Conductor Rossen Milanov, hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “one who bears watching by anyone who cares about the future of music,” leads the orchestra in a colorful program of works by Scarlatti and Shostakovich. SPCO Concertmaster Steven Copes is the soloist in Erich Wolfgang Korngold's cinematic Violin Concerto, one of the most devilishly virtuosic works in the Romantic concerto repertoire.
Three very talented young chamber ensembles will be competing for more than $2,000 in prize money. The top prize-winning group will receive $1,000, individual Patricia Hill Whitacre gold medals, and a performance prize at the judges’ discretion. The second prize is $750, and third prize is $500.
Judges will be Patrick Castillo, the SPCO’s Director of Artistic Planning; Kathryn Greenbank, principal oboe; and Leslie Shank, violin, past assistant concertmaster.
This program brings together two of the eighteenth century's groundbreaking composers: CPE Bach, the most accomplished of Johann Sebastian's composer sons, and Joseph Haydn, the father of the modern symphony and chief innovator of the Classical period. Masaaki Suzuki, founding director of Bach Collegium Japan, conducts.
Designed for children ages 3-6, Start the Music! is the perfect way to introduce a young listener to classical music. Prior to the concert, musical activities engage small hands and big imaginations. During the 30-minute concert, mesmerized faces and aisle-dancing are common sights a family of instruments are introduced and the used to put a “soundtrack” behind a children’s book, narrated by Joanna Cortright.
These events have general admission seating.