Roger Cooper presents a spectacular evening of French fairy tales, favorites and fun. The Illinois Chamber Orchestra celebrates the 150th birthday of Debussy by performing his exuberant Petite Suite and beautiful Danses Sacrée et Profane, along with Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, Fauré’s elegant Pavane and Ibert’s Divertissement.
Join host Roger Cooper for the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra with Michael Luxner, conductor, and Millikin choirs and choruses. On the program are Porpora's Magnificat; Randall Reyman's Elegy for Strings; Russell Peck's Signs of Life II for Strings; and Mozart's “Coronation” Mass.
Roger will be back with Prairie Performances next week. This week, enjoy our Good Friday Special with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Featured are Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano; Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano; Anthony Rolfe Johnson, tenor; Tom Krause, bass; the Chicago Symphony Chorus; and Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus.
Host Roger Cooper brings you the Champaign-Urbana Symphony's "Musical Travels" Concert. David Commanday conducts. On the program are Gershwin's Cuban Overture; Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major with pianist Adam Neiman; Rossini's "Overture" to The Barber of Seville; and Respighi's Pines of Rome.
From creation to demotion, Sinfonia explores the music of the spheres. The evening begins with Milhaud’s vision of Earth, inspired by African folk mythology and American jazz. Holst’s iconic The Planets tells a tale of heavenly bodies from Jolly Jupiter to Mars, bringer of war. We know the International Astronomical Union has demoted Pluto, but in tonight’s solar system, Pluto still shines among his kin in Matthews' Pluto the Renewer.
We'll have "Songs of Love," featuring the Eastern Illinois Symphony, the EIU Choral Ensembles and Collegium Musicum (Early Music Ensembles).
Roger's profile showcases Price's extraordinary voice and includes interviews with her former husband William Warfield and soprano Martina Arroyo. It describes Price’s childhood in Mississippi, her Metropolitan Opera debut that ended with an unprecedented 42-minute Grand Ovation, her rapid ascent in the opera world, and her farewell bow in Aida in 1985.
Often referred to as the dean of AfroAmerican composers, William Grant Still brought a fresh perspective to the concert hall. His music combines folk, jazz, blues and a whole lot of creativity into a bustling musical sound portrait of America.
Roger offers a biography of Marian Anderson, along with recorded selections of her music, and comments from contemporaries and younger vocalists whom she inspired.
Roger Cooper looks at the acclaimed bass-baritone’s life and work, examining the events that led to Warfield’s success in the world of classical music--as a concert artist, stage and screen actor, narrator and teacher.
