Sinfonietta Bel Canto’s New Year’s concert celebrates American music

Posted December 11, 2025 12:40 am

By Stephen Thurlow, Sinfonietta Bel Canto

The Sinfonietta Bel Canto is hosting its annual New Year’s and Fundraising Concert at 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 1, at St. Paul United Church of Christ in Downers Grove.

Under the master baton of Maestro Dan Pasquale D’Andrea, this year’s program brings you some of the most memorable concert delights, as well as music featuring the 250th anniversary of America, along with an array of vocal and instrumental solos.

Music featuring the 250th anniversary include works by Edward MacDowell, Victor Herbert, John Philip Sousa, and James Reese Europe.

Edward MacDowell’s 1896 Suite No. 2 Mov’t 1 (“Legend”) incorporates Native American material into its composition. Edward MacDowell (1860-1908) was a highly celebrated American composer in the 19th century. His compositions won the approval of music critics both in Europe and the United States, as well as of his contemporaries, including composers Franz Liszt and Joachim Raff.

“American Fantasie” is a notable composition by Victor Herbert, written in 1898. Herbert is best known for his contributions to operettas and orchestral music. “American Fantasie” is a lively and colorful work that showcases a blend of American musical elements and classical forms.

“El Capitan” is a military march composed by John Philip Sousa in honor of the popular operetta of the same name. It is one of John Philip Sousa’s most beloved marches, and highlights Sousa’s talent for composition and strong patriotic themes. (Sinfonietta Bel Canto will be featuring this opera later in the season, in its May 9, 16 and 17 performances.)

“Castle House Rag” was composed by bandleader James Reese Europe, who was a significant figure in jazz and ragtime in the early 20th century. It was often performed by Europe’s Society Orchestra and became popular in the early 1910s. It is known for its upbeat tempo and syncopated rhythms, characteristic of ragtime music.

Sinfonietta Bel Canto’s New Year's and Fundraising Concert will feature works by composers like MacDowell, Herbert, Sousa, and Europe, showcasing American musical elements and classical forms. Courtesy of Sinfonietta Bel Canto

This New Year’s Gala also features beloved family favorites as well as operatic and instrumental soloists.

These include Johann Strauss Sr.’s “Radetzky March,” Johann Strauss Jr.’s “The Beautiful Blue Danube Waltzes,” and the classic “Auld Lang Syne.”

Featured operatic and instrumental soloists include hornist Darlyne Hildalgo performing selections from “Morceau de Concert” by Camille Saint-Saëns; cellist Richard Schumann performing excerpts from Cello Concerto No 1 op. 33 by Saint-Saëns; and cellists Hurbert Ley and Jennifer Kumar playing Concerto for Two Cellos, G minor, RV531 mov’ts 1 & 3 by Vivaldi

In addition, Kristin Weed will be singing “Seguidilla” from Bizet’s “Carmen,” SarahAnn Sutter singing “Una voce poco fa” from Rossini’s “Barber of Seville,” and Sasha Dzikowicz singing “Vedrai carino” from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.”

Tickets are $40, $30 for students, or $5 for ages 12 or younger. Order online through the SBC website, sinfoniettabelcanto.org. Tickets will be held at the box office. The church is at 5739 Dunham Road. Parking is free and there is ample intimate seating.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Arts DuPage a DuPage Foundation Initiative.