2023/24 Season Announcement

ILLINOIS PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES 2023/24 SEASON
2023/24 Season Mixes Classical Masterpieces with Previews and World Premieres Highlighted by Wynton Marsalis Preview and 200th Anniversary Performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9

Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Stilian Kirov, is proud to announce its 2023/24 season of seven concerts with featured IPO principal musicians, guest artists including violinist Stella Chen and pianist Sean Chen, and a bevy of vocalists including Kimberly E. Jones, Leah Dexter, Ryan Townsend Strand, Bill McMurray and the Chicago Community Chorus. Mixing a multitude of classical performances with fresh and exciting compositions, IPO’s 2023/24 programming ranges from a preview of Wynton Marsalis’ new work for symphony orchestra ahead of its World Premiere next season, to a performance of Beethoven’s most famous work, Symphony No. 9, presented nearly 200 years to the date of its debut.

All performances will take place at the 1,100 seat, state of the art Ozinga Chapel concert venue on the campus of Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, IL.

I am very excited to present this exciting new season with the Illinois Philharmonic,” states IPO Music Director Stilian Kirov, exuding with excitement. “We continue our mission to present not only some of the greatest masterpieces of the past but also a great deal of American music and works by many diverse composers. I cannot wait to embark on our 2023/24 musical journey and experience all the beautiful music and brilliant soloists in the new season!

Christina Salerno, Executive Director of IPO, shares Kirov’s sentiments.

True to IPO’s reputation for delivering engaging concerts that blend often-heard masterworks with lesser-experienced musical gems, our 2023/24 Season is filled with innovation and soaring melodies. Top-notch composers of today, including Caroline Shaw, Wynton Marsalis, and Augusta Read Thomas, showcase their talents through the artistry of Maestro Stilian Kirov and the fantastic IPO musicians, while music by Mozart, Haydn, Bologne, and Beethoven brings familiarity and energy to each performance.  What’s more, IPO has a long-standing tradition of bringing up-and-coming guest artists to our stage and, in that tradition, we are so excited to welcome Stella Chen to our concert hall along with many other stand-out musicians and vocalists.”

During the 2023/24 season, IPO will perform six classical concerts and one holiday concert at their home venue: the 1,100 seat, state of the art Ozinga Chapel concert venue on the grounds of Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights.

Along with the concert season, the orchestra performs a myriad of educational youth offerings each year. In total, IPO reaches over 9,000 individuals in the Chicago Southland, nearly 3,000 of whom are served through IPO Marilynn Tannebaum Youth Music Education Institute programs including Meet-the-Maestro, Artists-in-Schools, Pre-concert Performances, as well as additional community engagement programs. IPO also performs an annual four concert summer chamber series, IPO Summer @ Olympia Fields Country Club

2023/24 Season Subscriptions are on sale now with new subscribers receiving 40% off the regular ticket prices. To order, or for more information, call 708.481.7774.

Individual concert tickets, along with student tickets ($15), and specially priced group tickets (available with a minimum of seven patrons) will go on sale later this summer. Ozinga Chapel is located at 6601 W. College Drive on the campus of Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights. IPO Ozinga Chapel box office opens one hour before each performance.

Subscription packages are available now for the 2023/24 season. Please contact the IPO Office to request information. 708.481.7774.

ABOUT THE 2023/24 SEASON

OPENING NIGHT: MUSIC FROM THE AMERICAS
OCTOBER 14th, 2023, 5:30pm
Stilian Kirov, Conductor
Stella Chen, Violin

  • Márquez Danzón 2
  • Barber Violin Concerto
  • Cziner Violin Concerto: World Premiere
  • Ginastera Estancia, Four Dances 8a

Thrilled to continue the tradition of opening with an all American Opening Night program but now expanding to include South American sounds, IPO will celebrate its 46th season opening on October 14th, 2023, at 5:30PM with a program of Márquez, Barber, Cziner and Ginastera. The cornerstone of the evening will be the vibrant and colorful playing of violinist Stella Chen as she takes lead on two violin concertos, including the World Premiere of former IPO Composer-in-Residence Jonathan Cziner’s violin concerto.

Act II, IPO’s annual Opening Night post-concert celebration event, will feature dinner and a mix and mingle with the musicians at Midlothian Country Club, beginning at 7:30PM that same evening.

PIAZZOLLA & MOZART
NOVEMBER 18th, 2023, 7:30pm
Stilian Kirov, Conductor
Azusa Tashiro, Violin, IPO Concertmaster

  • Huỳnh IPO Composer-in-Residence / World Premiere
  • Piazzolla The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
  • Mozart Gran Partita

Leading with the first of three world premieres by most recently minted Composer-in-Residence Oswald Huỳnh, IPO’s November concert will feature the musical mastery of IPO Concertmaster Azusa Tashiro on Astor Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. The evening will close with Mozart’s Gran Partita, which offers a glorious explosion of Classical-era Harmoniemusik for small wind ensembles and is justly the most famous piece written for this combination of instruments.

