2015 Summer with the Symphony Concerts

Friday, June 5, 2015

Join the Whiting Park Festival Orchestra this summer for a spectacular lineup of themed concerts beginning July 18, 2015.  The series has been coordinated by General Manager, Martin Dybel and directed by Music Director, Robert Vodnoy

2015 Summer Series Concerts

July 18 — A Tribute to John Williams: The Whiting Park Festival Orchestra. John Williams is the ‘Billion Dollar” movie composer. Composer, conductor, and pianist, Williams’ career has spanned over six decades. He has won five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, 22 Grammy Awards, and, with 49 Academy Award nominations, is the second most-honored person in the history of the Academy, second only to Walt Disney. The concert features music from Star Wars, Jurassic Park, War Horse, Jaws, and The Cowboys.

August 8 — Back to Back: Music of Elton John and Billy Joel: This spectacular concert features concert features some of the very best of these two incredible singer/songwriter/performers. Thrill to Ballad of Billy the Kid, An Innocent Man, Big Shot, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, Piano and Only the Good Die Young on the first half of the concert, and come back to Funeral for a Friend, Love Lies Bleeding, Some Saved My Life, Circle of Life, and Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me on the second half. The eight-piece Jeans ‘n Classics Band joins the Whiting Park Festival Orchestra for truly a night to remember!

August 22 — The Violin Goes to the Movies with Rachel Barton Pine: The Washington Post said it all: Rachel Barton Pine is “An exciting, boundary-defying performer – Pine displays a power and confidence that puts her in the top echelon.” The program features some of the most beautiful and exhilarating music from the movies which features the violin, including famous violin solos from Scent of a Woman, There Will Be Blood, Master and Commander, Unfaithfully Yours, and The Red Violin.

September 6 — Of Thee I Sing!: Our Annual Labor Day Weekend Finale, featuring patriotic tunes, American musical masterpieces, and a glorious fireworks display over Lake Michigan. Guest artist, soprano Diane Penning has performed with orchestras around the country with performances with the Arkansas, Battle Creek, and Colorado Springs Symphonies, as well as the Grant Park Music Festival, Kalamazoo, South Bend symphonies. Her program, Off the Charts, features such hits as When I Fall in Love, My Heart Will Go On, Burt Bacharach Medley (Close to You, I Say a Little Prayer, Alfie, What the World Needs Now), 60’s Girl Medley, Time to Say Goodbye, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, At Last, You Raise Me Up, It Had to Be You, and much more. The program concludes with the 1812 Overture and Sousa’s Stars and Stripes, Forever.