Six Springfield community leaders compete for the chance to step onto the podium to conduct the Illinois Symphony Orchestra at the Holiday Pops in the Heartland concert on Friday, December 13, 2024, at the UIS Performing Arts Center in Springfield, Illinois. This unique fundraiser planned by the Illinois Symphony Guild of Springfield invites the community to support their favorite candidates by donating to the ISO in honor of their choice.
The Celebrity Conductor Challenge candidates include:
- Michelle Eccles: Local host of Morning Edition on NPR Illinois and Public Relations Manager at Horace Mann
- Jennifer Gill: District 186 Superintendent
- James Greenwald, DDS: Local dentist and member of the Springfield Choral Society, Illinois Symphony Guild of Springfield, and more
- Kathryn Harris: Retired Director of Library Services at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum, Illinois Library Luminary Inductee, and 2020 State Journal-Register First Citizen Award
- Erin Hascup, PhD: Director of the Dale & Deborah Smith Center for Alzheimer’s Research & Treatment at SIU School of Medicine
- Sandra Yeh, MD: Medical Director and Founder of the Prairie Eye Center
Funds raised through the Celebrity Conductor Challenge will support the award-winning education programs of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. To donate, go to ilsymphony.org/celebrityconductor.
Join us for Holiday Pops in the Heartland to find out who will hold the baton and conduct the ISO in Leroy Anderson’s holiday favorite, Sleigh Ride. The Holiday Pops in the Heartland is truly a community affair as the ISO is joined by area community groups including Illinois Symphony Youth Orchestras, Springfield Choral Society, and Springfield Youth Performance Group; soprano Vanessa Becerra; and a special appearance by Santa Claus all led by Music Director Taichi Fukumura. Details at ilsymphony.org.
Holiday Pops in the Heartland is supported by season sponsors The Landmark Automotive Group and Debra & Daniel Brownstone, M.D., and concert sponsor U.S. Bank. Additional funding provided through a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
The Illinois Symphony Orchestra (ISO), led by Music Director Taichi Fukumura, 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 Sips & Sounds Summer Concert Series, Around the Town Chamber Music Series and the Beyond the Stage concert experience. The Illinois Symphony Orchestra has a budget of approximately $1.4 million.
In July 2020, the ISO acquired the Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony (SVYS) started in the early 1970s by parents, music teachers and musicians to keep string instrument education and a 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 three hundred 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.
