Spotify account is needed.