Elgin Youth Symphony to travel to Springfield
On Wednesday, Feb. 18 and Thursday, Feb. 19, the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra's oldest ensemble, the Youth Symphony, will travel to Springfield to participate in events celebrating Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. "This tour will give students the opportunity to learn more about the life and times of Lincoln in preparation for their performances of music from this time in history" says EYSO executive director Kathy Matthews.
The 100-piece Youth Symphony is led by music director Randal Swiggum. It is the oldest orchestra in the EYSO and is comprised of high school and college students.
On Wednesday, Feb. 18, students will travel to Springfield to perform a concert at the Springfield High School whose band and families will be hosting the orchestra. The next day students will begin their day with a tour of the Lincoln home. They will then perform an hourlong concert at noon in the capitol rotunda. The concert will consist of several pieces that also will be performed during the symphony's "Lincoln Portrait" concert on March 15 at the Elgin Community College Arts Center. Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," although it was not written specifically about Lincoln, has a noble and heroic theme that captures Lincoln's mythic status, and his humble origins. Overture to "La Forza del Destino" by Verdi was the only opera Lincoln ever saw. This dramatic overture transports the listener to the 1860s, when it was written. Jerry Bilik's "American Civil War Fantasy" combines more than a dozen melodies from the Civil War and Antebellum South into a tone poem about the Civil War itself. Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" is the classic American musical tribute to the 16th President, with stirring words by Lincoln himself.
After the concert, students will tour the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. These events are part of a two-year schedule celebrating Lincoln 's birthday. The EYSO performance comes only days after the actual 200th anniversary of Lincoln 's birth.
Lincoln was born on Feb. 12, 1809, in then Harden County, Kentucky. Eventually, he moved to Illinois where he established himself as a lawyer and politician. On March 4, 1861, Lincoln became the 16th President of the United States, and the first-ever Republican who held this post. To learn more about Abraham Lincoln or events celebrating his bicentennial birthday, visit www.visit-springfieldillinois.com/Lincoln/bicentennial.asp.
To learn more about EYSO and the many opportunities for student musicians throughout the Chicago area, visit www.eyso.org, or call the EYSO office at (847) 841-7700.
The Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, an In-Residence Ensemble in the Arts Center at Elgin Community College, is home to four orchestras and a brass choir with nearly 300 students from over 60 communities. Founded in 1976, the mission of the EYSO is to create a community of young musicians, enriching their lives and the lives of their families, schools, communities and beyond, through the study and performance of excellent music. This program is partially supported by grants from the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, the Illinois Arts Council, and the Palmer Foundation.