Concert weekend dedicated to longtime ESO supporters
The third classic concert of the ESO’s season will remind listeners of walking through an art gallery as music creates a canvas of sound depicting pictures of whimsy, shadows and triumph.
Guest conductor Steven Jarvi will lead the ESO through a multimedia look at “Pictures at an Exhibition” along with “Ghost Ranch” by Daugherty, and Suite from “Mother Goose” by Ravel. Jarvi, who also is a candidate in the symphony’s international Music Director search, is the music director of Winter Opera Saint Louis and the Kansas City Symphony’s associate conductor. Raised in Grand Haven, Mich., Jarvi holds a bachelor in music theory from the University of Michigan along with a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with Gustav Meier.
A visual element will be added to the musical experience for the different movements of “Pictures of an Exhibition.” Julie Baker of the ESO marketing and development department is spearheading the innovative project — creating a visual array of photographs that compliment the feelings produced by the music for each movement. Approximately 500 high-quality images will be part of the project that will enhance the patrons’ experience at the concert.
The concert weekend is dedicated to Pearle and Ed Brody, great supporters of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. Pearle died in September at age 90; her husband died in May 2011 at age 95. Their son Martin Brody, a composer and Wellesley College music professor, will attend both concerts.
Robert Hanson, the ESO music director for 37 years until his recent retirement, said “With the recent passing of Pearle Brody, we have lost one of the great pillars of the Elgin Symphony. Pearle and her husband, Ed (who passed away last year) were great supporters and key players in attracting essential community support in earlier years, thus providing a great energy that has carried this organization to its present status.”
Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4, at Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. For tickets, call the ESO box office at (847) 888-4000 or visit elginsymphony.org.
Immediately after the concert on Saturday night, patrons will be invited to “Pizza with the Players” at the new east side location of Danny’s Pizza on Douglas Avenue. Pizza with the Players is an informal get together where patrons can mingle with the ESO musicians, staff and the guest conductor Steven Jarvi.