June 01, 2007
Southern Illinois Music Festival opens June 15
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Bach is back – and so are Mozart, Beethoven, Stravinsky, and the sounds of a classical music summer.The Third Annual Southern Illinois Music Festival, a nearly three-week long, multi-site celebration of classical, jazz and chamber music organized by the School of Music at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, begins June 15, with a preview chamber music performance on June 10.
A special feature of the festival is its mobility. More than 50 performances are set for nearly two-dozen different venues all over Southern Illinois. Music lovers can hear chamber music at a café, quintets at a winery, quartets at community buildings and brown bag concerts in a recital hall. There will be jazz at an art show, concerts just for children at libraries and recreation centers, patriotic music in a city park and orchestras at music auditoriums and halls from Mount Vernon to Cairo, Marion to Murphysboro. An abridged version of Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty" ballet and an English-language comic opera bring a beautiful visual component to the festival as well.
Edward Benyas, SIUC music professor, conductor of the Chicago Chamber Orchestra and the festival's founder and artistic director, said the heart of the festival is the beautiful, neoclassic Shryock Auditorium on the SIUC campus. The elegance of the setting and the richness of the music are enhanced during the festival by wine tasting from Shawnee Hills Wine Trail wineries before, during intermission, and after each performance.
This year, an All-American program featuring Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" literally takes to the field. The new Rent One Park in Marion will swap out the crack of the bat for an orchestra concert highlighted by a fireworks display. And Marvin Hamlisch, the Broadway and motion picture musical score composer who brought us "The Way We Were," "A Chorus Line" and "The Sting" as well as music for movies such as "Sophie's Choice," "Ordinary People," and "Three Men and a Baby," comes to the Herrin Civic Center as part of the Southern Illinois Music Festival.
Several performances will feature original compositions by Festival Composer-in-Residence James Stephenson, III. Stephenson's music has been performed by dozens of orchestras around the country and his commissions include work with Branford Marsalis and Rodney Mack, the Houston Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He is known particularly for his work with young musicians.
This year's festival continues the tradition of including an opera selection. This year's offering, sponsored by the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, is Gaetano Donizetti's "Elixir of Love," a comic Italian opera that will be sung in English. Lighting, scenery and costume combine with the music to tell the light-hearted, romantic and yet inspiring story of how the peasant Nemorino wins the hand of the hand of the wealthy beauty Adina aided by what he believes to be a love potion. Instead, it turns out to be simply a bottle of Southern Illinois wine. Local opera afficiandos should look for a familiar face among the opera performers. Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole will play the part of the Notary during the Carbondale performance; there also will be a performance in Sesser.
Benyas said this year's festival is the biggest yet. He said the variety of venues and the free or low admission price make the festival widely accessible. Most concerts are indoor events, but several events will take place outdoors and casual dress is welcome at all performances.
"The festival coincides with a two-week summer music camp for high school students, a 40-year tradition at SIUC," he said. "Members of the Chicago Chamber Orchestra are in residence during the festival – and that is a huge benefit for the camp participants." Summer Music Camp participants in music theater, concert band, jazz improvisation and high school choir have opportunities to perform during the festival.
In addition to SIUC, major sponsors include the Illinois Arts Council, the City of Carbondale, The Southern Illinoisan, WSIL-TV, WSIU Public Broadcasting, Carbondale Community Arts, Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, Southern Illinois Miners, Mélange, Boundless Gallery.com, Dr. Samuel Goldman, the Julia Harrison Bruce Foundation-Bank of Herrin Trustee, the Garwin Family Foundation, Hastings Foundation, Moore-Corpora Foundation, SISO Patrons Committee and Southern Foundation.
More information is available at www.SIFest.com or by calling 618-53-MUSIC or 618/453-2776.
The schedule of events follows. All events are free unless otherwise indicated. Reduced prices are for students of any age. The schedule is subject to change.
