Celebrate spring with your Illinois Symphony Orchestra at our Lush & Lyrcial concert!
Categorized: Press Releases
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Contact Beth Wakefield
217-522-2838 x4
bwakefield@ilsymphony.org
Take a spring stroll in the lush and lyrical music of Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, Vaughan Williams pastoral Oboe Concerto featuring the ISO’s Principal Oboist Russell Hoffman, and the energetic Fifth Symphony of Schubert, led by Music Director Candidate Tania Miller. This certainly will be a glorious night that awakens the optimism of spring!
Listen LIVE on Friday, April 12, 2024 at 7:30 PM at the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Illinois and Saturday, April 13, 2024 at 7:30 PM at the Second Presbyterian Church in Bloomington, Illinois. Please join us for Coda Conversations, a post-concert discussion with Principal Oboist Russell Hoffman and Music Director Candidate Tania Miller.
Bring a friend! Buy one, get one 25% off*. Order your tickets today! Use the discount code FRIENDS. Tickets may be purchased in Springfield through the UIS Ticket Office at (217) 206-6160 or in Bloomington-Normal through the ISU Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Office at (309) 438-2535 and or online at ilsymphony.org/lyrical. General admission is $26 and students (24 & under) are $10. Senior and group discounts are also available. * Special Offer not valid on senior, musician, or student priced tickets.
Russell Hoffman was appointed to the position of Principal Oboe of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra by Music Director Ken Lam in 2021. During the 2022-2023 season, he served as Acting Principal Oboe of The Florida Orchestra, and has previously held the position of Associate Principal Oboe and Solo English Horn with Symphony in C (Haddonfield, New Jersey). He has performed with many leading orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, Cincinnati Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, New York City Ballet, and New York City Opera. Russell has performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie. An equally devoted chamber musician, Russell most recently spent two summers at the Marlboro Music Festival (Marlboro, Vermont), performing with artists such as Mitsuko Uchida and Jonathan Biss. In past summers he has performed at the Aspen, Lucerne, Sarasota, Spoleto, Tanglewood and Verbier festivals.
Born and raised in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, he began his musical journey on piano with Ray Menard, and later on oboe with Lynne Cohen. He studied with Richard Dallessio in The Juilliard School Pre-College Division, where he served as teaching assistant. He later went on to receive degrees from the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Nathan Hughes and Richard Woodhams. He credits Robert Atherholt, Elaine Douvas, John Ferrillo, and Linda Strommen as additional mentors. He currently lives with his wife in Cincinnati, where he enjoys cooking and yoga.
Canadian Conductor Tania Miller has distinguished herself as a dynamic interpreter, musician and innovator. Former Music Director of Canada’s Victoria Symphony for 14-years, subsequently she was named Music Director Emerita for her commitment to the orchestra and community.
She served as interim Principal Conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic for the 2022-2023 season and also made debuts with the Warsaw Philharmonic, I Musici de Montreal, the New Haven Symphony and Springfield (MA) Symphony. She has conducted the Virtuoso Chamber Orchestra at the World Orchestra Festival in Daegu, South Korea with concerts in Daegu, Hwaseong, and Seoul and the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul. Maestra Miller has appeared as a guest conductor in Canada, the United States and Europe with such orchestras as the Bern Symphony Orchestra, NFM Wroclåw Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orchestra Métropolitain de Montreal, Vancouver Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, Naples Philharmonic, Hartford Symphony, Madison Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic and numerous others.
Lush & Lyrical is sponsored by season sponsors The Landmark Automotive Group and Debra & Daniel Brownstone, M.D. and series sponsors Kathryn Ransom and Dr. Patricia & Mr. Randall Rushing.
The Illinois Symphony Orchestra is central Illinois’ largest professional orchestra serving over 35,000 patrons in the communities of Bloomington-Normal, Springfield and the surrounding region with symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra, and Concerts for Kids series in each community. In addition to concert performances, the Orchestra's music education and outreach programs serve pre-K and elementary schools through the Itsy Arts and Music Matters education programs and reach middle schools, high schools, universities, community organizations and senior centers through guest artist residencies and musician and ensemble performances. The ISO also has an active Around the Town Chamber Music Series and virtual Sunday at Six Recital Series. The Illinois Symphony Orchestra has a budget of approximately $1.4 million.
In July 2020, the ISO acquired the Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony (SVYS) organization that was started in the early 1970s by parents, music teachers and musicians to keep string programs and youth orchestra in Springfield and surrounding communities following the elimination of all school orchestra programs. Now, the Illinois Symphony Youth Orchestras (ISYO) programs consist of Starter and Junior Strings, Preparatory Orchestra, Concert Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra serving over 300 students. The ISO also has a partnership in education and community engagement (PEACE) with the UIS-School of Music and Illinois State University’s Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts and School of Music.
Additional information about the Illinois Symphony Orchestra is available at www.ilsymphony.org.
The ISO is partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
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