DuPage Symphony partners with Marklund, opens new season

The DuPage Symphony Orchestra's “Invitation to Dance concert this weekend will mark not only the opening of the ensemble's 2010-11 season, but also the beginning of a new partnership the group has with Marklund, a nonprofit organization serving infants, children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Patricia Fragen, DSO violinist and marketing director, took part in planning the partnership and expressed excitement for both the premier performance of the group's 57th season at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, in Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College in Naperville and the unique yearlong relationship the two organizations will share.

“We want to do more than just surround the community with music, we want to support the community in every way we can, she said.

Fragen explained that the DSO's primary outreach to Marklund this year will be through a clothing drive for semiformal wear, an effort to collect items such as button-up shirts, skirts, slacks and shoes that will be used in May at Marklund's annual Spring Fling dance for the disabled.

She added that the orchestra's opening song at this weekend's concert, Carl Maria von Weber's “Invitation to Dance, will serve as the ensemble's signature piece for the year, in both its performances and in the way it is helping Marklund put on a special dance.

“It's our way of using our theme for the season to bring attention to another wonderful organization serving our community, Fragen said.

Vicki Krystof, Marklund's development director, said the Spring Fling is “a great party that all the clients look forward to each year, but one the organization must rely on donations to run.

“We do get reimbursement from the state for the services we provide since we're a nursing facility, she said. “However, what the state provides does not cover our actual costs, and that's the cost for us to make their life as great as it can be, as normal as it can be, and to give them every opportunity to experience life as they should. So we need to partner with other agencies and do fundraising events to cover that difference.

Krystof noted that the partnership with the DSO is unique because of the influence music has on the lives of Marklund's clients.

“Music is a universal language, she said. “Everybody who can hear it reacts to it. If you don't like it you get this face, if you do like it you get the laugh or the smile. It's just one of those things that bring people together.

Because Marklund's Spring Fling is not until late in their season, Fragen said the DSO will focus its energy on the clothing drive the most at its “Barber and Bernstein concert in March.

“(The concert) will be dedicated to bringing awareness to various, different elements of youth in our culture, she said, adding that the concert will feature the winner of the DSO's 2011 Young Artists Audition.

Fragen said anyone is welcome to donate clothes earlier than the March concert by contacting Marklund or the DSO, and noted any additional donated clothing that can't be used for the dance will be sold at Marklund's resale shop in Wood Dale, where all sale revenue goes back to the organization.

Besides launching its partnership with Marklund, the DSO's first concert also will continue the “Invitation to Dance theme by featuring dancers from the Natya Dance Theatre who will perform Bharata Natyam, a classical Indian dance, during the song “Daphnis et Chloe.

Hector Berlioz's “Symphonie Fantastique: Episode de la vie d'un artiste, an autobiographical sketch of an episode in the life of an artist who falls in love with the perfect woman and goes through his stages of wondering whether she loves him, will conclude the concert.

Fragen added that the DSO is offering all kinds of “wonderful benefits to ticket subscribers this year, beginning with a wine reception with orchestra members and DSO Director Barbara Schubert following the opening night performance. Subscribers also will be signed up for the Dine Around program that features discounts for restaurants in downtown Naperville.

The DSO's season includes four more concerts in the regular subscription series to supplement “Invitation to Dance, including two performances of “Sugarplums and Song in December, two performances of “The Genius of Prokofiev in February, the “Barber and Bernstein in March and “The Riches and Rites of Russia in May.

The orchestra also is working with services clubs such as Lions Clubs, Kiwanis and Rotary, Fragen said. Members of service clubs will receive 25 percent discounts on tickets to the February concerts, and any club that sells 25 or more tickets also will have an opportunity to set up a table in the lobby of Wentz Hall to promote the organization during the intermission and after the concert.

In addition to the regular subscription series, the orchestra has multiple chamber performances planned at Naperville's 95th Street Library, Gary United Methodist Church in Wheaton and Koten Chapel at North Central College.

A special family-friendly “Fairy Tale Fantasia concert in November will feature Grieg's “In the Hall of the Mountain King and a performance featuring giant puppets by the Madcap Puppet Theatre of Cincinnati. Tickets already have been set aside for some of Marklund's clients to attend the November concert.

Continuing its outreach to children and families, the orchestra will perform three times in the Tiny Great Performances series at the DuPage Children's Museum this season, including a Jan. 15 performance of Prokofiev's “Peter and the Wolf.

With so many performances to choose from, Krystof said Marklund is lucky to have been approached by the DSO with the partnership idea, because so many people will be exposed to the ensemble's efforts to support DuPage County in more ways than just “surrounding the community with music.

“Not only can you enjoy the music of the DSO, but you can also leave knowing that you did something good, she said. “You come out to a show, enjoy it and bring some clothes. It's a win-win-win for everyone from the donor to the DSO to Marklund.

If you go

What: “Invitation to Dance, season-opening concert by the DuPage Symphony Orchestra

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9

Where: North Central College's Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville

Cost: $28, $25 for seniors, $11 for students

Tickets: (630) 637-SHOW or tickets.noctrl.edu

Info: dupagesymphony.org