Academy Orchestra Welcomes Violinist Ilana Setapen 5/26

Concluding the Music Institute of Chicago's Faculty and Guest Artist Series' 2017-18 season, the Academy Orchestra performs with noted violinist Ilana Setapen Saturday, May 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston.

The program includes the Overture to Mozart's opera The Impresario; Copland's "Down a Country Lane"; and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 "Scottish." Setapen joins the Orchestra for the program's second half, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35. Conducting the program is Academy Director James Setapen, Ilana's father.

The Academy of the Music Institute of Chicago, led by Director James Setapen, is a nationally recognized training center for highly gifted pre-college pianists and string players that provides a comprehensive music education for students who aspire to be professional musicians. Faculty, staff, and students come together for an intensive 30-week program that includes private lessons with Academy artist faculty, a rigorous chamber music component, a stimulating chamber orchestra experience, and accelerated music theory classes. Pianists additionally study keyboard history and literature, improvisation, and keyboard skills in an intimate group setting. A hallmark of the Academy is the weekly master class series when students perform for and observe acclaimed musicians and educators who share their knowledge. The Academy faculty, who teach at some of the country's most prestigious conservatories and music schools, have a passion for developing young talent and an established track record of student achievement.

Academy students are national prize winners who matriculate at the nation's top conservatories and universities. Among recent achievements:

• Violinist Julian Rhee (age 17, Brookfield, Wisconsin) won First Prize in the prestigious 2018 Johansen International Competition for Young String Players in Washington, DC.
• Pianist Yerin Yang (age 15, Mount Prospect, Illinois) placed first in the 2018 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Youth Auditions.
• Violinist Joshua Brown (age 15, Gurnee, Illinois) is the youngest and only pre-college honoree of the 11 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Winners in 2018.

Ilana Setapen is associate concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, a position she also held with the Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra in Chicago for six years. She has held concertmaster positions with the Riverside Philharmonic in Los Angeles, the Juilliard Orchestra, the American Youth Symphony, and others. Setapen is also a favorite guest concertmaster with the Chicago Philharmonic. In recent summers, she has made guest appearances at the Olympic Music Festival on Bainbridge Island, and she spent two summers on the faculty of the Luzerne Music Center summer festival in Lake Luzerne, New York. She has won top prizes in many competitions, including the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, the Pasadena Showcase Competition, and the Kingsville International Competition. As a chamber musician, she guest-performs with the Rembrandt Chamber Players of Chicago and many other artists. Growing up in Amarillo, Texas, she comes from a musical family: her father, James, is a conductor and director of the Music Institute's Academy, and her mother, Carol, was her first violin teacher.

The Music Institute of Chicago's Academy Orchestra concert featuring violinist Ilana Setapen takes place Saturday, May 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue in Evanston. Tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for students, available at musicinst.org/nichols-concert-hall or 847.905.1500 ext. 108. All programming is subject to change. For more information, visit musicinst.org. Music Institute of Chicago

The Music Institute of Chicago is dedicated to transforming lives through music education. Founded in 1931, the Music Institute has grown to become one of the largest and most respected community music schools in the nation. Offering musical excellence built on the strength of its distinguished faculty, commitment to quality, and breadth of programs and services, the Music Institute is a member of the National Guild for Community Arts Education and accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Pre-collegiate Arts Schools (ACCPAS). Each year, the Music Institute's teachers reach thousands of students of all ages and levels of experience. Music Institute locations include Chicago, Evanston, Winnetka, Lincolnshire, Lake Forest, and Downers Grove. In addition, the Music Institute is proud of its longstanding partnership with the Chicago Public Schools through its Arts Link program. The Music Institute offers lessons and classes, and concerts through its Community Music School, Academy, and Nichols Concert Hall.

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