New Philharmonic, the professional orchestra in residence at the McAninch Arts Center, celebrates New Year Eve with a special New Year’s Eve concert beginning 2 p.m. Dec. 31. For the first time, New Philharmonic’s New Year’s Eve concert will be streamed and available to be enjoyed in the comfort of home through Jan. 3. This concert is sponsored by Sullivan Taylor, Gumina & Palmer, P.C.
Guest artist Alisa Jordheim (soprano) will be featured in Richard Georg Strauss’ “Wiegenlied,” Op 41. No. 1 and “The Power of Love” by Jennifer Rush, Candy DeRouge, Gunther Mende and Mary Applegate, arranged by Jerry Lackey; and guest artist Jesse Donnor (tenor) will be showcased in Armando Manzanero’s “No Se Tue” and “Bless this House” by May H. Brah, arranged by Jerry Lackey. The program also includes New Philharmonic, under the baton of Maestro Kirk Muspratt, performing Eduard Strauss’ “Knall and Fall Polka;” Johann Strauss II’s “Emperor’s Waltz,” Op. 437; the waltz from Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty Ballet;” “Navarraise from the “Le Cid Ballet Suite” by Jules Massenet and Georges Bizet’s “Dance Boheme.” As is tradition, viewers will be invited to join guest artists and orchestra for everyone’s New Year’s favorite, “Auld Lang Syne.”
Jordheim was most recently seen by MAC audiences in New Philharmonic’s production of “The Merry Widow.” Other New Philharmonic credits include featured guest artist in New Philharmonic’s 2017 and 2018 New Year’s Eve and “The Best of Broadway: Rodgers & Hammerstein and Andrew Lloyd Webber” programs; and the role of Yum-Yum in the New Philharmonic’s 2017 production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado.” Other opera credits include the role of Clotilde in Pacini's “Maria, regina d'Inghilterra” with Odyssey Opera; Soeur Constance in Poulenc’s “Dialogues des Carmélites” at the Caramoor International Music Festival and Ninetta in “La gazza ladra” with Teatro Nuovo. Honors and awards include a 2016 Sullivan Foundation Award and 2015 Sullivan Foundation Career Development Grant; winner of the 2015 Bel Canto Regional Artists Competition; winner of the Edith Newfield Scholarship in the 2013 Musicians Club of Women Music Scholarship Competition in Chicago and 2018 pick for Fred Plotkin's "40 under 40: A New Generation of Superb Opera Singers" on New York Public Radio’s WQXR-FM.
MAC audiences have enjoyed Donner’s performances in New Philharmonic productions of “the Merry Widow” (2020), “Die Fledermaus” (2019) and New Philharmonic’s 2016 New Year’s Eve concert. He is also featured in this season’s “Holiday Sing-Along with the Symphony.” Donner’s other credits include the role of Rodolfo in Union Avenue Opera’s production of Puccini’s “La Boheme,” his concert debut with the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, and 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 Luminarts Fellowship and the Bel Canto grand prize, the George Shirley Award for Opera Performance, a special encouragement award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions, and 1st place in the 2012 Michigan Friends of Opera Competition.
Tickets:
Tickets are $50 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 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 traditionally 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.