EU Performs at Historic CSO Orchestra Hall, World Premieres Staff Composition
The EU Orchestra performs at Orchestra Hall, Symphony Center Chicago, on April 18. (Courtesy Taka Matsunaga)
As part of a multi-year-long goal set by Elmhurst University’s Department of Music — and their chair, James Hile — choir, string orchestra, and wind ensemble performed a concert in Orchestra Hall at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Symphony Center on Michigan Avenue in Chicago on Saturday, April 18.
According to a statement from Director of Music Education Deborah Peot, “The performances were a culmination of long hours in the practice room and intense rehearsals.”
Peot noted the effort from students and staff resulted in “inspirational performances” from musicians.
Damir Fačko, EU freshman and principal trombone in the wind ensemble, said it “felt extra special to be performing on the same stage that the greatest musicians in history have graced.”
Adam Kehl, director of bands, noted that with just one week between a performance at a high school band invitational at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights and the afternoon at Symphony Center, repertoire was nearly identical, save for the opener.
“Fuse,” the Hersey opener, is a contemporary piece originally arranged for chamber ensemble in 2014 with fast-paced and stylistically modern exposed technical passages. It was replaced with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Toccata Marziale,” widely recognized as standard wind band repertoire for over 100 years and featuring a more stately and march-esque form.
“The high school kids at Hersey would eat up ‘Fuse,’ and the sort of stature of the hall, maybe, dictated a nod to the history of the wind band from a musical perspective,” said Kehl.
The ensemble still maintained a modern portion to its repertoire, however. “Mothership” is a piece originally composed for the YouTube Orchestra and premiered in 2011. It features a series of soloists “docking” with their mothership in brief and continually more improvised solos.
According to Kehl, “Mothership” “allowed us to showcase four of our great applied faculty members.”
Both the Hersey and Symphony Center performances had their repertoire programmed as an opportunity to show a wide variety of genres and techniques, as their time in the space is limited. The wind ensemble also performed foundational American and Chinese works.
EU’s University Singers opened the concert. Sarah Jaewon Catt, director of choral activities, highlighted their performance as featuring “a diverse range of choral literature, including works by American, Korean, and Namibian composers, spanning genres such as American folk songs, gospel, musical theatre, and music from around the world.”
Catt also celebrated the world premiere of Joshua Rodriguez’s “Our Sacred Honor,” composed for string orchestra.
Rodriguez is an associate professor of music theory and composition at EU. The piece, noted in the event program as “a meditation on the strength and fragility of freedom, democracy, and human relationships,” was written specifically for EU and Director of Orchestras Taka Matsunaga.
In a detailed statement to The Leader, Matsunaga noted, “The work is filled with both beauty and intensity, and it became a defining highlight of the entire event. Preparing a world premiere added an extra layer of excitement and responsibility for the students, as they were the first to bring this music to life.”
“The atmosphere on stage was electric,” continued Matsunaga. “The students were deeply engaged — listening carefully to one another, watching my baton, breathing together, and truly making music as a unified ensemble. It was incredibly rewarding to see them rise to the occasion with such confidence, enthusiasm, and artistry.”
