Metropolis officially acquires symphony

After months of negotiations, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre officials in Arlington Heights made it official: its School of the Performing Arts has acquired the Metropolis Youth Symphony.

Although the two entities share the Metropolis name, they have been operating as separate entities since the youth symphony was formed in 2000 as a nonprofit organization, with its own board of directors and set of administrators.

Increasingly, officials say, it appeared as if they were duplicating efforts. Consequently, negotiations began to merge the two, making the youth symphony part of its musical offerings within its School of the Performing Arts.

"We felt, for the longevity of the symphony, this was a good move," says Bill Mitchell, Metropolis Youth Symphony board member. "It's a great environment for the kids, with the theater and the music school."

Metropolis officials, concurred, calling it a "natural fit" for their school, which now serves more than 200 students in private instrument and voice lessons.

"It was a logical step," adds Metropolis board member Kathy Monnich, "and a win-win for both organizations."

The performing arts center staff will assume the day-to-day operations of the symphony, including scheduling and hosting its rehearsals and concerts, promoting its performances and helping to grow the seven-year old program.

They add that current director, Javier Jose Mendoza, who begins his third year with the orchestra, will continue, while Metropolis education director, Annie Sisson Rezac, will oversee the program.

"From an educational standpoint, we're thrilled to be able to give our music students this type of ensemble performance opportunity," Rezac says.

Ultimately, they predict the young musicians in the ensemble will see little change in their regular rehearsals, which include smaller sectional rehearsals on Tuesday evenings and the full orchestra on Sunday afternoons.

The first concert for the Metropolis Youth Symphony under its new leadership will be a Halloween concert that features scores from spooky movies and raises money for symphony scholarships.

It takes place at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 30 at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. For ticket information, call (847) 577-2121, or visit www.metropolisarts.com.