May 30, 2012
Curtain to rise on Southern Illinois Music Festival
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- With more than two dozen performances in venues scattered around the region, the Southern Illinois Music Festival, presented by Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is a truly mammoth music festival.
The annual month-long event, now in its eighth year, offers music in the classical and jazz traditions at venues all over Southern Illinois, many for free. This year’s festival runs June 8-24, with preview events on June 1 and June 5, and includes ballet and opera as well as chamber music and children’s concerts.
This year, for the first time, the festival is an official “ ‘AAA Midwest Traveler’ Travel Treasure.” The publication, also available online, presents top vacation destinations in the Midwest to approximately 510,000 readers who’ve come to rely on AAA for competent travel advice.
The theme for this year’s festival is “Turn of the Century Masters: Strauss, Stravinsky, Puccini and Rachmaninov.” Highlights include two Stravinsky ballets, a fully staged opera, and two orchestral programs. Professional musicians and performers from Ballet Austin, the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Winter Opera St. Louis, the Stretta Quartet, and SIU Carbondale’s School of Music faculty and the New Arts Jazztet help make the SI Music Festival what its founder, Professor Edward Benyas, also artistic director of the festival and orchestra conductor, wanted it to be. Benyas imagined a multi-venue festival bringing professional musicians to the Southern Illinois region to give area residents the opportunity to experience a level of musicianship and performance often available only at much larger venues for much higher ticket prices.
Those interested in contributing to the festival can do so at a Chamber Music Soirée, set for 7:30 p.m. on June 16 in the Carbondale area. Tickets are $75, in advance only, and limited to 50 patrons. This event is at a private home; call 618/925-5374 for more information or to order tickets.
For full information, including driving directions to the events, performer biographies, and ticket information, visit the music festival website at www.sifest.com.
Here is a full schedule, by city:
CAIRO
June 1
• Festival Preview: Duo Piano Recital, 5 p.m., Cairo Public Library, free. Kara Benyas and Hyun Ji Oh, pianos.
June 12
• Klassics for Kids, 4 p.m., Cairo Public Library, free.
Klassics for Kids is an interactive concert designed for the very youngest listeners. The setting is an informal, fun place to teach children about listening to music, and about different styles of music and music performance. Large groups, such as day cares and summer schools, are encouraged to attend and do not need reservations.
• Chamber Music concert, featuring the music of Ravel and Grieg, 7:30 p.m., Cairo Public Library, free.
June 19
• Jive with Jazz, 4 p.m., Cairo Public Library, free.
Jive with Jazz is an interactive concert designed for younger listeners. The setting is an informal, fun place to teach children about listening to music, and about different styles of music and music performance. Large groups, such as day cares and summer schools, are encouraged to attend and do not need reservations.
CARBONDALE
June 9
• Jive with Jazz, 10 a.m., University Mall, free.
Jive with Jazz is an interactive concert designed for younger listeners. The setting is an informal, fun place to teach children about listening to music, and about different styles of music and music performance. Large groups, such as day cares and summer schools, are encouraged to attend and do not need reservations.
June 10
• Brass and Percussion Concert, 2 p.m., Carbondale Community High School, tickets $10/$5.
June 12
• Chamber Music Concert, featuring the music of Mozart, Jacob, and Puccini, 7:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church, tickets $10/$5.
June 13
• Art Exhibition with String Quartet, 5 p.m., Carbondale Civic Center, free.
June 14
• Jive with Jazz, 10 a.m., Carbondale Boys and Girls Club, free.
June 17
• Chamber Music Concert, featuring the music of Mendelssohn, Stravinsky, and Strauss, 2 p.m., First United Methodist Church, tickets $10/$5.
June 18
• Klassics for Kids, 10 a.m., Carbondale Boys and Girls Club, free.
June 19
• Klassics for Kids, 10 a.m., Altgeld Hall, SIU Carbondale, free.
June 23
• Klassics for Kids, 10 a.m., University Mall, free.
June 23
• Stars of Today and Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church, tickets $20/$10.
This concert features the music of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Strauss, with Young Artist Competition winners joining the Festival Orchestra and its soloists.
CARTERVILLE
June 15
• Symphonic Dances, featuring the music of Rachmaninov and Strauss, with Kara Benyas, piano, and the Festival Orchestra, 7:30 p.m., Carterville High School, tickets $20/$10.
June 16
• Klassics for Kids, 10 a.m., Carterville Fine Arts Academy, free.
