The ECC Arts Center celebrates its 25th anniversary season

The Elgin Community College Arts Center will celebrate its 25th anniversary throughout its “#ArtsCenter25” 2019-2020 season. This season will also see the debut of the newly renovated Building H, which includes the Arts Center and the Blizzard Theatre. The upgrades include new seats in the theatre, remodeled restrooms, and new carpet, paint, and lighting in the lobby.

The Arts Center will kick-off of its anniversary season as well as celebrate the reopening of the renovated space with an “#ArtsCenter25 Ribbon Cutting” on Thursday, Oct. 10. A ribbon-cutting reception will take place at 3 p.m. and will be followed by a performance by Chicago-based rock ‘n’ roll marching band Mucca Pazza at 6 p.m. Both events are free but require a ticket.

The season continues on Sunday, Oct. 13, with a performance of composer Jocelyn Hagen’s “The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci.” Co-presented by Elgin’s Heartland Voices, this multimedia concert event brings Leonardo’s intricate handwriting and sketches to life as motion graphics that sync to a stirring musical work performed by a chorus and chamber ensemble. The performance is conducted by ECC Professor Emeritus John G. Slawson.

On Friday, Nov. 8, fellow PBS television favorites (Under the Streetlamp) and former Jersey Boys co-stars Michael Ingersoll and Christopher Kale Jones will return to the Arts Center for a performance of “Lean On Me: The Brotherhood of Rock and Roll.” The two pals will treat the audience to musical hits by The Everly Brothers, The Beatles, and more.

Sand art superstar Kseniya Simonova (America’s Got Talent: Champions) and international tour-de-force the Guy Mendilow Ensemble will perform “The Forgotten Kingdom: Sand Stories Live” on Saturday, Nov. 9. Against the ensemble’s sweeping cinematic score and radio-drama-style narration, Simonova uses sand—in real time—to create, animate, and morph a flowing illustrated narrative that recreates the experiences of early 20th century Sephardi women.

Other 2019-2020 events include guitarists Stanley Jordan and Diego Figueiredo (Oct. 19), musician John Hiatt (Oct. 26), “An Unforgettable Nat King Cole Christmas starring Evan Tyrone Martin” (Dec. 6), “It’s A Wonderful Life: Live from WVL Radio Theatre” (Dec. 21), acclaimed banjo players Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn (Feb. 6), and “Tapestry: The Carole King Songbook with Suzanne O Davis” (Feb. 14).

Tickets for all performances at the ECC Arts Center are available online at tickets.elgin.edu or the ECC Arts Center box office. Box office hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. To purchase tickets by phone, call 847-622-0300. All major credit cards are accepted. The ECC Arts Center can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/eccartscenter and Twitter @ECCArtsCenter.

Media Contact: Elissa Kojzarek

Communications Specialist

Office: 847-214-7838

Email: news@elgin.edu

Elgin Community College (ECC) is a comprehensive public community college, one of 48 statewide. ECC serves approximately 15,000 students each year. Programs of study include 25 major fields for university transfer, more than 130 career-oriented, occupational degrees and certificates, corporate and continuing education, and a full complement of pre-collegiate courses. The three-year graduation rate exceeds the national average and the average of peer colleges. ECC awards more than 2,200 degrees and certificates each year.

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All members of the media should utilize the public relations department as the first point of contact. The communications specialist, may be reached at 847-214-7828, or news@elgin.edu. All Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests must be submitted in writing to Marilyn Prentice, compliance officer, at mprentice@elgin.edu or via fax at 847-214-7375. This release is the official newshead for Elgin Community College. Any information received on behalf of ECC not on this newshead should be disregarded.