New Philharmonic, the professional orchestra in residence at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC), and Music Director/Conductor Kirk Muspratt warmly welcome 2024 with New Year’s Eve concerts at 1:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 31. All three performances will feature guest bass-baritone Richard Ollarsaba and include a highly entertaining program of waltzes, marches, polkas and light classical music, plus a champagne toast, party favors and more. These concerts are sponsored by the Sullivan Taylor Family Trust.
Orchestral works will include Edward Stauss’ “Knall und Fall Polka,” Johann Strauss Jr.’s “The Blue Danube” waltz, a selection from “Dance of the Comedians” from Bedřich Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride;” Eric Coates’ “Dam Busters March,” Francis Scott Key’s “The Star-Spangled Banner” and Johann Strauss Sr.’s “Radetsky March.”
Maestro Kirk Muspratt with New Philharmonic on New Year's Eve. Photo courtesy of the MAC.
Guest vocalist Ollarsaba will be showcased in the Toreador Aria from “Carmen” by George Bizet, Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy; "Hymne A L'amour" by Marguerite Monnot and Édith Piaf; "Long Before I Knew You" from "The Bells Are Ringing" by Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Julie Styne and an audience sing-along of the traditional New Year’s Eve "Auld Lang Syne" by Robert Burns.
A critically hailed and versatile vocalist, Ollarsaba represented the U.S. in the 2019 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, one of the most prestigious international vocal competitions. He also was a member of the prestigious Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago for three seasons, and a grand finalist in the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Ollarsaba won the American Opera Society of Chicago 2015 Best Vocalist Award. Recent credits include singing title role in “Don Giovanni” with Opera Hong Kong, Opera Grand Rapids and Opera Carolina; and the role of Figaro in “Le nozze di Figaro” with New Zealand Opera and Minnesota Opera. Ollarsaba has also been a repeat featured soloist in “Haydn’s Mass in Time of War” and “Handel’s Messiah” with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. “The singer showed the poise and communicative power of a seasonal artist, singing with commanding, stentorian tone,” raved Chicago Classical Review about Ollarsaba.
Tickets:
New Philharmonic presents New Year’s Eve concerts at the McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage, at 1:30, 5 and 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 31. Tickets are $70-$80. For tickets or more information visit www.AtTheMAC.org or call the MAC Box Office at 630.942.4000.
Normal Box Office hours are Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. and two hours prior to the performance. For the holidays, the MAC Box Office schedule in December is as follows: Closed Dec. 22- 27; Open Dec. 28- Dec. 30, 12-6 p.m.; Dec. 31, open 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Normal hours return Jan. 2.
About New Philharmonic
New Philharmonic, the only professional orchestra based in DuPage County, Ill., has inspired classical music enthusiasts in Chicago and the suburbs for more than four decades. New Philharmonic was recently honored with the Illinois Council of Orchestras’ 2020 ICO Award in the category Programming of the Year. It continues to thrive with the goal to give innovative treatment to both classic compositions and modern works while striving to make the music accessible to new audiences and youth through a variety of educational efforts. Today, under the direction of Music Director/Conductor Kirk Muspratt, named 2018 Conductor of the Year (Professional Orchestra) by Illinois Council of Orchestras, New Philharmonic consists of more than 60 professional musicians and typically performs more than a dozen concerts a year, reaching more than 7,500 from the greater Chicago area annually.
Season support for New Philharmonic is provided in part by the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation; Anonymous, Brookdale Glen Ellyn; a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency; WDCB 90.9 FM; Frank Modruson and Lynne Shigley, and the College of DuPage Foundation.
About the MAC
McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and a versatile black box Studio Theatre), outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit www.AtTheMAC.org or @AtTheMAC on Facebook and Instagram.
Support for the McAninch Arts Center is provided in part by Bank of America, Brookdale Senior Living Glen Ellyn, the DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville, Anonymous, Sullivan Taylor Family Trust, The DuPage Foundation, Ball Horticultural, Clayco, Enjoy Illinois, Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; JCS Arts, Health and Education Fund of the DuPage Foundation; Wight & Company, WDCB 90.9 FM and College of DuPage Foundation.
Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit www.foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.