Northwest Symphony concert Sunday features new maestra
The Northwest Symphony will perform four concerts in its 62nd season, with the first next Sunday, Nov. 17, introducing the group’s new maestra, Kim Diehnelt.
Diehnelt is only the third music director/conductor in the group’s history. She established her
craft as conductor, composer, and artistic coach in Finland and Switzerland, where she worked with Baltic, Russian and European ensembles. In the U.S., she has been assistant conductor of the Symphony of Oak Park & River Forest and the Chicago Reading Orchestra.
Most recently she conducted the Chicago Folks Operetta production of “The Land of Smiles” which received strong reviews. Diehnelt is also the artistic director of the Sounds of the South Loop, at the Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago.
For its 2013-14 season, the symphony plans two world premieres, one by Kim Diehnelt, and one in January by Angel Lam. Guest artists will join the NSO for the final two concerts. Other concerts in the series are Reflections: Creating our Present from the Past on Jan. 26; Drama: A Dynamic Blend of Expression, with Michael Hall, violist, on March 23; and Delight Pops Concert: The Sounds of Perfect Delight with Chloe Lee, violinist, on May 18.
The concerts all will be at 3:30 p.m. Sundays at the group’s new venue, the Forest View Community Education Center, 2121 S. Goebbert Road, Arlington Heights.
The NSO will continue its popular preconcert commentaries, which will be led by Diehnelt and will begin 45 minutes prior to the concert.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for students. Season tickets are $60 for adults, $45 for seniors and $30 for students. Children under age 14 are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult. Tickets will be available at the door on concert days.
Tickets can be purchased in advance online by using the link to PayPal at the orchestra’s website, www.northwestsymphony.org; by mail with a form on the website and checks made out to the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, P.O. Box 46, Mount Prospect, IL 60056-0046; and by phone with a credit card at the Forest View box office, (847) 718-7702 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information, call the NSO at (847) 965-7271.
Works in Sunday’s concert include Edward Elgar’s “In the South, Op. 50 (Alassio)”, written in 1904; Kim Diehnelt’s “Pogolla,” written in 2011; and Antonin Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 8, Op. 88, G major,” written in 1889.
Members of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra represent a wide spectrum of interests and backgrounds, including financial analysts, real estate agents, engineers, physicians, music performers and educators, as well as both students and retirees.
The orchestra, founded in 1951, now numbers 70 instrumentalists, ranging from talented students to music professionals, who meet weekly to play and enjoy great symphonic orchestral music. Symphony members, whose ages range from the late teens to seniors live in the Northwest suburbs.