Elgin show takes funny look into classical music
Influenced by the likes of Monty Python, Victor Borge, and master classes at the Royal Academy of Music and Blackheath Conservatory, British star conductor Rainer Hersch dissects your favorites, from William Tell to Star Trek, and shows you what really goes on behind the music.
“orcHERSCHtra 101: with Rainer Hersch” presents a mash-up between the ESO's classical favorites of Mozart and Beethoven and the comedy of the British writer and performer.
His show promises A.C.M.E. “All Classical Music Explained” when he turns his comic skills on those awkward questions such as “What do conductors actually do?,” and the music of the masters including Handel's Music from the Royal Fireworks, Beethoven's imperial Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor,” and Pachelbel's famous Cannon in D Major. From playing the recorder to Grand Opera it's all here, plus piano playing like you have never heard.
Elgin Symphony Orchestra performances of “orcHERSCHtra 101: with Rainer Hersch” will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19; 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20; and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21, at the Hemmens Theatre, 45 Symphony Way in Elgin. Tickets range from $16 to $68.
For information or to purchase tickets, call the Elgin Symphony Orchestra box office at (847) 888-4000 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, or visit elginsymphony.org.