Elgin Symphony opens season with special guests
From Staff Reports August 31, 2012 2:32PM
The ESO will start it's 63rd season under the direction of Dorian Wilson, who is also a candidate in the symphony's international Music Director search.
Updated: October 3, 2012 6:14AM
Most symphony season openers hold some excitement, but leaders say the Elgin Symphony Orchestra’s season opener on Sept. 8 and 9 has the musical trifecta of a world-class guest conductor, award-winning guest artist and thrilling new composer.
The ESO will start its 63rd season under the direction of Dorian Wilson, who is also a candidate in the symphony’s international music director search. Wilson, one of Leonard Bernstein’s last students, first receiving international recognition at the 1989 Malko International Conducting Competition at age 24.
As a result, he was asked to be the second conductor for the Moscow Philharmonic, an unprecedented appointment in Russia. Later, Wilson was to be the first guest conductor of the Russian National Orchestra.
He continues his close associations in Russia, especially with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, where he frequently conducts. He has performed in the great halls of Paris, Rome, Moscow, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam, Florence, Seoul, Athens, Bucharest and St. Petersburg. In addition, as recognized by the International Federation of Music Competitions, Wilson has won more international prizes for conducting than any other conductor.
Guest pianist
Critically acclaimed as “the most gifted young pianist of her generation” with a “million-volt stage presence,” pianist Joyce Yang captivates audiences around the globe with her stunning virtuosity.
At 25, she has established herself as one of the leading artists of her generation through her innovative solo recitals and notable collaborations with the world’s top orchestras. In 2010, she was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, one of the most prestigious prizes in classical music.
Mason Bates, composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, composed “Rusty Air in Carolina” in 2006. Despite its innovations, it can be heard as an example of a familiar old type of orchestral composition, a kind of nostalgic mood piece in the pastoral tradition, with evocations of nature. “Rusty Air” in Carolina is a brilliant example of a new way of looking at old musical ideas.
Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9, at Elgin’s Hemmens Cultural Center. For tickets, call the ESO Box Office (847-888-4000) or visit www.elginsymphony.org. The Hemmens Cultural Center, ESO’s primary concert home, is located at 45 Symphony Way, just south of Kimball Street and adjacent to The Centre of Elgin.