IPO HOLIDAY FESTIVAL: A Celebration of Voice & Music
DECEMBER 9th, 2023, 3:00pm
Stilian Kirov, Conductor
Chicago Community Chorus

IPO celebrates the holidays with a family-friendly program featuring the ebullient Chicago Community Chorus, led by its Artistic Director / Founder Dr. Keith Hampton. With a special matinee time of 3pm, the IPO Holiday concert has long been a festive tradition for music lovers around the Chicagoland region.

SIERRA, MARSALIS & GERSHWIN
FEBRUARY 24th, 2024, 7:30pm
Stilian Kirov, Conductor
Sean Chen, Piano

  • Sierra New Commission: part of the Virginia B. Toulmin Orchestral Commissions Program
  • Gershwin Piano Concerto in F
  • Marsalis Preview of New Work: Preview ahead of its World Premiere next season

IPO presents the work of Arlene Sierra, Wynton Marsalis and George Gershwin in stunning fashion. Sean Chen, whom Wayne Lee Gay (Ft. Worth Star Telegram, Texas Classical Review) describes as owning “…an impressive technique, a remarkable command of piano sonority, and an unusual gift for building musical impetus,” takes center stage for what is sure to be a standout performance of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. The program will also feature a preview of the famed trumpeter / composer Wynton Marsalis’ new work for symphony orchestra ahead of its World Premiere next season. This is a rare opportunity to get a sneak peek before the world hears it! Also slated for the evening is a new commission by Arlene Sierra, whose work, The Guardian proclaims, “…has its own character, in which historical and contemporary influences are fused into a highly flexible and distinctive style… packed with crisp, vivid detail that’s not at all hand-me-downs.” This last piece is performed as part of the Virginia B. Toulmin Orchestral Commissions Program through the League of American Orchestras.

DEBUSSY, V. WILLIAMS & THOMAS
MARCH 16th, 2024, 3:00pm
Stilian Kirov, Conductor
Elizabeth Huffman, Violin, IPO Assistant Concertmaster
Anima-Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus
ChiArts

  • Debussy (arr. Mouton) Suite bergamasque
  • Vaughn Williams The Lark Ascending
  • Thomas Gwendolyn Brooks Settings: World Premiere co-commission

With a special afternoon matinee show time set for this youth-centered program, IPO will world premiere a co-commission with Anima-Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus by Pulitzer Prize finalist Augusta Read Thomas utilizing poems from Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks’ Bronzeville Boys and Girls and featuring vocals by Anima-Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus and ChiArts. Paired with this performance will be Vaughn Williams’ The Lark Ascending and Debussy’s Suite bergamasque. IPO Assistant Concertmaster Elizabeth Huffman steps into the solo spotlight for this afternoon performance.


BOLOGNE, MOZART & HAYDN
APRIL 13th, 2024, 7:30pm
Stilian Kirov, Conductor
Lee Shirer, Horn, IPO Principal Horn

  • Huỳnh IPO Composer-in-Residence / World Premiere
  • Bologne Symphony No. 1
  • Mozart Horn Concerto No. 4
  • Haydn Symphony No. 104

IPO presents IPO principal horn Lee Shirer at the helm for this stunningly opulent program of classical giants alongside a world premiere of IPO Composer-in-Residence Oswald Huỳnh.

JOYFUL VOICES: SHAW & BEETHOVEN
MAY 18th, 2024, 7:30pm
Stilian Kirov, Conductor
Chicago Community Chorus
Kimberly E. Jones, Soprano
Leah Dexter, Mezzo-Soprano
Ryan Townsend Strand, Tenor
Bill McMurray, Baritone

  • Huỳnh IPO Composer-in-Residence / World Premiere
  • Shaw Seven Joys
  • Beethoven Symphony No. 9

IPO lowers the curtain on their 46th season with a resounding performance of one of music’s most celebrated and well-known works, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. With its debut performance having taken place in Vienna on May 7, 1824, IPO’s performance will commence nearly 200 years to the day after it first came alive. Also, on the bill for this epic evening will be the third installment by IPO Composer-in-Residence Oswald Huỳnh, as well as Caroline Shaw’s Seven Joys. In 2013, at just 30 years old, Shaw became the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her composition Partita for 8 Voices. Kimberly E. Jones (soprano), Leah Dexter (Mezzo-Soprano), Ryan Townsend Strand (Tenor), Bill McMurray (Baritone) and the Chicago Community Chorus will lend their thunderous talents to the evening’s program.

CLASSICAL EVOLVE
APRIL 16th, 2024

As part of Maestro Stilian Kirov’s vision to encourage the development of new musical voices, IPO conducts Classical Evolve, an annual composer competition aimed at expanding the canon of classical music for current and future generations.  2023/24 marks the fifth year of the competition and the first in partnership with American Composers Orchestra, as part of their Earshot initiative.

Programs and artists subject to change.