Meet some of the musical lights behind this summer's Firefly Music Festival

The Missouri Symphony Orchestra is tuning up for summer magic.

Later this month, the Columbia institution will throw open the Missouri Theatre's great doors for "a reimagined summer festival experience" that builds off the legacy of its Hot Summer Nights tradition while expressing its ideals in new ways.

Firefly Music Festival, the first of its kind and first to be led by Music Director Wilbur Lin, joins classical gems, brand-new compositions and iconic pops in one dynamic promise.

A number of standout musicians will bring Firefly aglow — central to the cause, of course, is Lin and his talented orchestra. Before the festival begins, meet these exciting guest musicians who will come alongside the Missouri Symphony to create a memorable summer.

Michael Stephen Brown

Composer and pianist Michael Stephen Brown quickly found his musical lineage. On his website, Brown cops to loving Raffi by age 2, Billy Joel at 3, then wanting "to be the reincarnation of Mozart" at age 4. Brown's career is one of continuing to carve out places of discovery and belonging: he has performed frequently at Lincoln Center, soloed with symphonies in Seattle, Grand Rapids and Wichita, and expressed his vision between earbuds and on hi-fis with a number of albums to his credit.

Reviewing his 2021 album "Noctuelles," BBC Music Magazine's David Nice praised Brown's "magical concept and execution" as well as his capacity for realizing the music's "luminosity and the quietest dynamics." Brown will perform the music of Edward MacDowell at the closing Schuman(n) Connection concert on July 15.

Ching-Shan Chang

From work on films such as "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" and indie fare to pieces performed by the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, composer Ching-Shan Chang is fleshing out the sound of our modern world. "'Music must tell a story' is the principle I’ve always followed for all of my musical works," she said in a Q&A with the Alliance for Women Film Composers, and that storyteller's vision stretches across the many means and musical corners she inhabits.

Chang's composition "Fanfare CoMo" will have its world premiere at the concert of the same name on June 24.

Emi Kagawa

Pianist Kagawa brokers a beautiful unity between head and heart, invention and human grace. She has performed in some of New York City's most resonant rooms and committed herself to chamber music through her guidance of MANI Brooklyn Chamber Music. But more than this, Kagawa continues to fine-tune and apply her studies of mindfulness and whole-musician health.

Kagawa will perform Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A within the Clara: Inspiration and Legacy program on June 30.

The Matsuo Duo

Synchronicity. That's what married musicians Stefani and Hiro Matsuo carry into their collaboration. She is the concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and a venerated chamber musician; he is a cellist who digs the Romantic repertoire. Together, they serve among several co-directors of the ensemble concert:nova, and their duo playing reflects their singular connection.

The Matsuos will perform Brahms' Double Concerto during the Fanfare CoMo program June 24.

Gabriela Ortiz

Ortiz proudly and thoughtfully carries a musical inheritance bestowed by her parents, members of the Mexican folk ensemble Los Folkloristas, a group that keeps traditional music breathing and soaring. As a composer creating through great collaboration and urgent concern, Ortiz has earned the trust and talent of musicians around the world; a Latin Grammy nomination; and the praise of luminaries such as conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who noted that "Gabriela possesses a particular capacity to showcase our Latin identity."

The Missouri Symphony will perform Ortiz's "Clara," a commission of the New York Philharmonic, at the Clara: Inspiration and Legacy program on June 30.

Hometown heroes: Jazz Rucker and Symonne Sparks

Columbia audiences understand just how dynamic these two names and their talents — nurtured in part here — are. Sparks' already all-time voice has been heard in bands such as Loose Loose, spotlighted in musical theater productions and elsewhere. Rucker, a vital music educator, has participated in all manner of choral and solo music, sounding an unforgettable timbre.

Rucker and Sparks will perform during the Missouri's Finest, America's Best concert on July 2.

Don't forget Brahms and the Schumanns

The ghosts of 19th-century wonders Johannes Brahms and Robert and Clara Schumann continue to live, animating performances of their abiding music across the world. This summer, the Missouri Symphony will devote serious time to their work, performing them in multiple concerts. Plunge deeper into their genius and undying relevance with the orchestra and special guests.

The Firefly Music Festival runs June 24 through July 15. Visit https://themosy.org/firefly/ for more information on each concert.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. Find him on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Meet some of the musical lights behind this summer's Firefly Music Festival