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2026-27 Orchestral Season Round-Up

2026-27 Orchestral Season Round-Up

 Central Illinois is fortunate to be home to a number of stellar professional orchestras, from Danville to Springfield, Champaign-Urbana to Bloomington-Normal. Click for a full list of concerts. If you're only able to attend one concert this season, you'll find “Clef Notes” Editor Katie Buzard’s top pick for each ensemble, marked by a star.
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Clef Notes

2026-27 Orchestral Season Round-Up
Central Illinois is fortunate to be home to a number of stellar professional orchestras, from Danville to Springfield, Champaign-Urbana to Bloomington-Normal. The 2026–27…
Dialogue
three teenagers in graphic

‘We’re not speaking up loud enough’: Three teens share candid thoughts about youth gun violence in central Illinois
In the first half of this year, gun violence has taken the lives of four teens in Champaign. Several more have been injured. And many of the suspects are also teenagers. 
The 21st Show
Brian Mackey talks with Jennifer Roscoe about 34 years as a reporter and anchor at WCIA-TV, Channel 3 in the Champaign-Decatur-Springfield market.

Jennifer Roscoe on 34 years in local TV news
Jennifer Roscoe spent 34 years at WCIA-TV — all of them at the same central Illinois station — before signing off last month. She joins The 21st Show to talk about her…
The 21st Show
still images from a video interview: at left is a white man with brown hair, a black button-down shirt, and a podcast microphone in front of his face; at left is a white woman with long blond hair, a black blouse, and a spray of red carnations in a vase in the background

What your accent reveals about you
From “da Bears” in Chicago to “Hahvahd Yahd” in Boston, our accents shape how the world hears us — and how it judges us. Linguist Valerie Fridland explores how and…
The 21st Show
the Declaration of Independence for the backdrop for three portraits: a middle-aged white man with brown hair and wearing a dark collared shirt; an older woman with red hair and a pink jacket, and a younger Latino woman with a floral pattern embroidered on her black blouse.

Previewing a new series: ‘America at 250’
To close out the show ahead of the Fourth of July, we're featuring the first three voices in a new Illinois Public Media series, "America at 250: The Questions Before Us.”…
Prairie Fire

Prairie Fire: Season 3 - Episode 7 - May 2026
For this month's Prairie Fire, students from the University of Illinois’ College of Media spent a semester producing five short documentaries highlighting food, skating,…
Mid-American Gardener

Spring Has Sprung - May 2026 Wrap-Up
Spring is in full swing but you don’t have to put everything in the ground just yet…The MidAmerican Gardener crew spent the month of May getting you ready for the planting…
State of Change

Small gestures to make a big difference in preserving our planet
We visit a zero-waste general store, a garden bringing a community together in a Chicago food desert, a program protecting pollinators, and advice to increase sustainability…