This Weekend at the MAC: New Philharmonic: Tchaikovsky & Beethoven

New Philharmonic, the professional orchestra in residence at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) opens its 2023-2024 Season with “Tchaikovsky and Beethoven” with performances at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24. The program will open with Beethoven’s high-spirited, rhythmic Symphony No. 7, Op. 92, recognized as one of Beethoven’s best works. 17-year-old violinist Esme Arias-Kim, winner of the 2023 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition joins New Philharmonic in the second half of the program for Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, his only violin concerto. A free MAC Chat will precede the concerts beginning one hour prior to each performance.

Observes Maestro Muspratt, “I’m so thrilled to have Esme join us again on the Belushi Performance Hall stage. She is a brilliant musician whose star continues to rise at lightning speed. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is a favorite among soloists and audiences, and she’s been rehearsing the work in advance of this concert at a summer camp under the tutelage of Itzhak Perlman, so I know our audience is in for a spectacular performance they’ll never forget.”

Arias-Kim was last seen by MAC audiences in New Philharmonic’s “Korngold’s Hollywood Concerto” performances this past January. Originally from Hoffman Estates, she will be a high school senior this fall at the Colburn Music Academy in Los Angeles studying violin with Robert Lipsett. She formerly attended the Music Institute of Chicago Academy as a Merit Scholarship Fellow and studied with Almita Vamos. She is also a fellow of the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative, as well as the daughter of a former New Philharmonic musician.

Tickets are $55. A limited number of $10 tickets are available for students with valid ID. The McAninch Arts Center is located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage. For tickets or more information visit AtTheMAC.org or call the MAC Box Office at 630.942.4000. MAC Box Office hours are 12 noon-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and two hours prior to performance.