“The New Philharmonic, the professional orchestra in residence at College of DuPage’s McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn, plans to return to live, in-person performances for its 2021-22 season,” writes Scott Morgan in Monday’s (7/26) Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL). “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Philharmonic was forced to record and then stream performances online for its 2020-21 season…. The season opens with a ‘Halloween Spooktakular’ [featuring] selections from Offenbach’s ‘Orpheus in the Underworld,’ Berlioz’s ‘The Damnation of Faust,’ plus [music] from films such as ‘Psycho’ and ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas.’ … Rather than an opera or operetta as in past seasons, the New Philharmonic performs the musical ‘West Side Story’ in concert on April 9 and 10 [with] four soloists and a 90-voice chorus…. The New Philharmonic also plays Tchaikovsky’s evergreen holiday score for four performances of Salt Creek Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’ on Dec. 18 and 19.” Also planned are Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9; a New Year’s Eve program of arias, waltzes, and polkas, with baritone Ted Allen Pickell; and a program of film music including Gone with the Wind, Jurassic Park, and The Seahawk. Kirk Muspratt is music director of the New Philharmonic.
Change font size
