Cantigny Park to host Summer Symphony Concerts July 31 and Aug. 28

This summer, enjoy two symphony concerts performed under the stars at Cantigny Park in Wheaton. Admission to both concerts is free with paid parking.

No tickets are needed for these "Ravinia style" concerts, performed outside the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park, 1S151 Winfield Road in Wheaton.

Seating is on the lawn, so blankets or chairs are recommended. Picnics are welcome, with food and drink concessions available. Parking is $10 per vehicle. More information is online at Cantigny.org.

On Saturday, July 31, West Suburban Symphony will present "Together Again," an intermission-free performance featuring some of classical music's most popular and most emotional masterpieces at 7:30 p.m.

Selections range from the somber, remembering the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, to the celebratory and triumphant. Highlights include American composer Samuel Barber's reflective Adagio for Strings; the soulful Adagietto from the Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer Gustav Mahler's fifth symphony; American composer Aaron Copland's gentle "Saturday Night Waltz"; and Richard Hayman's joyful "Pops Hoe Down."

The orchestra will also perform French composer Hector Berlioz's spirited "Roman Carnival Overture," Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's resolute "Procession of the Nobles," the majestic final movement of German composer Ludwig Beethoven's Symphony 5, and the booming finale of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture."

Founded in 1947 and based in Hinsdale, the West Suburban Symphony is conducted by Maestro Peter Lipari.

On Saturday, Aug. 28, the DuPage Symphony Orchestra presents "Our Folk Song Heritage," a spirited and tuneful program featuring an array of folk songs from the British Isles and the American homeland at 7 p.m.

The concert opens with a suite from American composer John Williams' film score for "Far and Away," with echoes of Ireland and the 1890s American West. English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams' "English Folk Song Suite" and American composer Leroy Anderson's "Irish Suite" follow, showcasing traditional melodies. Arthur Harris' "Americana" and Clare Grundman's "American Folk Rhapsody" bring the focus back to our own shores with rich settings of "Shenandoah," "Deep River" and more.

A medley of well-known American spirituals, a poignant musical essay by William Grant Still, and a lively compendium of regional favorites stretching "From Sea to Shining Sea" round out the performance.

Founded in 1954 and based in Naperville, the DuPage Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Music Director Barbara Schubert.

Cantigny Park, part of the Chicago-based Robert R. McCormick Foundation, is the 500-acre Wheaton estate of Robert R. McCormick (1880-1955), longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. It is home to the McCormick House, First Division Museum, display gardens, picnic grounds, walking trails and a Visitors Center with retail shop, banquet, and dining facilities. More information, including hours, directions and upcoming events is online at Cantigny.org. Cantigny Golf, adjacent to the park, features a 27-hole championship golf course, full-service clubhouse, Cantigny Golf Academy and the 9-hole Cantigny Youth Links. For more information, visit CantignyGolf.com.