Epic Ending
Show Times
- Date May 5th, 2023 Time 7:30pm Venue UIS Performing Arts Center - Springfield
- Date May 6th, 2023 Time 7:30pm Venue ISU Center for the Performing Arts - Normal

Celebrate the close of our 30th season of acclaimed music-making with Torke's highly spirited Javelin and Dvořák's stunning Cello Concerto featuring the return of world-renowned cellist Joshua Roman. Béla Bartók's epic Concerto for Orchestra concludes this fantastic finale!
Andrew Joon Choi, Conductor
Joshua Roman, Cello
Torke Javelin - Dvořák Cello Concerto – Bartók Concerto for Orchestra
[ Program Notes ]
Concert Comments at 6:30 PM in the hall hosted by Mark McDonald in Springfield and Laura Kennedy in Bloomington-Normal.
Tickets: $63 / $42 / $21
Students (Age 12-24 with ID): $10
Students (11 & Under): $5
Springfield
Friday, May 5, 2023 @ 7:30 PM
UIS Performing Arts Center, Springfield, IL
Bloomington-Normal
Saturday, May 6, 2023 @ 7:30 PM
ISU Center for the Performing Arts, Normal, IL
Support Provided By:
The Landmark Automotive Group, Debra & Daniel Brownstone, M.D., Ken & Laura Berk, Barbara & Charles Schweighauser, Trevor & Liz Orthmann
Springfield Venue UIS Performing Arts Center - Springfield
1 University Plz #397, Springfield, IL 62703
Your Illinois Symphony Orchestra performs Symphony Orchestra and Pops concerts at the UIS Performing Arts Center in Sangamon Auditorium.
Physical Address:
220 Ernest Hemingway Dr | Springfield, IL 62703
Mailing Address:
1 University Plaza, MS PAC 292 | Springfield, IL 62703
UIS Ticket Office Information
Tickets for all Illinois Symphony Orchestra season concerts are sold through the UIS Ticket Office. Tickets may be purchased by in-person, by phone, or online.
- In-Person: UIS Ticket Office is located in the lobby of the Public Affairs Center Building on the UIS Campus.
- Phone: (217) 206-6160
- Online: uispac.com
UIS Ticket Office Hours
Monday through Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday: Closed
Performance Days: Opens Two Hours Prior to Performance
UIS Performing Arts Center Event Parking
Free parking is NOW available for all events held at UIS Performing Arts Center. Click here to view a map of the parking lots closest to the UIS Performing Arts Center. There will be no premium parking for donors who give $1,000 or more to the Illinois Symphony Orchestra due to UIS offering FREE parking to events held at the UIS Performing Arts Center.
Bloomington-Normal Venue ISU Center for the Performing Arts - Normal
400 W. Beaufort St, Normal, IL 61761
Your Illinois Symphony Orchestra performs Symphony Orchestra and Pops concerts at the Center for the Performing Arts located on the Illinois State University campus as part of a partnership with the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts and School of Music.
Physical Address:
400 W. Beaufort St. | Normal, IL 61761
Mailing Address:
Campus Box 5600 | Normal, IL 61790-5600
ISU CPA Ticket Office Information
Tickets for all Illinois Symphony Orchestra season concerts are sold through the ISU CPA Ticket Office. Tickets may be purchased by in-person, by phone, or online.
- In-Person: ISU CPA Ticket office is located in the lobby of the Center for the Performing Arts located on the ISU Campus
- Phone: (309) 438-2535
- Online: finearts.illinoisstate.edu/tickets/
ISU CPA Ticket Office Hours
Monday through Friday: Academic Year 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Summer 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday: Closed
Performance Days: Opens Two Hours Prior to Performance
ISU CPA Ticket Office Parking
Two parking spaces located next to the CPA loading dock are reserved for patrons for business with the box office. These parking spaces are located off the corner of Beaufort and School Streets. A second option is to park in the University Street Parking Garage, an hourly pay lot. During non-performance times, there is no public parking in the School Street Parking Garage.
ISU CPA Event Parking
School Street Parking Garage
Free event parking is available in the School Street Parking Deck (400 S School St | Normal, IL 61761) for evening and weekend events. There is a sign located at the entrance labeled “Arts Event Parking” and states “Closed” or “Open.” When the “Open” sign is lit, enter and park in any spot numbered above spot 250 and below the blue parking zone near the top floor of the garage. Parking is not available on the ground level or top floor but is available everywhere between these two levels.
Premium parking for donors who give $1,000 or more to the Illinois Symphony Orchestra is coned off and available on the second level in the northwest corner near the elevator of the School Street Parking Garage.
School Street Garage
400 S School St | Normal, IL 61761
Directions
South University Street Parking Garage
Additional public parking is available at the South University Street Parking Garage (600 S University St, just north of Beaufort St.) at any time for $1.00 per hour.
South University Street Parking Garage
600 S University St | Normal, IL 61761
Directions
Featured:

