New Philharmonic 2023-2024 Season to Feature Guest Artists Esme Arias-Kim, Rick Michel, and More

New Philharmonic, the professional orchestra in residence at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC), has announced their 2023-2024 Season. "This will be my 19th season with New Philharmonic," says Maestro Kirk Muspratt. "Each season is curated with the goal of bringing great music and artists to the community. I think we've definitely hit the mark and then some with this new season and I thank our community and funders for their incredible support for our work to make this possible."

The 2023-2024 Season will begin with "Beethoven and Tchaikovsky" featuring award-winning 17-year-old violinist Esme Arias-Kim, winner of 2023 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition (Sept. 23-24). It continues with "Sinatra Forever: A Salute to Frank Sinatra" featuring Rick Michel (Nov. 4-5). New Philharmonic performs Tchaikovsky's beloved "Nutcracker" score live when Salt Creek Ballet returns with this holiday favorite (Dec. 16-17), and acclaimed baritone Richard Ollarsaba joins New Philharmonic to close out 2023 with three celebratory New Year's Eve performances (Dec. 31).

New Philharmonic opens 2024 with "John Williams' Music Makes the Movie" (Jan. 20-21) and completes the season with Brahms' Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 featuring internationally acclaimed pianist Wael Farouk (April 13 -14).

A list of New Philharmonic's 2023-2024 season concerts with dates, times and single concert ticket prices is attached to this release. All performances will take place in the McAninch Arts Center's Belushi Performance Hall, located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage. New Philharmonic concerts are frequently preceded or followed by free informative MAC Chat presentations on site at the McAninch Arts Center. MAC Chats provide audiences with a greater understanding and appreciation of the accompanying program. For more information visit AtTheMAC.org.
Tickets

Subscriptions are now on sale. Those subscribing by May 10 receive up to 25% off single ticket prices, the best savings of the season. After May 10, subscription savings drops to 20% off single ticket prices. Subscribers can also secure tickets at a discount to Salt Creek Ballet's "The Nutcracker" in advance of the general public.

Single concert tickets go on sale July 27. Dates, artists and prices are subject to change. For more information visit AtTheMAC.org or call the MAC Box Office at 630.942.4000. The Box Office is open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. and three hours prior to performance.

Season support for New Philharmonic is provided in part by the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation; Bjarne R. Ullsvik; Brookdale Glen Ellyn; a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency; WDCB 90.9 FM and the College of DuPage Foundation.
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 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.

About the MAC

McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355 at 425 Fawell Blvd. It houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), an outdoor venue, the 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 2 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 AtTheMAC.org and @AtTheMAC on Facebook and Instagram.

Support for the McAninch Arts Center is provided in part by the DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville; Follett, WDCB 90.9 FM, a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency 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 foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.

New Philharmonic: 2023-2024 Season

(as of April 15, 2023)

Dates, artists and prices are subject to change

Ticket prices below are single concert ticket prices. All performances take place in the Belushi Performance Hall in the McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage. Subscriptions are on sale now. Those subscribing by May 10 receive up to 25% off single ticket prices, the best savings of the season. After May 10, subscription savings drops to 20% off single ticket prices. In addition, subscribers can secure tickets at a discount to Salt Creek Ballet's "The Nutcracker" in advance of the general public. Single concert tickets go on sale July 27. For more information visit AtTheMAC.org or call the MAC Box Office at 630.942.4000. The Box Office is open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. and three hours prior to performance.

New Philharmonic: "Beethoven and Tchaikovsky"
Featuring Guest Violinist Esme Arias-Kim
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24
Tickets: $55

17-year-old violinist Arias-Kim, winner of the 2023 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition, returns to join New Philharmonic for Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, his only violin concerto. The program also features a performance of Beethoven's high-spirited and rhythmic Symphony No. 7, Op. 92 recognized as one of Beethoven's best works.

"Sinatra Forever: A Salute to Frank Sinatra"
Featuring Rick Michel with New Philharmonic
7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4; 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5
Tickets: $67-$77

Singer-impressionist Michel joins New Philharmonic musicians and a 17-piece big band on stage for this musical multi-media homage to Sinatra, perhaps the greatest singer of all time. Michel strives to touch on all aspects of Sinatra's life by choosing the variety of music that best represents his career complete with original orchestra charts and accompanying video. Spotlight Central observes, "As the crowd sings and sways, Michel gives it his all - his way - and is ultimately rewarded with a standing ovation."

New Philharmonic: New Year's Eve Concerts
Featuring Guest Baritone Richard Ollarsaba
1:30, 5 and 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 31
Tickets: $70-$80

New Philharmonic and Maestro Muspratt, with guest baritone Ollarsaba, reflect back on 2023 and look ahead to 2024 with a celebratory program of waltzes, polkas, light classical and pops music, a champagne toast and more. The Washington Post lauds Ollarsaba as a "meltingly smooth bass-baritone;" and Opera News says, "Ollarsaba didn't just have the tall-dark-and-handsome bit going for him, but also robust, flavorful, agile vocalism."

John Williams' Music Makes the Movie
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20; 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21
Tickets: $55

With a cinematic career spanning more than six decades and honors including 24 Grammy Awards, five Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards, Williams is regarded as one of the greatest American composers of his time. New Philharmonic's newest John Williams concert features many of his most memorable movie themes from "The Empire Strikes Back," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Jaws - Shark Tank Fugue," "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015), "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (2017), "Fiddler on the Roof" (Williams' first Oscar win for scoring and adaptation), "The River," "Born on the Fourth of July," "JFK" and more.

Brahms' Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2
Featuring Guest Pianist, Wael Farouk
7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 13 and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 14
Tickets: $55

Egyptian-born pianist Wael Farouk teams up with New Philharmonic again, this time for Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1, Brahms' first-performed orchestral work, and his Piano Concerto No. 2, written 22 years later as a "symphony with piano." New York Concerts calls Farouk, "Absolutely Masterful.....run - don't walk - to hear Wael Farouk!"

Additional Event:

Salt Creek Ballet presents "The Nutcracker" with New Philharmonic
1 & 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16; 1 & 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17
Tickets: $46; Youth $36 (Special Pricing for New Philharmonic 2022-2023 Season Subscribers: $33)

The MAC welcomes back Salt Creek Ballet with a roster of guest artists to perform the holiday tradition: Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker." This magical full-scale production features live accompaniment from New Philharmonic - a rare opportunity to see this magnificent ballet set to live music.

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