New Philharmonic's 2020-21 season features several film tie-ins
Film buffs will find plenty to love in the New Philharmonic's six-concert 2020-21 season. Maestro Kirk Muspratt has programmed many classical pieces with strong silver screen connections for the resident orchestra of College of DuPage's McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn.
• A tribute to composer John Williams opens the season on Oct. 24 and 25. The selections have not been announced, but expect excerpts from Williams' Academy Award-winning film scores to “Star Wars,” “E.T. the Extraterrestrial” and “Schindler's List.”
• Welcome in 2021 with three “New Year's Eve Concerts” featuring soprano Alysa Jordheim and tenor Jesse Donner as guest vocalists on Dec. 31.
• “An Intimate Night of Opera and Broadway” features four guest soloists performing selections from the stage on Jan. 23 and 24.
• “Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos” features pianist Yana Reznik performing Piano Concertos No. 1 and 2 and pianist Wael Farouk performing Piano Concert No. 3.
• “West Side Story” is performed in a concert version with guest vocalists and the 90-voice Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus on April 17 and 18. The Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical has been adapted into film in 1961 and a forthcoming version by director Steven Spielberg.
• The concert “A Salute to Frida” was pushed back to 2021, along with the exhibition “Frida Kahlo: Timeless.” Set for May 15 and 16 of next year, the concert features works by Mexican composers performed by soprano Michelle Areyzaga, tenor Jesse Donner and Ben Bogart on the bandoneon with the Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus.
Subscribers who purchase by May 23 receive a 25 percent discount off individual ticket prices. They also have the first chance to purchase tickets to Tchaikovsky's “The Nutcracker,” which returns in another pairing with Westmont-based Salt Creek Ballet on Dec. 12 and 13.
The McAninch Arts Center staff is working on safety protocols in response to the coronavirus pandemic. All subscribers will be provided with a cloth mask, there will be thorough cleaning of the theaters, lobby and restrooms before and after each show, among other measures.
Season tickets are now on sale, while individual tickets will become available on Aug. 1. Call (630) 942-3008 or visit atthemac.org.