DuPage symphony to start 'world tour' as season opens Saturday

The award-winning DuPage Symphony Orchestra aims to take listeners around the world through its music this season.

The 85-member group opens Saturday with "Turkish Delights" and continues with sounds of France, Germany and Russia in its series of "Musical Treats From 'Round the World."

The orchestra's itinerary also includes Tiny Great Performances at the DuPage Children's Museum, Brownies with Barbara and the Chamber Music Sampler benefit concert.

"There's a kind of excitement you get from a live orchestra that you don't get listening to your CD," Music Director Barbara Schubert said. "There's a kind of electricity in the air."

"Turkish Delights" will feature a guest appearance by award-winning composer Kamran Ince, who will join the orchestra to perform his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, a colorful and engaging work from 1984 that launched his prominent career.

The concert is presented in conjunction with North Central College's 2007 "Focus on Turkey."

The evening, which begins at 8 p.m., will open with Mozart's Overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio and will close with Brahms' lyrical Symphony No. 2 in D Major.

Other concerts in the series, which are all being held at Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton Ave., at North Central College in Naperville, are titled "An Old World Christmas," "Sweet Fragrances of France," "Fresh Sounds from Old Germany" and "Russian Riches."

"We try to (provide) a rich variety of repertoire and bring new and different pieces, as well as familiar masterpieces," Schubert said. "I try to vary it from year to year to keep it interesting and intriguing."

Expanding on its community outreach, the orchestra is holding two free concerts at Naperville's 95th Street Library at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22 and April 25.

The orchestra also continues with its short recitals and informational sessions at the DuPage Children's Museum on Washington Street in Naperville, said Kathy Kane, orchestra board secretary.

The 30-minute concerts and instrument demonstrations, each spotlighting one section of the orchestra, will be at 10:30 and 11:15 a.m. Nov. 24, Jan. 26 and March 8. They are free with admission to the museum.

Fans can get a behind-the-scenes look at the orchestra by tuning in for the first half of dress rehearsals at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 and March 14, Kane said.

Afterward, they can enjoy brownies and ask questions of conductor Schubert, sponsored by My Chef. Reservations are requested at (630) 778-1003 to ensure enough treats.

"See behind the scenes of a working rehearsal ... what's involved in putting it together," Schubert said.

Enjoy the group in a smaller, more intimate setting during its Nov. 18 fund-raiser at the Koten Chapel, 329 E. School St., at North Central College.

The 3 p.m. Chamber Music Sampler costs $100 per person, of which $90 is tax-deductible. Proceeds benefit the orchestra and its various programs.

The DuPage Symphony Orchestra, featuring members from throughout DuPage County and beyond, was named the Illinois Council of Orchestras' 2007 Community Orchestra of the Year, and Schubert, who was the council's 2003 conductor of the year, was recently lauded for improving the arts in the Naperville area.

Single tickets for the Musical Treats From 'Round the World series cost $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and $8 for children. Subscription season tickets are available by calling the Pfeiffer Hall Box Office at (630) 637-7469.

Additional information on the DuPage Symphony Orchestra's 2007-2008 concert season is available at www.dupagesymphony.org.

Season preview

The DuPage Symphony Orchestra opens its season of free and paid concerts Saturday.

Turkish Delights*

• 8 p.m. Saturday, Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton Ave., Naperville. Composer and pianist Kamran Ince joins the orchestra to perform his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. Concert opens with Mozart's Overture to the Abduction from the Seraglio and closes with Brahm's Symphony No. 2 in D Major.

Chamber Music Sampler

• 3 p.m. Nov. 18, Koten Chapel, 329 E. School St., Naperville. A core string ensemble, a woodwind sextet and a brass quintet are featured. Repertoire ranges from Bach to Vaughn Williams, from Baroque to contemporary. Meet the music director and musicians afterward during an informal reception. Tickets are $100, $90 of which is tax deductible.

Tiny Great Performances at DuPage Children's Museum

• 10:30 and 11:15 a.m. Nov. 24 at the DuPage Children's Museum, Washington and Spring streets, Naperville. Short recitals and instrument demonstrations presented by orchestra chamber groups, specifically designed for children and families. Free with admission to the museum. For details, visit www.dupagechildrensmuseum.org

An Old World Christmas*

• 3 p.m. Dec. 9, Pfeiffer Hall, Naperville. A selection of traditional English Christmas carols --- in orchestral settings of Brahms, Elgar, Vaughn Williams and Bryan Kelly. Soprano Kimberly Jones joins to sing familiar arias by Bach and Handel and an assortment of holiday tunes.

Tiny Great Performances

• 10:30 and 11:15 a.m. Jan. 26 at the DuPage Children's Museum, Washington and Spring streets, Naperville. Short recitals and instrument demonstrations presented by orchestra chamber groups, specifically designed for children and families. Free with admission to the museum.

Brownies with Barbara

• 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at Pfeiffer Hall, Naperville. Witness the orchestra behind the scenes during dress rehearsal. Then join music director Barbara Schubert and musicians during break and ask them questions. RSVP to (630) 778-1003.

Sweet Fragrances of France*

• 8 p.m. Feb. 9 at Pfeiffer Hall, Naperville. North Central College's Women's Chorale collaborates. Soloists Sharon Quattrin and Victoria Verhoven join the orchestra to present Debussy's La damoiselle elue by Dante Gabriel Rosetti. Highlights from Hector Berlioz's Romeo et Juliette rounds out the 19th-century repertoire.

Chamber Music at the Naperville 95th Street Library

• 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22 at the library. A springtime series of informal concerts at the library. Free and open to the public.

Tiny Great Performances

• 10:30 and 11:15 a.m. March 8 at the DuPage Children’s Museum, Washington and Spring streets, Naperville. Short recitals and instrument demonstrations presented by orchestra chamber groups, specifically designed for children and families. Free with admission to the museum.

Brownies with Barbara

• 7:30 p.m. March 14 at Pfeiffer Hall, Naperville. Witness the orchestra behind the scenes during dress rehearsal. Then join music director Barbara Schubert and musicians during break and ask them questions. RSVP to (630) 778-1003.

Fresh Sounds from Old Germany*

• 8 p.m. March 15 at Pfeiffer Hall, Naperville. Major works from German masters frame the concert: Paul Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes and Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, the Reformation. The winner of the orchestra's 2008 Young Artist Auditions also is featured.

Chamber Music at the Naperville 95th Street Library

• 7:30 p.m. April 25 at the library. A springtime series of informal concerts at the library. Free and open to the public.

Russian Riches*

• 8 p.m. May 17, Pfeiffer Hall, Naperville. Pianist Jung Lin plays the Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto featured in the 1996 Oscar-winning movie "Shine." The Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, subtitled the Heroic, by Russian romantic master Alexander Glazunov, balances out the season finale.

* Indicates subscription concert