ESO Pops Series leads off with Mambo Kings

This weekend, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra opens its 2007-08 Pops Series with the acclaimed Mambo Kings for an evening of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation.

The performances will be at 8 p.m. Friday at the Prairie Center for the Arts, 201 Schaumburg Court in Schaumburg; and 8 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin.

The perfect combination of Latin sounds, jazz styling and rock 'n' roll, the group has earned a reputation for taking the symphonic stage by storm.

Formed in 1995 by Richard DeLaney, the Mambo Kings are enjoying success as one of the nation's foremost Latin jazz ensembles, rapidly earning a reputation for their explosive blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation. Since their debut in 1997 with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Jeff Tyzik, the Mambo Kings have appeared as featured soloists at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and in concerts with the Baltimore, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Dallas, and Oregon symphony orchestras, among others, performing original compositions and arrangements by DeLaney. The band was featured at the 2003 Rochester International Jazz Festival and reached the finals of the 2003 Kennedy Center and U.S. Department of State Jazz Ambassadors national competition.

The 2007-08 season includes performances with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and a return trip to Vancouver, as well as appearances at the Rochester International Jazz Fest, Music In The Mountains Festival in Colorado and the Historic Lewiston Jazz Festival in Lewiston, N.Y.

The group released their second CD, titled "Live!" in 2005. Their first release, "Marinera," received airplay in major markets throughout North America and Puerto Rico.

From Nov. 2 to Nov. 4, pianist Alexander Korsantia will perform one of the most popular and unabashedly romantic piano concertos ever written, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, with the ESO. And don't miss Bartok's seminal 20th century masterwork, the Concerto for Orchestra.

From Nov. 16 to Nov. 18, experience the glamour and majesty of Oscar-winning music scores with Maestro Robert Hanson, ESO musicians and acclaimed soprano Diane Penning. Hear timeless favorites from "Dances with Wolves," "Titanic," "The Wizard of Oz," "West Side Story," "Star Wars" and more.

Tickets, from $39 to $64 are available through the ESO box office at (847) 888-4000 and online through www.ElginSymphony.org.

Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. ESO Patron Services Staff are also available 90 minutes prior to each concert in the box office at Hemmens Theatre. Discount sales to groups of 10 or more may be purchased by contacting the ESO's Group Sales Manager at (847) 888-0404.