Klassics for Kids is an interactive concert designed for the very youngest listeners. The setting is an informal, fun place to teach children about listening to music, and about different styles of music and music performance. Large groups, such as day cares and summer schools, are encouraged to attend and do not need reservations.
June 22
• Opera: La Bohème, 7:30 p.m., Carterville High School, tickets $25/$15/$8.
“La Bohème,” Puccini’s four-act opera, tells the story of a group of artistic bohemians, and the loves, adventures, and financial misadventures that mark their lives.
June 24
• Opera: La Bohème, 2 p.m., Carterville High School, tickets $25/$15/$8.
Come to the pre-opera lecture at 12:30 p.m. presented by Mark Frieman, stage director and performer. The lecture is free.
COBDEN
June 10
• New Arts Jazztet, 5 p.m., StarView Vineyards, free.
The New Arts Jazztet is Southern Illinois’ premier jazz ensemble, and includes several members of the SIU Carbondale School of Music. The group naturally holds a large repertoire of jazz standards, but it is known for its own “hard-bop” compositions as well.
June 16
• Klassics for Kids, 10 a.m., Old Feed Store, free.
Klassics for Kids is an interactive concert designed for the very youngest listeners. The setting is an informal, fun place to teach children about listening to music, and about different styles of music and music performance. Large groups, such as day cares and summer schools, are encouraged to attend and do not need reservations.
DU QUOIN
June 19
• Klassics for Kids, 10 a.m., Du Quoin Middle School, free.
Klassics for Kids is an interactive concert designed for the very youngest listeners. The setting is an informal, fun place to teach children about listening to music, and about different styles of music and music performance. Large groups, such as day cares and summer schools, are encouraged to attend and do not need reservations.
HERRIN
June 5
• Jive with Jazz, 10 a.m., Herrin Civic Center, free.
Jive with Jazz is an interactive concert designed for younger listeners. The setting is an informal, fun place to teach children about listening to music, and about different styles of music and music performance. Large groups, such as day cares and summer schools, are encouraged to attend and do not need reservations.
MAKANDA
June 16
• Jive with Jazz, 10 a.m., Renascence House, free.
Jive with Jazz is an interactive concert designed for younger listeners. The setting is an informal, fun place to teach children about listening to music, and about different styles of music and music performance. Large groups, such as day cares and summer schools, are encouraged to attend and do not need reservations.
MARION
June 8
• Ballet: Petruchka and Firebird, 7:30 p.m., Marion Cultural and Civic Center, tickets $25/$15/$8.
“Petruchka” was one of the ballets that made Vaslav Nijinsky famous. It is the story of the puppet, Petruchka, coming to life and his unrequited love for the Ballerina, and his ghostly revenge. The “Firebird” tells of Prince Ivan, his quest for the hand of the tsarevna, the opposition presented by the evil sorcerer Kostchei, and the mysterious Firebird. This performance features the Southern Illinois Music Festival Dance Company, based at Susan Barnes’ Willow Street Studios, under the direction of Sydelle Fulk, with special guest principal dancers, Preston Patterson, and Brittany Strickland, both from Ballet Austin.
June 9
• Klassics for Kids, 11 a.m., Marion Cultural and Civic Center, free.
Klassics for Kids is an interactive concert designed for the very youngest listeners. The setting is an informal, fun place to teach children about listening to music, and about different styles of music and music performance. Large groups, such as day cares and summer schools, are encouraged to attend and do not need reservations.
• Ballet: Petruchka and Firebird, 2 p.m., Marion Cultural and Civic Center, tickets $25/$15/$8.
Come for the pre-ballet lecture by David Tuttle, personnel manager for the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, in the lobby at 1:15 p.m. The lecture is free.
June 14
• Concert to Benefit Harrisburg Tornado Rebuilding, featuring Kara Benyas, piano, and the Festival Orchestra, 7:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, tickets are $20/$10.
MURPHYSBORO
June 23
• Klassics for Kids, 10 a.m., Murphysboro Youth and Recreation Center, free.
Klassics for Kids is an interactive concert designed for the very youngest listeners. The setting is an informal, fun place to teach children about listening to music, and about different styles of music and music performance. Large groups, such as day cares and summer schools, are encouraged to attend and do not need reservations.
SESSER
June 19
• Chamber Music Concert, featuring the music of Franck, Elgar, and Bloch, for piano and strings, 7:30 p.m., Sesser Opera House, tickets $10/$5.