Metea Valley Symphony Orchestra with New Philharmonic Sept. 29

Maestro Kirk Muspratt, and New Philharmonic, the professional orchestra in residence at the McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd., open the 2019-2020 season with “Ode to Joy” 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29. The program will include Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, conducted by Muspratt and Beethoven’s “Egmont” Overture, Op. 84 conducted by New Philharmonic Associate Conductor Ben Nadel. At the Sunday Sept. 29 performance “Egmont’s Overture Op. 84 will be performed as a side-by-side with Metea Valley Symphony Orchestra. A free MAC Chat will take place one hour prior to each concert.

The program will open with Beethoven’s expressive “Egmont” Overture, Op. 84 conducted by New Philharmonic Associate Conductor Ben Nadel. “Egmont,” Op. 84 was a set of incidental music pieces for the 1787 play of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. New Philharmonic will share the stage the Sunday, Sept. 29 performance of the “Egmont” Overture with the Metea Valley High School's Symphony Orchestra in a side-by-side performance. The music department of the Aurora-based high school has been acknowledged by the National Association of Music Merchants as one of the Best Communities for Music Education in America every year since 2012 and was named a Grammy Signature Gold School in 2016, one of just three in the country to receive the honor.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 features the popular final movement “Ode to Joy,” commonly regarded as Beethoven’s greatest work. Composed when he was completely deaf, Beethoven (1770 - 1827) was the first orchestral composer to use the human voice in a symphony. The orchestra will be joined by four vocalists including Katherine Weber (soprano), Kate Tombaugh (mezzo-soprano), James Judd (tenor) and Sam Handley (baritone) as well as the 100-voice Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus.

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 performs more than a dozen concerts a year, reaching more than 7,500 from the greater Chicago area annually.

New Philharmonic opens its 2019-2020 Season with “Ode to Joy,” at the McAninch Arts Center 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29. Tickets are $53. A limited number of $10 tickets are available for students with presentation of valid ID. For tickets or more information, visit AtTheMAC.org or call 630-942-4000.