The Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra will feature a new work by Arlene Sierra, and classics by Gershwin and Tchaikovsky for its Feb. 24 concert.
The program will open at 7:30 p.m. with the orchestra under the baton of Director of Music Director Stillian Kirov. Guest performers will be world-renowned pianist Sean Chen performing Gershwin’s “Piano Concert in F;” Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet, Overture-Fantasy” and “Kiskadee,” a new work by Sierra.
“Kiskadee” was commissioned by the League of American Orchestras with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. IPO participated in a competitive process to present this work after its premiere earlier this season with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Chen has traveled the world in solo and chamber recitals, concerto performances and masterclasses. Today he is the Millsap Artist in Residence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory. He has received high praise from by the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. He placed third at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2013, and he was a 2015 Annenberg Fellow.
Sierra is an American based in London. She currently serves as professor of music composition at Cardiff University School of Music in Wales. Her work has been commissioned and performed by orchestras in the United States and around the world.
Before the concert, Sierra will host a free preconcert lecture in the concert hall at 6:30 p.m. followed by VanderCook College of Music treating guests to a free musical performance in the Grand Lobby of Ozinga Chapel at Trinity Christian College, 6601W. College Dr. in Palos Heights.
Concert tickets range from $15 to $84 and are available at ipomusic.org. The $15 student tickets are available for students grade school through college. IPO also offers a $37 “we pick” general admission ticket for all concerts that allows the box office to select a seat for you.