Distinguished Guest Series
The Kohler Foundation is excited to welcome you to the Kohler Memorial Theater for the 79th season of the Distinguished Guest Series.
This season is sure to evoke memories, inspire you and challenge your perception. We look forward to seeing you in the theater!
Season Ticket Sales start Aug 16th
Individual Ticket Sales start Aug 30th.
BUY TICKETS HERE
Chicago Philharmonic
performing the work of John Williams
Friday, November 3, 2023 – 7:00 p.m.
The Chicago Philharmonic presents works by the renowned composer, John Williams. Over 60 musicians will grace the Kohler Memorial stage and transport you to Hollywood with compositions from Superman, E.T., Indiana Jones and many more!
Founded by musicians of the Lyric Opera Orchestra in 1989, The Chicago Philharmonic Society is a collaboration of over 200 of the highest-level classical musicians in the Midwest. The orchestra, known as the Chicago Philharmonic, has been called one of the country’s finest symphonic orchestras. The brilliance of their structure is in their versatility – they curate the best ensemble for each concert from their exceptional pool of musicians, be it classical, jazz, pop, movie concerts, outreach programming, and everything else.
Hip Hop Orchestra Experience
featuring Ensemble Mik Nawooj
Thursday, February 1, 2024 – 7:00 p.m.
Led by composer/pianist, JooWan Kim, Hip Hop Orchestra Ensemble Mik Nawooj (EMN) creates Metamusic by sampling principles of Hip-Hop and Classical. Executed with resident MCs, a lyric soprano, woodwinds, French horn, strings, piano, and drums, the music is rigorous, nuanced, and accessible. The result is seamless tête-à-tête with "textures swimming through the sound...like the world's fastest ping-pong game" (Pitchfork) and is considered the "cutting edge of hip-hop" (Huffington Post).
Since the inception, JooWan has crystallized his ideas into Method Sampling, a principle of borrowing or sampling music from related as well as unrelated fields, then reframing them into one's own system.
In 2010, JooWan Kim recruited Christopher Nicholas to push the project forward in a serious way. Since then, EMN attracted some of the most excellent classical musicians and MCs in the SF Bay Area while gaining national attention from outlets such as ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, NPR, Pitchfork, Upworthy, NowThis, and more.
Béla Fleck My Bluegrass Heart
featuring Michael Cleveland, Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Mark Schatz, & Bryan Sutton
Thursday, April 25, 2024 – 7:00 p.m.
Over the last four decades, Béla Fleck has made a point of boldly going where no banjo player has gone before, a musical journey that has earned him 16 Grammys. An acclaimed virtuoso, Bela is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, bringing the instrument from its bluegrass roots to jazz, classical, rock, and various world music genres. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival.
The Grammy award-winning album, My Bluegrass Heart is the third chapter of a trilogy which began with the 1988 album, Drive, and continued in 1991 with The Bluegrass Sessions. Fleck’s band will spotlight a multi-generational gamut of the best of bluegrass players, all sporting a myriad of Grammy Awards and nominations.
Tickets
Season Tickets
$166.50 (Student $75.00)
on sale August 16, 2023
Chicago Philharmonic
$65.00 (Student $25.00)
on sale August 30, 2023
Hip Hop Orchestra Experience
$55.00 (Student $25.00)
on sale August 30, 2023
Bela Fleck My Bluegrass Heart
$65.00 (Student $25.00)
on sale August 30, 2023
Kohler Foundation hosts one of the longest-running performing arts series in the state of Wisconsin. The Distinguished Guest Series is an annual series of professional performances held at the Kohler Memorial Theater in Kohler, with a 70-year history of delighting audiences by presenting a wide range of performing arts.
In addition, Kohler Foundation periodically offers musical performances at the Waelderhaus, which are an intimate and special experience all their own. We believe in the performing arts as an avenue for building community and fostering enlightenment; we continue to plan exciting local events to demonstrate that belief.
