Dear Friends of Sinfonia da Camera,

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Our 39th season begins with a celebration of great music indeed, on September 17th, Rossini and Beethoven, giants of opera and symphony respectively, are represented by the former’s greatest opera overture and the latter’s great third Piano Concerto. The program ends with the greatest of the great, Schubert’s “Great” C major symphony, never performed during his short life. October 22nd brings us a more modest array of Classical splendor, in Smith Memorial Hall, of masterpieces of the 18th century, by Haydn and Mozart, as well as a charming tribute to them by the Frenchman, Jacques Ibert. November 12th has two orchestral spectaculars, by Dvorak and Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as the centenary recognition of the greatest African-American composer of the 20th Century, George Walker, 1922-2018, whose symphonic works I had the honor to record. 

Dvorak appears again on January 28th, with the sublime Cello Concerto, with Ko Iwasaki, known to many here as a previous resident of central Illinois and a great cellist as its soloist. March 24 is pure fun from the British Isles. Curtain raisers from Walton and Bridge lead us to a new Piano Concerto by Richard Prior written for me and conducted by the composer. Then “Trial by Jury,” the beloved one-acter by Gilbert and Sullivan, in a semi-staged production directed by Dawn Harris in conjunction with Lyric Theatre of Illinois.

Our season culminates with Andres Cárdenes, former concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony, as guest soloist in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and guest concertmaster in Mahler’s magnificent 4th Symphony.

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Please join me and the orchestra for the celebration of great music in person!

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Sincerely,

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Ian Hobson

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