Sizzling Strings
- Date December 2nd, 2023 Time 7:30pm Venue Second Presbyterian Church - Bloomington
Warm up to the sizzling strings of Mozart's charming Fourth Violin Concerto featuring ISO's Concertmaster Roy Meyer and Beethoven's masterful Grosse Fuge. Known for her contributions to The Humans, Bombshell, and Yellowjackets, living composer Caroline Shaw's rhythmic Entr'acte kicks off the concert!
Alejandro Gómez Guillén, Conductor | Roy Meyer, Violin
Shaw Entr’acte – Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4 – Beethoven Grosse Fuge
Join us for Coda Conversations immediately following the performance.
Tickets: $26
Students (Age 24 & Under): $10
Springfield
Friday, December 1, 2023 @ 7:30 PM
First Presbyterian Church
Coda Conversations will immediately follow the performance.
Bloomington-Normal
Saturday, December 2, 2023 @ 7:30 PM
Second Presbyterian Church
Coda Conversations will immediately follow the performance.
Join music enthusiasts prior to the concert for a pre-concert dinner!
Support Provided By:
The Landmark Automotive Group, Debra & Daniel Brownstone, M.D., Kathryn Ransom, A Circle of Springfield Physicians, Dr. Patricia & Mr. Randall Rushing, Carole and Jerry Ringer
Bloomington-Normal Venue Second Presbyterian Church - Bloomington
404 N Prairie St, Bloomington, IL 61701
Your Illinois Symphony Orchestra performs Chamber Orchestra concerts at the Second Presbyterian Church. Tickets for Chamber Orchestra concerts may be purchased through the ISU Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Office or at Second Presbyterian Church prior to the performance.
Physical Address:
404 N Prairie St | Bloomington, IL 61701
Ticket Office Information
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/
Second Presbyterian Church
Tickets may be purchased at Second Presbyterian Church one hour prior to the performance.
Parking
Free parking is available off of North Prairie Street and East Jefferson Street.
Featured:
Alejandro Gómez Guillén Conductor
Conductor and violinist Alejandro Gómez Guillén is passionate about sharing music in a way that is compelling, uplifting, and educational. Entering his second season as assistant conductor with the Omaha Symphony, he completed seven seasons as artistic director and conductor of Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, with which he led the world premiere of Mickey Tucker’s Spiritual Collage and the Indiana premiere of Florence Price’s Fourth Symphony. He also completed a successful tenure as associate conductor of Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, leading multiple community classics, pops, outdoor, bilingual and educational concerts, including collaborations with artists such as Time for Three and mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte. Additionally, he is also music director of Denver's Sphere Ensemble which explores the intersection of masterpieces of string ensemble music of the past and present with a multitude of genres and world music masters.. The group’s recordings are available through major music streaming platforms. Alejandro also served as acting concertmaster/principal second violin of West Texas Symphony and violinist of the Permian Basin and Chasqui Quartets, and he has also served as Freeman conducting fellow with Chicago Sinfonietta, associate conductor of Boulder Symphony and music director of Cantabile.
Recent activities include serving as cover conductor with the Orlando Philharmonic with Eric Jacobsen, for the symphonies of Indianapolis with Jun Märkl and Carlos Kalmar, Fort Worth with Robert Spano, Ruth Rheinhardt, and Andrew Grams, Dallas with Matthew Halls, planned performances with the Chicago Sinfonietta (cancelled due to the pandemic), and leading Tulsa’s Signature Symphony, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Midland-Odessa Symphony & Chorale, SingFest Hong Kong, Bogotá’s Javeriana University, Bloomington Bach Cantata Project, and Midland Festival Ballet. He appeared as part of the Oregon Bach Festival conducting masterclass with public performances of Bach’s B minor Mass, St. John Passion, and the Christmas, Easter, and Ascension Oratorios. Additional activities include the Bloomington Early Music Festival, Weimarer Bachkantaten Akademie, Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble, ¡Canta, Bogotá Canta!, Santander Choral Festival, Cabrillo Festival, Tonos del Sur at Berkeley Festival, Permian Basin Opera, a fellowship with SphinxConnect, and a residency in his native Colombia with Batuta.
