Adventure Awaits with your Illinois Symphony Orchestra with our Bring a Friend discount!
Be captivated by the sounds of love, war and peace at Captivating Contrasts with our Bring a Friend discount! Experience the brilliance of Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3, the beauty of Barber’s Violin Concerto with internationally acclaimed violinist Timothy Chooi, and journey from darkness to light in Nielsen’s stirring Fifth Symphony, led by Music Director Candidate Tania Miller!
Adventure Awaits on Friday, February 16, 2024 at 7:30 PM at the UIS Performing Arts Center in Springfield, Illinois and Saturday, February 17, 2024 at 7:30 PM at the ISU Center for the Performing Arts in Normal, Illinois. Join us for a pre-concert discussion with violinist Timothy Chooi and Music Director Candidate Tania Miller one hour prior to the concert and then join us after the concert for our Play-On After Party!
Bring a friend! Buy one, get one 25% off. Special offer valid on full price adult tickets only. Order your tickets today. Use the discount code FRIENDS. Tickets may be purchased in Springfield through the UIS Ticket Office at (217) 206-6160 or in Bloomington-Normal through the ISU Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Office at (309) 438-2535 and or online at ilsymphony.org/toons. Single tickets range from $10 for students (24 & Under) to $63 for premium seating. Senior and group discounts are also available.
Internationally acclaimed violinist Timothy Chooi, (pronounced as “Chewy,”), has enthralled audiences worldwide with his virtuosic and finely nuanced performances. He is highly sought after for his passionate renditions and extensive repertoire, as well as his exceptional ability to connect with a global audience, amassing a media following of millions of viewers who have tuned in to his music.
Chooi gained international recognition by winning First Prize at the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Hannover, Germany, and Second Prize at the Queen Elisabeth International Competition. He also received the prestigious classical music award, the “Yves Paternot Prize” at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. He has performed with renowned orchestras such as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Belgian National Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and Wiener Concert-Verein, among others. His performances have garnered glowing reviews from venues such as Carnegie Hall, Musikverein Wien, Berlin Philharmonie, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and the Royal Albert Hall in London. Additionally, he has collaborated with esteemed artists including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Pinchas Zuckerman, Jukka Pekka Saraste, Lang Lang, and James Ehnes.
Canadian Conductor Tania Miller has distinguished herself as a dynamic interpreter, musician and innovator. Former Music Director of Canada’s Victoria Symphony for 14-years, subsequently she was named Music Director Emerita for her commitment to the orchestra and community.
She served as interim Principal Conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic for the 2022-2023 season and also made debuts with the Warsaw Philharmonic, I Musici de Montreal, the New Haven Symphony and Springfield (MA) Symphony. She has conducted the Virtuoso Chamber Orchestra at the World Orchestra Festival in Daegu, South Korea with concerts in Daegu, Hwaseong, and Seoul and the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul. Maestra Miller has appeared as a guest conductor in Canada, the United States and Europe with such orchestras as the Bern Symphony Orchestra, NFM Wroclåw Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orchestra Métropolitain de Montreal, Vancouver Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, Naples Philharmonic, Hartford Symphony, Madison Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic and numerous others.
Captivating Contrasts is sponsored by season sponsors The Landmark Automotive Group and Debra & Daniel Brownstone, M.D., concert sponsor Terry Huff, guest artist sponsors Sue Silvey, Trevor & Liz Orthmann, and music sponsors The Steele Family, in Memory of Denny Steele.
The Illinois Symphony Orchestra is central Illinois’ largest professional orchestra serving over 35,000 patrons in the communities of Bloomington-Normal, Springfield and the surrounding region with symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra, and Concerts for Kids series in each community. In addition to concert performances, the Orchestra’s music education and outreach programs serve pre-K and elementary schools through the Itsy Arts and Music Matters education programs and reach middle schools, high schools, universities, community organizations and senior centers through guest artist residencies and musician and ensemble performances. The ISO also has an active Around the Town Chamber Music Series and virtual Sunday at Six Recital Series. The Illinois Symphony Orchestra has a budget of approximately $1.4 million.
In July 2020, the ISO acquired the Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony (SVYS) organization that was started in the early 1970s by parents, music teachers and musicians to keep string programs and youth orchestra in Springfield and surrounding communities following the elimination of all school orchestra programs. Now, the Illinois Symphony Youth Orchestras (ISYO) programs consist of Starter and Junior Strings, Preparatory Orchestra, Concert Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra serving over 300 students. The ISO also has a partnership in education and community engagement (PEACE) with the UIS-School of Music and Illinois State University’s Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts and School of Music.
Additional information about the Illinois Symphony Orchestra is available at www.ilsymphony.org.
The ISO is partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
