SI Music Fest

August 05, 2020

16th annual Southern Illinois Music Festival starts Saturday

by Jason Franchuk

CARBONDALE, Ill. — While the performances were delayed several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Southern Illinois Music Festival shows once again that in a year like no other, the music will go on. 

The nine-day festival starts Saturday, Aug. 8 and runs through Aug. 16, and will include four separate public performances. Each of the programs will be performed twice – for a total of eight public performances across nine days. Under the leadership of Edward Benyas, SIFest artistic director, this year’s scaled-down festival is comprised of three string quartets, a wind quintet and a pianist. 

Familiar hits

The repertoire will includes quartets featuring works of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert; quintets featuring works of Danzi, Schubert, Schumann, and Puccini; Bach’s 3rd Brandenburg Concerto; a Mozart piano concerto, the Holberg Suite; Siegfried Idyll; Peter and the Wolf, and Appalachian Spring.

A special treat will include a world premiere by Christopher Walczak, SIU composer-in-residence.

Safety in harmony with music

The venues will include Shryock Auditorium on campus, ArtSpace 304 and Congregation Beth Jacob in Carbondale, and the Anna Arts Center. Benyas emphasized the performance series will comply with the state’s Restore Illinois Plan and additional SIU Carbondale safety guidelines.

“We want all our artists, staff and patrons to be safe,” he said.

Among the SIFest safety protocols will be:

  • Concert attendance will be limited to 24 to 50 patrons, depending upon the venue, with advance reservation only.
  • All staff, artists and audience members must wear masks while in attendance. The only exception is the wind players while performing.
  • Audience members who are not part of the same household will be seated at least 6 feet apart.
  • All artists will perform at least 6 feet apart.
  • Staff, artists and patrons will be pre-screened with a temperature check and a series of questions before attending/participating in the festival.
  • Staggered entry times will be provided to patrons when reservations are confirmed, to ensure social distancing.

Tickets available now

Tickets are $20 general admission and $10 for students of any age. Concert admission is by check or cash in the exact amount, and attendance is by advance reservation only. Reservations are available up to two days before each concert.

For tickets, call, email or text Benyas at benyas@siu.edu or 312/560-2094 to make a reservation. Please indicate the dates of attendance and the number of patrons in your party. SIFest will indicate on social media and on the website when concerts have reached capacity.

Performances to be televised

Benyas said WSIL-TV has agreed to broadcast SIFest performances live on its 3.2 “Heroes and Legends” channel -- channel 125 on Mediacom; channel 171 on Charter/Spectrum, channel 236/1191 on Comcast, and channel 11 on Ballard. The concerts broadcast will be:

  • Aug. 9, 2 p.m.
  • Aug. 11, 7 p.m.
  • Aug. 14, 1 p.m.
  • Aug. 16, 2:30 p.m.

Benyas noted that the plan is subject to any restrictions implemented by the state of Illinois or SIU as a result of current conditions. Complete details on the artists and the performance schedule is at www.SIFest.com.

The 2020 schedule is:

Saturday, Aug. 8

  • 7 p.m., Chamber Orchestra Concert, Shryock Auditorium. Performances will include Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3; Grieg, Holberg Suite; Wagner, Siegfried Idyll; Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 12 (Andrew Staupe, piano).

Sunday, Aug. 9

  • 2 p.m., Chamber Orchestra Concert, Shryock Auditorium. Performances will include Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3; Grieg, Holberg Suite; Wagner, Siegfried Idyll; Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 12 (Andrew Staupe, piano).

Monday, Aug. 10

  • 7 p.m., Chamber Music Concert, Artspace 304, 304 W. Walnut St., Carbondale. Performances will include Schubert Quartet, Op. 29; Puccini Wind Quintet; Beethoven Quartet Op. 18/2; Schumann Piano Quintet

Tuesday, Aug. 11

  • 7 p.m. Chamber Music Concert, Shryock Auditorium. Performances will include Schubert Quartet, Op. 29; Puccini Wind Quintet; Beethoven Quartet Op. 18/2; Schumann Piano Quintet.

Aug. 12

  • 5 p.m., Wind Quintet Concert, Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Sixth and Washington Avenue, Cairo. Performances will include Danzi, Puccini, Joplin and Sousa

Aug. 13

  • 7 p.m., Chamber Music Concert at Anna Arts Center, 125 W. Davie St., Anna. Performances will include Mozart Dissonance Quartet; Beethoven Quartet, Op. 59/2; Danzi Wind Quintet; Schubert Cello Quintet.

Aug. 14

  • 1 p.m. Chamber Music Concert at Congregation Beth Jacob, 904 N. Norwest Lane, Carbondale. Performances will include Mozart Dissonance Quartet; Beethoven Quartet, Op. 59/2; Danzi Wind Quintet; Schubert Cello Quintet.

Aug. 15

  • 7 p.m. Chamber Orchestra Concert, Shryock Auditorium. Performances will include Mozart, Divertimento, K. 136; Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf (David Tuttle, narrator); Christopher Walczak, Concertino for Piano (Andrew Staupe, piano); Copland, Appalachian Spring.

Aug. 16

  • 2 p.m., Chamber Orchestra Concert, Shryock Auditorium. Performances will include Copland, Appalachian Spring; Mozart, Divertimento, K. 136; Christopher Walczak, Concertino for Piano (Andrew Staupe, piano); Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf (David Tuttle, narrator)