MDSO Masterworks II:
October 20, 2018, 7:30pm
Celebrate the Bernstein Centenary with an evening of American art music! This program features all twentieth-century composers whose music together paints a vibrant portrait of what it means to be American. Selections include Charles Ives’s Variations on America as well as Bernstein’s overture to Candide and his Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Faculty vocalist Ian Greenlaw joins the MDSO for Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs. Tickets will be available for purchase through the Kirkland Ticket Office beginning September 10th.
Percussion Halloween Concert
October 25, 2018, 7:30pm to October 26, 2018, 8:00pm
The Children's Museum of Illinois, WAND TV, and Pepsi proudly sponsor the 12th annual Halloween concerts performed by the Millikin Percussion Ensembles. This all-ages, family-friendly event of the season will take place in the infamously haunted Albert Taylor Theater on the campus of Millikin University. Guests are invited to join the ensemble in costume; best costume prizes will be awarded. All proceeds go toward MU students attending the Percussive Arts Society International Convention.
Colors for Trombone and Wind Ensemble by Bert Apermont
November 15, 2018, 7:30pm
The Symphonic Wind Ensemble will perform with special guest Peter Steiner on trombone in their concert, Colors for Trombone and Wind Ensemble by Bert Apermont. The concert will take place on Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center.
Vespers
December 1, 2018, 2:00pm to December 2, 2018, 7:30pm
The 60th Annual Vespers will be held on Saturday, December 1 & Sunday, December 2 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on both days at the Kirkland Fine Arts Center. Ticket packages available for purchase beginning July 9th!
MDSO Masterworks III:
February 2, 2019, 7:30pm
Edward Elgar’s clever Enigma Variations were dedicated “to my friends depicted within”: musical portrayals of his close companions in a series of unnamed orchestral sketches. Since its premiere in 1899, listeners have delighted in pairing friends with sketches and have been perplexed by Elgar’s enduring unresolved question: who, or what, is ‘The Enigma’? Millikin’s own friends, winners of the annual Concerto and Aria Competition, will make their solo debuts with the MDSO.
Synergy
February 24, 2019, 4:00pm
The annual Synergy concert will take place on Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center.
Percussion Ensemble Synergy showcases the distinctiveness of Millikin's interdisciplinary alliances through a collaborative concert featuring performance by student and faculty across the College of Fine Arts. This year's Synergy program will highlight musical influences on percussion music by cultures from around the world.
MDSO Masterworks IV:
March 2, 2019, 7:30pm
Famed composer-conductor Gustav Mahler believed that “to write a symphony is, for me, to construct a world.” Hear the MDSO and the Millikin Union of Choirs recreate this musical process in their performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. Known as the “Resurrection Symphony,” this monumental piece brings together over 300 performers to celebrate the profound beauty of afterlife and redemption.
Mahler's Resurrection Symphony Lecture Series with Dr. Marshall Tuttle
Concertino for Percussion by David Gillingham
March 3, 2019, 4:00pm
The Millikin Symphonic Wind Ensemble will perform Concertino for Percussion by David Gillingham on Sunday, March 3, 2019 at 4 p.m. in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center. They will be joined by current Millikin percussion faculty along with Millikin alumni Jeremy Brunk ’97, Aaron Villareal ’13, and recent graduate Justin DeBo ’18.
Each year we invite an outstanding high school band to share the stage with the Millikin Symphonic Wind Ensemble. This performance features the Morris (Illinois) Community Symphonic Winds, conducted by Millikin graduate Brock Feece ’15.
MDSO: Sleeping Beauty with Alabama Ballet
March 30, 2019, 7:30pm to March 31, 2019, 2:00pm
Audiences young and young at heart will be enchanted by the artistry of the Alabama Ballet’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, accompanied by members of the MDSO. In this classic fairytale featured in film and bedtime stories for generations, Princess Aurora falls victim to an evil spell forcing her to sleep for a hundred years and to be awoken only by the kiss of a prince. In addition to its international prominence as a premiere classical and contemporary ballet company, the Alabama Ballet emphasizes dance education and community outreach as vital to its mission.
Silvan Negrutiu Piano Recital
April 7, 2019, 4:00pm
Millikin School of Music faculty member Silvan Negrutiu will perform a solo piano recital in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 4p.m. The program will include the world première performance of Robert Chumbley's Five Bagatelles for Piano (2018), commissioned by Millikin Piano Club and dedicated to Negrutiu.