SUNDAY, JUNE 10
Chamber Music at Mélange
2 p.m., 607 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale
String trios
FRIDAY, JUNE 15
Jive with Jazz (ages 0-8)
10 a.m., Eurma Hayes Center, Carbondale
Brown Bag Chamber Series
Noon, Old Baptist Foundation recital hall, SIUC
Bach: Cello Suite and Mozart: Quintet for Piano and Winds
Klassics for Kids (ages 0-8)
3 p. m., Cairo Public Library
Orchestra
New Arts Jazztet
7:30 p.m., Shryock Auditorium, SIUC
Features: SIUC professors Tyler Kuebler, Robert Allison, Philip Brown and Ronald Coulter
Original compositions and jazz standards
$10 adults; $5 students
Orchestra Concert: Great Firsts
7:30 p.m., Cairo Public Library
Beethoven: Symphony No. 1
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 1
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1
SATURDAY, JUNE 16
Jive with Jazz (ages 0-8)
10 a.m., Murphysboro Youth and Recreation Center
Klassics for Kids (ages 0-8)
10 a.m., Altgeld Hall, SIUC
Wind quintet
Orchestra Concert: Great Firsts
7:30 p.m., Shryock Auditorium, SIUC
Beethoven: Symphony No. 1
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 1
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1
$10 adults, $5 students
SUNDAY, JUNE 17
Chamber Music at Mélange
2 p.m., 607 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale
Wind quintet, guitar and voice
MONDAY, JUNE 18
Music of the Week
6 p.m., Mélange, 607 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale
Informal lecture
TUESDAY, JUNE 19
Jive with Jazz (ages 0-8)
10 a.m., Stinson Library, Anna
Klassics for Kids (ages 0-8)
4 p.m., Herrin Civic Center
Wind quintet
Klassics for Kids (ages 0-8)
4 p.m., Murphysboro Youth and Recreation Center
Brass quintet
Chamber Concert
7:30 p.m., Blue Sky Vineyards
Wind and brass quintets
$7 adults, $4 students
Chamber Concert
7:30 p.m., Sesser Opera House
Stravinsky: Soldier's Tale – performed by mixed ensemble with text by Kurt Vonnegut narrated by Rick Williams
Bizet: Carmen Suite
Richard Strauss: "Till Eulenspeigel's Merry Pranks."
$7 adults, $4 students
String Orchestra
7:30 p.m., Herrin Civic Center
Bach: Double Concerto with Michael Barta and Josh Schlachter, soloists
Sibelius: Valse Triste
Stephenson: Double Concerto with Junghwa Lee and Robert Allison, soloists
Dvorak: Serenade for Strings
$7 adults, $4 students
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20
Jive with Jazz (ages 0-8)
10 a.m., Du Quoin Middle School gymnasium
Klassics for Kids (ages 0-8)
2 p.m., Carterville Community Center
String Quartet
Summer Solstice Cabaret
7:30 p.m., Carbondale Civic Center
Chamber music, folk music and jazz
String quartets by Mozart, Brahms and Stephenson
Wind and brass quintets
Trios by Beethoven, Triebensee and Ardevol
Stravinsky: Soldier's Tale – performed by mixed ensemble with text by Kurt Vonnegut narrated by Rick Williams
Loose Gravel
New Arts Jazztet
THURSDAY, JUNE 21
Klassics for Kids (ages 0-8)
4 p.m., Sesser Opera House
String Quartet
Klassics for Kids (ages 0-8)
4 p.m., Benton Public Library
Brass quintet
Klassics for Kids (ages 0-8)
4 p.m., Schweinfurth House, Mount Vernon
Stravinsky: Soldier's Tale – performed by mixed ensemble with text by Kurt Vonnegut narrated by Rick Williams
Klassics for Kids (ages 0-8)
4 p.m., Marion Civic Center
Wind quintet
Jive with Jazz (ages 0-8)
4 p.m., Cairo Public Library
Chamber Concert
7:30 p.m., Schweinfurth House, Mount Vernon
Stravinsky: Soldier's Tale – performed by mixed ensemble with text by Kurt Vonnegut narrated by Rick Williams
Bizet: Carmen Suite
Richard Strauss: "Till Eulenspeigel's Merry Pranks."
