2026/27 Season

 

Individual Concerts Go On Sale This August
Subscriptions are available by calling the IPO Box Office
Click the “Purchase Tickets” link on each individual concert or call the IPO Box Office at (708) 481-7774

OPENING NIGHT WITH MATTHEW LIPMAN
OCTOBER 17, 2026   5:30p

Concert Venue: The Center At GovState (University Park, IL)

Stilian Kirov, Conductor
Matthew Lipman, Viola

GLINKA  Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture
WALTON  Viola Concerto
BRAHMS  Symphony No. 1

The 49th IPO season opens in thundering fashion with the return of one of the world’s most celebrated young violists, Matthew Lipman. Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture hits like a thunderclap – strings blazing at breakneck speed, brass punching through, the whole orchestra in a flat-out sprint from bar one. It is arguably the most exciting curtain-raiser in the repertoire, and live, in a great hall, it is genuinely jaw-dropping. Walton’s Viola Concerto is extraordinary – with the viola entering alone, unaccompanied, as if confiding something private to the hall. From that moment on, the orchestra and soloist are in a conversation that is by turns tender, mercurial, and finally blazing. The finale crackles with energy and wit before the whole work resolves in a moment of devastating emotional clarity. Brahms Symphony No. 1 is so monumental, so perfectly constructed, that Hans von Bülow called it “Beethoven’s Tenth.” Live, it is overwhelming. This is why orchestras exist.

Approximate concert running time is 75 minutes plus intermission.

CARMEN
NOVEMBER 21, 2026   7:30p

Concert Venue: Lincoln-Way North High School (Frankfort, IL)

Stilian Kirov, Conductor

MONTGOMERY  Starburst
BARTOK  Divertimento for Strings
BIZET / SCHEDRIN  Carmen Suite

Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst is exactly what it sounds like – a supernova of rhythmic energy and raw orchestral color. Joyful, urgent, and thoroughly alive, it is 21st-century writing at its most thrilling. Bartók’s Divertimento for Strings crackles with Hungarian folk fire, dry wit, and passages of piercing, almost violent beauty while the immortal Carmen suite is stripped down to strings and percussion, making it even more dangerous and seductive. The castanets crack, the strings smolder, and the drama is dial-to-eleven. This arrangement is a phenomenon, and live it is absolutely unforgettable.

Approximate concert running time is 75 minutes plus intermission.

IPO HOLIDAY CONCERT
HANDEL’S MESSIAH
DECEMBER 12, 2026   3:00p

Concert Venue: Lincoln-Way North High School (Frankfort, IL)

Stilian Kirov, Conductor
Chicago Community Chorus

HANDEL  Messiah

A tradition and annual IPO fan favorite, Chicago Community Chorus joins us once again for a powerful performance of Handel’s Messiah.

Approximate concert running time is 120 minutes plus intermission.

STUDIO GHIBLI
Featuring the music of Joe Hisaishi
FEBRUARY 20, 2027   3:00p

Concert Venue: The Center At GovState (University Park, IL)

Stilian Kirov, Conductor

Howl’s Moving Castle
Ponyo
Spirited Away
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Mind
My Neighbor Totoro

For the first time in our history, IPO will perform Studio Ghibli featuring the music of Joe Hisaishi. The scores that defined your childhood, or perhaps your adulthood, performed live by real musicians in a real concert hall. Hisaishi’s music needs no introduction as his scores for Hayao Miyazaki’s films are not background music, they are the emotional architecture of some of the most beloved stories ever told. This is a concert for everyone. Eight-year-olds and eighty-year-olds. First-timers and seasoned concertgoers. People who’ve seen these films a hundred times and those who haven’t seen a single one.

Approximate concert running time is 75 minutes plus intermission.

CARMINA BURANA
MARCH 13, 2027   3:00p

Concert Venue: The Center At GovState (University Park, IL)

Stilian Kirov, Conductor
Homewood-Flossmoor High School Chorus
Stagg High School Chorus
Carl Sandburg High School Chorus
Andrew High School Chorus
Lincoln-Way East High School Chorus
Spotlight Performance Academy Chorus

ORFF  Carmina Burana

Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana is not merely a concert; it is an event and a work of extremes. The opening and closing O Fortuna is one of the most overwhelming things a symphony orchestra and chorus can produce — a wall of sound that hits you in the sternum. Then, without warning, Orff pulls everything back to a whisper. The dynamic range is shocking. The drama is total. Powered by a multitude of high school choruses, you will leave this concert feeling as if something large and ancient just ran directly through you.

Approximate concert running time is 65 minutes plus intermission.

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Programs and artists subject to change