Committed to sharing music in an educational way, Alejandro’s activities with the Omaha Symphony include artistic leadership of the orchestra’s prestigious and multifaceted community and education programs. Alejandro has served as assistant professor of music at Colorado Mesa University where he taught violin, viola, courses in symphonic literature, string pedagogy and chamber music, as well as conducting the chamber and symphony orchestras. He served as music director of the Colorado Youth Philharmonia and has led performances with Off Broadway School of Fine Arts in Boulder, Javeriana University Symphony Orchestra, Spokane Youth Symphony, University of Colorado Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and Falcon Music Camps at the University of Texas Permian Basin.
An accomplished violinist, Alejandro enjoys leading Mozart and Haydn concertos from the violin in recent and upcoming seasons. He was concertmaster of Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, Amherst Early Music Festival, and Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble, with which he toured Germany and Italy including performances at Rheingau Music Festival and Berlin Philharmonie. He also returned to Oregon Bach Festival as a member of the Berwick Academy for Historical Performance.
Alejandro had a rich musical upbringing as a chorister and violinist in his native Colombia. Following a move to the United States he pursued a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Texas Christian University and Master of Music degrees in conducting and violin performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He holds a DMA in orchestral conducting from the same institution, and his doctoral research includes a critical edition of Colombian composer Jorge Pinzón’s violin concerto, and a guide using selected dances from Bach’s orchestral suites in their original form for developing orchestras through a historically-informed approach to playing on modern instruments. His mentors include Gary Lewis, Helmuth Rilling, Matthew Halls, and Mei-Ann Chen.
When not playing, leading ensembles, or reveling in the music of Bach, Alejandro enjoys singing, trail running, and making music with his wife, violinist Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Cranor and their Duo Anthracite.
Conducting your Illinois Symphony Orchestra!
Opposites Attract
Friday, May 3, 2024 @ 7:30 PM | Saturday, May 4, 2024 @ 7:30 PM |
Conducted your Illinois Symphony Chamber Orchestra!
Sizzling Strings
Friday, December 1, 2023 @ 7:30 PM | Saturday, December 2, 2023 @ 7:30 PM |
Roy Meyer Violin
In addition to his role as violinist of the Griffon String Quartet, Roy Meyer is Concertmaster of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, a member of the Chicago Philharmonic, and a frequent substitute violinist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
A highly dedicated chamber musician, Roy’s collaborations include performances with Midsummer’s Music in Door County, Wisconsin, Pro Arte Quartet, Kontras Quartet, as well as Apollo Music Festival in Houston, Minnesota.
As a soloist, Roy has appeared with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Winona Symphony Orchestra, Wartburg Community Symphony Orchestra, Indiana State University Orchestra and the ASI student Orchestra.
A passionate educator of young musicians, Roy is currently head of the Griffon Quartet strings program which teaches over 40 students in Green Bay and Door County, Wisconsin. In addition, Roy has led master classes at University of North Dakota, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Virginia Tech, SUNY New Paltz, Indiana State University, Apollo Music Festival, and has served as a member of the faculty at the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and the Illinois Chamber Music Festival in Bloomington, Illinois. In 2018, Roy served as the visiting professor of violin at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Roy Meyer began violin studies at 4 years old with Kyoko Fuller and earned his Bachelor of Music from the University of Wisconsin- Madison, Masters of Music from the University of South Florida in Tampa, and continued his violin studies at New York University. His primary teachers include David Perry, Carolyn Stuart, Gregory Fulkerson, Naoko Tanaka, and Laurie Hamilton.
When not on stage, Roy enjoys following sports, traveling, hiking, and has recently taken to gardening.