Andrew Joon Choi Conductor
Winner of the prestigious Neeme Järvi Prize at the 2018 Gstaad Music Festival & Academy, and 2nd prize winner of the National Radio Television Albania Conducting Competition 2019 and 3rd prize winner of the IONEL PERLEA International Opera Competition 2021, Andrew Joon Choi is a classically trained, Korean American Conductor based in Princeton, New Jersey.
He has conducted many orchestras throughout Europe including Sinfonieorchester Basel, Kammerorchester Basel, Basel Sinfonietta, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein, ORF-Radio Symphonieorchester Wien, LEAD! Festival Orchestra, Janáček Philharmonisches Orchester, Josef Kajetán Tyl Theater, Filharmonie Hradec Králové, Staatstheater Cottbus, Das Kurpfälzische Kammerorchester - Mannheim, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Pazadzjik Sinfonieorchester, and Russe Philharmonisches Orchester.
Until January of 2020, he was the Assistant Conductor of the Basel Sinfonietta, a renowned contemporary arts organization bringing modern classical music closer to the audience using innovative and provocative programming. It is also known as the only organization of its kind to perform contemporary classical music for full orchestra, every program of the season.
Highlights of his 2019-21 season included concert debuts with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra at Wien Modern 2019 alongside Maestro Baldur Brönnimann at the Musikverein Vienna, as well as performances with the Basel Sinfonietta and the Sinfonieorchester Lichtenstein and renowned soloists Claire Huangci (piano) and the Janoska Ensemble at the acclaimed Vaduz Classic 2021 in Vaduz Lichtenstein.
Highlights of his 2022 season included the Swiss premiere of the composer Olga Neuwirth’s work, “Die Stadt ohne Juden” with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, as well as conducting alongside world-famous maestros: Jukka Pekka Saraste, Hannu Linthu, Dalia Stavenska and Esa Pekka Salonen at the LEAD! Music Festival in Fiskars, Finland.
2022 and beyond, he makes his U.S debut with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra as well as planned concerts with the Opéra Orchestre Montpellier, the Berner Symphonieorchester, and the National Radio Orchestra Tirana Albania.
He is a graduate of the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, under the tutelage of master pedagogue and conductor, Johannes Schlaefli. Prior to his studies and activities in Europe, Joon studied Orchestral Conducting at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore under the guidance of Maestro Marin Alsop, Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar.

Joshua Roman Cello
Joshua Roman is a solo cellist, accomplished composer, and curator whose performances embrace musical styles from Bach to Radiohead. Roman was named a TED Senior Fellow in 2015 and is currently the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s inaugural Artist in Residence. Before setting off on his unique path as a soloist, Roman was the Seattle Symphony’s principal cellist - a job he won at 22. He has since earned renown for genre-bending repertoire and wide-ranging collaborations. His performance of the complete Six Suites for Solo Cello by J.S. Bach on TED's Facebook page garnered 980,000 live viewers, with millions more for his Main Stage TED Talks/Performances, including an improvisational performance with Tony-winner/MacArthur Genius Bill T. Jones and East African vocalist Somi.
A Gramophone review of his recording of Aaron Jay Kernis’s Cello Concerto (written for Roman) proclaimed, “Roman’s outstanding performance of the cello concerto is the disc’s highlight… [He] combines the expressive control of Casals with the creative individuality and virtuoso flair of Hendrix himself.” In recent seasons, Roman made returns to the California, Detroit, Jacksonville, Omaha, and San Francisco Symphonies, as well as ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in Columbus where he premiered his Double Concerto with violinist Vadim Gluzman. In addition to his orchestral appearances, Roman works with violinist Tessa Lark and bassist Edgar Meyer and has collaborated with the JACK, St. Lawrence, and Verona Quartets. He brought his signature fresh approach to his own series as well, Town Music at Town Hall Seattle, during his 15-year tenure which concluded in June of 2022.
Roman’s adventurous spirit has led to collaborations with artists outside the music community, including “On Grace,” created with Tony Award-nominated actor Anna Deavere Smith. His compositions are inspired by sources such as the poetry of Tracy K. Smith and the musicians he writes for, including the JACK Quartet, violinist Vadim Gluzman, and conductor David Danzmayr. Continuing the legacy of cellists from Pablo Casals through Mstislav Rostropovich and Yo-Yo Ma, Roman also recently founded vox cello, which strives to cultivate and promote the cello as an instrument of peace.
Manager: Sarah Gordon, Opus 3 Artists