Listen LIVE! To your Illinois Symphony Orchestra in Breathtaking Beauty
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Bask in the poetic beauty of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto featuring the electrifying Chinese pianist Zee Zee (Zhang Zhuo) and Brahms long anticipated First Symphony, as it took 20 years for Brahms to step out of the shadow of Beethoven to release his First Symphony. Ibert’s lighthearted tribute to Mozart kicks off this evening of inspiring music led by guest conductor Vince Lee.
Described as “full of enthusiasm and glamour, radiating the vigor of youth” (Chinese Gramophone), Chinese pianist Zee Zee’s interpretations and communicative abilities have been praised as “taking us to another reality… bright, expressive and moving to the extreme” (Belgischer Rundfunk), while her creative maturity has been hailed as “a powerful, passionate and compelling representation of pure artistry” (Los Angeles Times).
Listen LIVE! to your Illinois Symphony Orchestra on Friday, November 18, 2022 at 7:30 PM at the UIS Performing Arts Center in Springfield, Illinois and Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 7:30 PM at the Center for the Performing Arts at Illinois State University. Join pianist Zee Zee and guest conductor Vince Lee before the concert for Concert Comments at 6:30 PM in the concert hall.
Order your tickets and we’ll see you there! Tickets may be purchased in Springfield through the UIS Ticket Office at 217-206-6160 and in Normal through the ISU Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Office at 309-438-2535 or online at ilsymphony.org/breathtakingbeauty. Single ticket prices range from $5 for students (11 & under) to $63 for premium seating. Senior and group discounts are also available.
Breathtaking Beauty is sponsored by season sponsors The Landmark Automotive Group and Debra & Daniel Brownstone, M.D., concert sponsor Alan & Marty Stutz, guest artist sponsors Jerry Antonini and Louise F. & Laurin A. Wollan Endowed Fund, and music sponsor Jim & Debbie Ringer.
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 $1.3 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 150 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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