Elgin Symphony Orchestra to kick off season with 'Firebird' and 'Clair de Lune'
Cellist, composer and curator Joshua Roman is guest soloist at the Elgin Symphony Orchestra premiere of Mason Bates' Cello Concerto on season opening concerts Saturday and Sunday, Sept 15 and 16, led by Music Director Andrew Grams.
The concerto combines classical lyricism and melody with blues, jazz and techno rhythms. In the final movement, Roman even uses a guitar pick, sounding more like a punk rock bassist. The concerts also feature musical favorites Stravinsky's Firebird Suite (1919), Debussy's famous Clair de Lune and Chopin's Grande Valse Brillante.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. Free ESO Listeners Clubs will be held Wednesday, Sept. 12 that discuss the upcoming concert program. Led by music lecturer, composer, and radio personality Jim Kendros, Listeners Clubs are free discussions that take place the Wednesday before ESO Classics Series concert weekends at Greenfields of Geneva, at 10:30 a.m. and the Gail Borden Public Library at 1 p.m.
Andrew Grams will present a preconcert chat one hour before each performance. Saturday concertgoers are invited after the show to Mingle with the Musicians at Dream Hall, 51 South Grove Ave., Elgin. Tickets are $30-75. Student tickets are $11. Valet and free parking are available. For tickets and information, visit ElginSymphony.Org or (847) 888-4000.
About Roman
Roman has earned an international reputation for his wide-ranging repertoire, a commitment to communicating the essence of music in visionary ways, artistic leadership and versatility.
As well as being a celebrated performer, he is recognized as an accomplished composer and curator, and was named a TED Senior Fellow in 2015.
Recent seasons have seen Roman premiere Awakening, his own Cello Concerto, with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, and subsequently perform it with ProMusica Chamber Orchestra; make his debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra playing Dvořák's Cello Concerto; give a solo performance on the TED 2015 main stage; perform a program of chamber works by Lera Auerbach at San Francisco Performances with Auerbach and violinist Philippe Quint; and make appearances with the Columbus, Fort Worth, New World, Seattle Symphonies as well as with the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He also served as Alumnus-in-Residence at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.
Roman has demonstrated artistic leadership throughout his career. As Artistic Director of TownMusic in Seattle he has showcased his own eclectic musical influences and chamber music favorites, while also promoting newly commissioned works. Under his direction, the series has offered world premieres of compositions by some of today's brightest young composers and performances by cutting-edge ensembles.
Roman's adventurous spirit has led to collaborations with artists outside the music community, including his co-creation of "On Grace" with Tony Award-nominated actress Anna Deavere Smith, a work for actor and cello which premiered in February 2012 at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral. His outreach endeavors have taken him to Uganda with his violin-playing siblings, where they played chamber music in schools, HIV/AIDS centers and displacement camps, communicating a message of hope through music.