Chicago Symphony helps open Wentz Hall

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is accustomed to mixing it up when it comes to concert venues.

"We just got back from a European tour," CSO spokeswoman Raechel Alexander said. In January, the orchestra heads to Asia for about three weeks.

Sandwiched between concerts abroad and dates at Symphony Center in Chicago, the CSO is making another trip - to Naperville.

The orchestra will be featured Saturday night at the gala opening of North Central College's new Wentz Concert Hall.

Though the hall already has brought such talent as Wynton Marsalis, the DuPage Symphony Orchestra and guitarists Yakov Kasman and Petar Jankovic to Naperville since its "soft" opening this fall, the CSO's arrival marks the official start of what college officials hope will be a long, storied life for Wentz.

"I'm thrilled," said Brian Lynch, North Central's fine arts director. "Shortly after I took on this job a little more than a year ago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was one of the first calls I made."

Lynch said a few phone calls were exchanged and itineraries checked before a date was chosen.

"It wasn't as long as some of the talent has been to solidify," he said.

Lynch said the evening, which will feature a dessert and champagne reception, will be "the epitome of elegance."

At $150 per ticket, the price of admission is admittedly higher than it will be for most shows at Wentz, he said.

While the orchestra most often plays at Symphony Center and at Ravinia, the 107-member musical ensemble does journey to the suburbs occasionally for performances, Alexander said.

"We feel that it's important for us to reach out to as many people as possible," she said.

The concert, led by guest conductor Ludovic Morlot, will open with Mikhail Glinka's "Overture to 'Ruslan and Ludmilla.'"

The audience in the 605-seat hall also will hear Piotr Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23," and Sergei Rachmaninov's "Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44."

"Rach 3 is a pretty powerful piece of music," Alexander said.

Lynch said the hall, designed to achieve superior acoustics, will well accommodate the CSO.

"It's suitable for all music," Lynch said. "It's got a really bright sound."

If you go

What: Chicago Symphony Orchestra

When: 8 p.m. Nov. 15

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

Tickets: $150

Info: (630) 637-7460 or www.northcentralcollege.edu/show