Fire & Fanfare
- Date October 21st, 2023 Time 7:30pm Venue ISU Center for the Performing Arts - Normal
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Experience the fanfare of opening night through the Latin vibes of Márquez’s Danzón No. 2, the driving rhythms of Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto with acclaimed cellist Brannon Cho, and Tchaikovsky’s fiery Fourth Symphony. Adventure Awaits!
Taichi Fukumura, Conductor | Brannon Cho, Cello
Márquez Danzón No. 2 – Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 – Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4
Join us one hour before the concert for a pre-concert discussion with cellist Brannon Cho and conductor candidate Taichi Fukumura. And, join us after the concert for our Play On After Party and meet conductor candidate Taichi Fukumura!
Get your your seats NOW!
Tickets: $63 / $42 / $21
Students (Age 24 & Under): $10
Springfield
Friday, October 20, 2023 @ 7:30 PM
UIS Performing Arts Center
Concert Comments @ 6:30 PM
Play On After Party music provided by Craig Russo Latin Jazz Project
Bloomington-Normal
Saturday, October 21, 2023 @ 7:30 PM
ISU Center for the Performing Arts
Concert Comments @ 6:30 PM
Play On After Party will take place in the College of Business Atrium at Illinois State University
Support Provided By:
The Landmark Automotive Group, Debra & Daniel Brownstone, M.D., Carole and Jerry Ringer, Charles & Joan Vanden Eynden, Gerry & Carol Chrisman
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:
Taichi Fukumura Conductor
Taichi Fukumura is a rising Japanese-American conductor acclaimed for his dynamic stage presence and musical finesse. Currently serving as the Assistant Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra appointed by Music Director Robert Spano, Fukumura is the Second Prize Winner of The Mahler Competition 2023 with the Bamberg Symphony and a three-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Fukumura was recently named Music Director Finalist of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and is engaged to guest conduct the ISO on two programs in the upcoming 2023-2024 season. Other recent highlights include guest conducting the Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and guest assisting the Houston Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He was also invited by the Berlin Philharmonic as one of 10 assistant conductor candidates for Kirill Petrenko.
Past engagements include guest conducting members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in their Community Chamber Concert series, leading Stravinsky L’Histoire du Soldat. Fukumura served as the Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Sinfonietta where he previously received mentorship from Music Director Mei-Ann Chen as a Freeman Conducting Fellow. Additionally, he worked closely with the Chicago Philharmonic as cover conductor, assisting Artistic Director Scott Speck and many guest artists.
Equally adept in opera conducting, Fukumura conducted full productions of Britten Turn of the Screw and Mozart Don Giovanni at the Northwestern University Opera Theatre and led rehearsals of Puccini La Boheme with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, the only youth orchestra in the country to present annual opera productions.
Born in Tokyo, Taichi Fukumura grew up in Boston and began music studies at age three on the violin. Professionally trained on the instrument, he received a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Boston University, studying with Peter Zazofsky. Fukumura received both his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University, studying with Victor Yampolsky. Additional conducting studies include Aspen Music Festival and Pierre Monteux School and Festival.
Conducted your Illinois Symphony Orchestra!
Fire & Fanfare
|
Friday, October 20, 2023 @ 7:30 PM | Saturday, October 21, 2023 @ 7:30 PM |
Holiday Pops in the Heartland
|
Friday, December 15, 2023 @ 7:30 PM | Saturday, December 16, 2023 @ 7:30 PM |
Brannon Cho Cello
Brannon Cho is the First Prize winner of the prestigious 6th International Paulo Cello Competition, and is also a top prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth, Naumburg, and Cassadó International Cello Competitions.
Most recently, Brannon is the recipient of the 2020 Janos Starker Foundation Award, the Landgraf von Hessen Prize from Kronberg Academy, the 2019 Ivan Galamian Award previously held by James Ehnes, and is a scholarship holder in the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation.
Cho has appeared as a soloist with many of the top orchestras around the world, including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Belgian National Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Brussels Philharmonic.
Born in New Jersey, Brannon received his Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music under Hans Jørgen Jensen. He was awarded the Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Laurence Lesser. He also completed the Professional Studies program at the Kronberg Academy, under the tutelage of Frans Helmerson. Brannon performs on a rare cello made by Antonio Casini in 1668 in Modena, Italy, and is sponsored by Thomastik-Infeld.
