Maestro Kirk Muspratt and New Philharmonic, the professional orchestra in residence at the McAninch Arts Center, celebrates the holiday season with the new “Holiday Sing-Along with the Symphony” program beginning 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, then on demand through Jan. 3. The concert featuring guest artists Emily Birsan (soprano), Kate Tombaugh (mezzo soprano), Bill McMurray (bass/baritone) and Jesse Donner (tenor) was recorded outdoors at the Lakeside Pavilion in October under strict guidelines and protocols.
The program for “Holiday Sing-Along with the Symphony” will feature sing-along versions of holiday classics including “Joy to the World,” “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Silent Night,” “Away in a Manger,” “Deck the Hall,” the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah” and more. To be sure nobody skips a beat, lyrics will be scrolled on the bottom of the screen. The guest artists will be showcased in “O Holy Night” and John Williams’ “Somewhere in My Memory” from the movie “Home Alone.” New Philharmonic will also perform a variety of musical selections including LeRoy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride, “March of the Toys” from Victor Herbert’s operetta “Babes in Toyland,” “Waltz of the Flowers” from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker, Lucas Richmond’s Hanukkah festival overture, and more.
Tickets:
Tickets are $40 per household. Ticket purchasers will receive an email with the link to access their event online. Gift certificates are also available. For tickets or more information visit www.AtTheMAC.org or call 630-942-4000.
The MAC encourages everyone enjoying the Christmas on Demand 2020 programming to consider making a donation to support the MAC’s ongoing ability to continue to provide fun, creative and thought-provoking programming. For more information visit www.AtTheMAC.org or call 630-942-4000.
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 40 years. 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. The orchestra was honored with the Illinois Council of Orchestras’ 2017 ICO Award for Professional Orchestra of the Year. Today, under the direction of 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 performs more than a dozen concerts a year, reaching more than 7,500 from the greater Chicago area annually.
About the MAC
The McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage is located at 425 Fawell Ave., 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 236-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), the 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. Visit www.AtTheMAC.org or www.facebook.com/AtTheMAC for more information.
The MAC’s 2020-2021 Season is made possible in part with support by DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville, WDCB 90.9 FM and the College of DuPage Foundation.
Support for New Philharmonic is provided in part by the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation; Sullivan Taylor, Gumina & Palmer, P.C.; the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; WFMT 98.7 FM, WDCB 90.9 FM and the 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. Programs at the MAC are partially supported through a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
Guest Artist Biographies
Emily Birsan
Birsan (soprano) has performed with many of the world's finest opera houses and orchestras, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Welsh National Opera, Edinburgh Festival, Boston Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Rochester Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Hailed for her versatility and “radiant delicacy” of tone, she takes on exceptionally broad repertoire, and has emerged as a specialist in works by Mozart and Italian repertoire. She most recently appeared as a soloist in “Messiah and Bach” at the Tuscon Symphony Orchestra in late 2019. This marks Birsan’s third appearance in New Philharmonic’s New Year’s Eve program, having previously been featured in 2013 and 2015.
Kate Tombaugh
Tombaugh (mezzo-soprano) has been featured as a guest artist in New Philharmonic’s “Ode to Joy,” “Show Boat and Show Tunes” and "The Best of Broadway: Rodgers and Hammerstein and Andrew Lloyd Webber" concerts. She has performed with opera companies and symphonies throughout the U.S. Her title roles include Handel’s “Ariodante,” Massenet’s “Cinderella” and Rossini’s “La Cenerentola.” She has also performed as Annie Oakley in Berlin’s “Annie, Get Your Gun” and Mad Margaret in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Ruddigore.” Honors include performing as a soloist at Carnegie Hall upon winning the Barry Alexander International Vocal Competition and receiving the “Grace Keagy Award” by NYC-based Kurt Weill Foundation.
Bill McMurray
McMurray (baritone) has more than 30 operatic roles to his credit. He has performed several times with the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s “Opera in the Neighborhoods,” and, in 2013, sang the lead role in the Chicago premiere of “Der Kaisser von Atlantis” at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion with the New Millennium Orchestra. Awards and honors include a first place in the National Association Teachers of Singing competition and, in 2008, he was one of eight singers selected to the Winners Circle of The Classical Music Vocal Competition held in Chicago. McMurray sings regularly with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus where has been a featured soloist. MAC audiences have enjoyed his performances as guest artist in New Philharmonic’s “An Evening of Gershwin” and “Showboat and Showtunes” concerts.
Jesse Donner
Donner (tenor) has been seen at the MAC in New Philharmonic’s productions of “the Merry Widow,” “Die Fledermaus” and New Year’s Eve 2016 concert. Other credits include his debut as Rodolfo in Union Avenue Opera’s production of Puccini’s “La Boheme,” and his concert debut with the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, Toledo Opera’s Fall Gala Concert, featured soloist for Chicago Philharmonic’s “Concert for Peace.” Donner was a resident artist at Lyric Opera of Chicago from 2014-2017. Other honors and awards include the 2015 Luminarts Fellowship and the Bel Canto grand prize, the 2014 George Shirley Award for Opera Performance, a special encouragement award from the 2014 Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions, and 1st place in the 2012 Michigan Friends of Opera Competition.