Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra honors Milwaukee Police Dept.

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra performed as a whole Saturday, February 15th at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts -- with Frank Almond playing the recovered Stradivarius violin. Member of the Milwaukee Police Department were among some special guests at the performance.

The MSO honored Police Chief Ed Flynn, Mayor Tom Barrett and police officers who helped recover the valuable stolen instrument. The crowd gave them a standing ovation which symphony president Mark Niehaus said was well deserved.

"They're not prone to taking bows. They do their job and they do it well and they go to the next thing. We have the opportunity to let them actually take a bow and I think that's kind of neat for them," said Niehaus.

Niehaus says the theft and recovery of the $6 million violin turned out to be a positive for the organization and renewed interest from season ticket holders as well as newcomers.

"There's a lot of positive momentum happening right now and where we go from here is great concerts and great music like we have before. That's our core mission," said Niehaus.

The MSO is also just $200,000 away from its $5 million campaign. Members are looking forward to being able to continue playing music, uninterrupted.