$7 adults, $4 students
Chamber Concert
7:30 p.m., First Baptist Church of Benton
Wind and brass quintets
$7 adults, $4 students
String Orchestra Concert
7:30 p.m., Sesser Opera House
Bach: Double Concerto with Michael Barta and Josh Schlachter, soloists
Sibelius: Valse Triste
Dvorak: String Serenade
$7 adults, $4 students
New Arts Jazztet
7:30 p.m., O'Neill Auditorium, John A. Logan College, Carterville
$10 adults, $5 students
Call 618/985-2828, ext. 8287 for tickets
Mel Goot and Sharon Clark
7:30 p.m., Cairo Public Library
Jazz
FRIDAY, JUNE 22
Brown Bag Chamber Series
Noon, Old Baptist Foundation recital hall, SIUC
Haydn: Piano trio
Shostakovich: Piano quintet
Children's Ballet
7:30 p.m., Shryock Auditorium, SIUC
Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty
Presented by the Center for Dance Education, Evansville, Ind., with 60 area dancers in a 90-minute production.
$10 adults, $5 students
SATURDAY-SUNDAY, JUNE 23-24
Art Fair
1-7:30 p.m., Hickory Lodge, Carbondale
Organized by Carbondale Community Arts
SATURDAY, JUNE 23
Summer Camp Concert I
1:30 p.m., Shryock Auditorium, SIUC
Jazz and concert bands, music theater
Orchestra Concert: Stars of Tomorrow
7:30 p.m., Shryock Auditorium, SIUC
Side-by-side wind ensemble, featuring students from the summer music camp and professional musicians, directed by Christopher Morehouse.
Solo competition winners
Stephenson: Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings with Junghwa Lee and Robert Allison, soloists
Dvorak: Symphony No. 7
$10 adults, $5 students
SUNDAY, JUNE 24
Chamber Music at Mélange
2 p.m., 607 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale
Brass quintet
Jazz and Art
2 p.m. Hickory Lodge, Carbondale
MONDAY, JUNE 25
Music of the Week
6 p.m., Mélange, 607 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale
Informal lecture
TUESDAY, JUNE 26
Klassics for Kids (ages 0-8)
10 a.m., Altgeld Hall, SIUC
Opera
Orchestra Concert: Northern Lights and the Sea
7:30 p.m., Shryock Auditorium, SIUC
Sibelius: March from Karelia Suite
Debussy: La Mer
Offenbach: Doll Song from Tales of Hoffman with Sarah Tannehill, soprano
Grieg: Piano Concerto, with Kara Benyas, piano
$10 adults, $5 students
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27
Jazz at Noon
Noon: Shawnee Community College Atrium, Ullin
Mel Goot and Sharon Clark
THURSDAY, JUNE 28
Opera
7:30 p.m., Sesser Opera House
Donizetti: Elixir of Love, sung in English
Directed by John Lipe
$7 adults, $4 students
FRIDAY, JUNE 29
Brown Bag Chamber Series
Noon, Old Baptist Foundation recital hall, SIUC
Ravel: Introduction and Allegro for harp
Sibelius: March from Karelia Suite for brass and organ
Jive with Jazz (ages 0-8)
4 p.m., Cairo Public Library
New Arts Jazztet
7:30 p.m., Halliday Plaza, Cairo
SATURDAY, JUNE 30
Summer Camp Concert II
1:30 p.m., Shryock Auditorium, SIUC
Choir
Opera
7:30 p.m., Shryock Auditorium, SIUC
Donizetti: Elixir of Love, sung in English
Directed by John Lipe
Post-performance reception in Altgeld Hall
$10 adults, $5 students
SUNDAY, JULY 1
Chamber Music at Mélange
2 p.m., 207 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale
String quartet
Orchestra Concert and Fireworks
8 p.m., Rent One Park, Marion
All-American program:
Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue with Junghwa Lee, piano
Also: music from the movies, Andrews Sisters medley, and choir of 100 local singers for Armed Forces Salute
Fireworks
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for pre-concert music
Call 618/998-8499 for tickets
Ticket prices are $10/$12/$15
Rain date: July 2
TUESDAY, JULY 3
Marvin Hamlisch
7 p.m., Herrin Civic Center
Tickets: $155, includes dinner
Call 618/942-6115 for tickets
WEDNESDAY, JULY 4
Patriotic music
7:30 p.m., Herrin City Park
Brass quintet