Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) is pleased to announce headlining performances for its 43rd Annual Showers of Sound Gala taking place virtually via livestream on Saturday, April 24, 2021 at 7 p.m. CST. The one-night-only musical soirée includes performances and remarks by internationally renowned musicians Jeffrey Mattsey (Baritone, The Metropolitan Opera), Chicago South Side native Anthony McGill (Principal Clarinet, New York Philharmonic), Chicago resident Rachel Barton Pine (Violin Soloist) and Chicago native Lisa Tannebaum (Harp Soloist). Tickets are $175 and are available now at ipomusic.org/gala2021.
The hour-long Showers of Sound Gala will celebrate IPO’s achievements to date—from the organization’s beginnings as an innovative volunteer community orchestra, to its excellence in arts engagement and live classical music performances—and will include a presentation of the sixth Leo Michuda IPO Award for Lifetime Service to IPO Life Director Jerri Greer. Those who purchase tickets by April 17 will receive wine from Cooper’s Hawk and chocolate from Cocoaworks Chocolate.
“Even during the most uncertain of seasons, IPO has continued to enhance its repertoire and programs, drawing new and more diverse audiences, and fostering an environment where IPO is seen as an integral partner of the south and southwest Chicago suburbs,” said Kathleen Field Orr, Board President. “There is much to celebrate and look forward to, and Showers of Sound is our chance to invite Chicago to celebrate the future.”
During the musical program, Mattsey will sing “Largo al factotum” from Barber of Seville and “The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha; McGill will perform Georg Phillip Telemann’s Fantasy No. 1, No.2 and No. 6; Pine will perform Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s Louisiana Blues Strut (A Cakewalk), Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in G minor, Fuga and her personal rendition of Sweet Home Chicago; and Tannebaum will perform Separation, by Mikhail Glinka and Enrique Granados’ famous Andaluza.
About Jeffrey Mattsey
Jeffrey Mattsey, Distinguished Alumnus from DePaul University, is renowned worldwide for the signature baritone roles that define his career. A house favorite at The Metropolitan Opera for more than 20 years and over 180 performances, this season sees Mattsey not only returning for productions of La traviata, and Cosí fan tutte but capitalizing on his charisma and theatrical abilities in a variety of other performances. Most recently, he performed the role of Mayor Shinn in The Music Man with Pacific Symphony, Uncle John in The Grapes of Wrath with Michigan Opera Theatre, and Alfred Doolittle in My Fair Lady with Utah Symphony. Additionally, he reprised the role of Germont in La traviata with Northern Lights Music Festival. Mattsey toured North America headlining the comedy musical revue Baritones Unbound and performed with Alpine Theater Project as Harold in The Full Monty, Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, and Hertz in Rock of Ages. Mattsey can be heard on the recording of Monteverdi: Vespers of 1610 with the Boston Baroque Symphony conducted by Martin Pearlman, which was nominated for Best Choral Performance at the 41st Grammy Awards. He can also be heard on A Salute to American Music, the Richard Tucker Foundation Opera Gala XVI by RCA, and on Songs from My Heart. Mattsey also appears on the RAI Italian television filmed production of La bohème with Luciano Pavarotti, released on Kultur Video.
About Anthony McGill
Clarinetist Anthony McGill grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and was a member of the Chicago Teen Ensemble, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, and attended the Merit School of Music. He enjoys a dynamic international solo and chamber music career and is principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic—the first African-American principal player in the organization's history. He is the recipient of the 2020 Avery Fisher Prize, one of classical music’s most significant awards. McGill appears as a soloist with top orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Kansas City Symphony. He performed alongside Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Gabriela Montero at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. As a chamber musician, McGill is a collaborator of the Brentano, Daedalus, Guarneri, JACK, Miró, Pacifica, Shanghai, Takács, and Tokyo Quartets, as well as Emanuel Ax, Inon Barnatan, Gloria Chien, Yefim Bronfman, Gil Shaham, Midori, Mitsuko Uchida, and Lang Lang. He serves on the faculty of The Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, and Bard College Conservatory of Music. He is the Artistic Director for the Music Advancement Program at The Juilliard School. In 2020, McGill’s #TakeTwoKnees campaign protesting the death of George Floyd and historic racial injustice went viral.
About Rachel Barton Pine
Violinist Rachel Barton Pine is an award-winning, chart-topping artist who lives in downtown Chicago and performs with the world's leading orchestras, including the Chicago and Vienna Symphonies, the Philadelphia and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, the Royal Philharmonic, and Camerata Salzburg. She has recorded 39 acclaimed albums and her performances are heard on stations around the globe. In January, she launched “24 in 24: Concertos from the Inside with RBP,” a weekly series in which she performs the entire solo violin part of the greatest violin concertos unaccompanied and shares her perspective on each masterwork. This March, she debuted “RBP on JSB: the Bach Masterclasses,” a bi-weekly educational series. Her RBP Foundation runs the Music by Black Composers project, which for the last 20 years has worked to rectify historic and ongoing racial injustices in the classical music sphere, and also assists young artists through its Instrument Loan Program, Grants for Education and Career, and Global HeartStrings, which supports musicians in developing countries. She performs on the “ex-Soldat” Joseph Guarnerius del Gesu (Cremona 1742) on lifetime loan from her patron.
About Lisa Tannebaum
Harpist Lisa Tannebaum’s first harp job was at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel in Chicago. She has performed solo, chamber and orchestral repertoire at major venues and festivals throughout Europe and the United States. Whether touring in Europe with the Broadway show 42nd Street, with “The Fantasticks” at the legendary New York Sullivan Street Theatre, or playing both on land and at sea on the Queen Elizabeth II trans-atlantic crossing, Tannebaum has enjoyed her diverse career and has been featured in solo, chamber and orchestral performances with notable conductors and composers such as Sergiu Comissiona, James DePreist, and John Corigliano. Tannebaum has served as a faculty member at the Amadeus School in Chappaqua, NY and the Northern Westchester Center for the Arts, as well as appearing on numerous television shows. She also created the first Suzuki Harp studio in the Northeastern United States. Ms. Tannebaum's dazzling performance at Carnegie Hall celebrated the release of her CD, "My Harp, My Heart." Tannebaum is currently on the faculty of the Cap Ferret Music Festival, where she concertizes, teaches and gives workshops every summer. She is the president of Music In The Woods, a non-profit organization that provides educational opportunities for students, and musical enrichment for the community. She performs the Concierge Concert Series, an innovative project redefining what the concert experience feels like.
About Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra
Named 2020 Professional Orchestra of the Year by Illinois Council of Orchestras, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra is celebrating its 43rd Season in 2020-2021. From its community orchestra roots in Park Forest, the 69-member orchestra has grown into a critically acclaimed professional orchestra, with increasing attendance and incredible regional support. Under the leadership of Music Director Stilian Kirov and Executive Director Christina Salerno, the mission of IPO is to provide concerts of compelling professional symphonic music, support music education, and expand audience awareness of musical excellence for the diverse communities of the greater Chicago region.
Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra is supported in part by Ozinga Foundation, Gerhard Manufacturing and Designing, Michuda Construction, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
For more information, visit ipomusic.org.