Clef Notes

“What have teachers got to do with music?” Leonard Bernstein asks in a New York Philharmonic Young Person’s Concert in 1963. “The answer is: everything,” he continues. “It is almost impossible to imagine a professional musician who doesn’t owe something to one teacher or another. The trouble is that we don’t always realize how important teachers are, in music or in anything else.” To right this wrong, we’ve highlighted four pieces dedicated to music teachers in anticipation of the upcoming school year. 

Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company presents Ragtime: The Musical July 30 through August 2 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign. Based on E.L. Doctorow’s novel of the same name, the multiple Tony Award-winning musical was written by composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens, with a book by renowned playwright Terrence McNally. To learn more about the show, we spoke with pianist, conductor, and singer Simon Tiffin, who is music directing CUTC’s production.

On Saturday, August 22, Sinfonia da Camera returns to headline The ILLIAC. Now in its third year, The ILLIAC is a free outdoor event, featuring live musical performances, food trucks, and more in Hessel Park and across other venues in Downtown Champaign. Read on the learn more about this year's event and Sinfonia's program.

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 season is shaping up to be an exciting one. Read on for a full list of concerts. If you're only able to attend one concert this season, Clef Notes Editor Katie Buzard shares her top pick for each ensemble.

As we mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this year, countless musical organizations are programming concerts dedicated to American music. Many of those musical celebrations of the country’s semiquincentennial will feature music by composer Aaron Copland, especially his most famous work, “Fanfare for the Common Man.” As is often the case with well-known pieces, it’s easy to forget the context in which it was written. Read on for the story behind this iconic piece, which has come to define the “American sound.”

The Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra has just announced the appointment of Matthew Sheppard as the ensemble’s next music director. Sheppard is well known across Illinois as a conductor and educator. In addition to his new post with the MDSO, Sheppard serves as Artistic Director of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Danville Symphony Orchestra. He has also guest conducted orchestras in North and South America. We spoke with Sheppard to learn more about his plans for the MDSO and how it balances it all.

This summer, Illinois Classical is presenting a series of specials in place of The 21st Show’s slot on Friday evenings. Tune into 90.9FM Fridays at 6pm for specials that run the musical gamut courtesy of PRX, the Public Radio Exchange. 

The Joffrey Ballet concludes its 2025–26 season with the highly anticipated Chicago premiere of Yuri Possokhov’s Eugene Onegin, running June 4–14 at the Lyric Opera House of Chicago. Produced in collaboration with the San Francisco Ballet, Eugene Onegin features an original score by composer Ilya Demutsky. Central Illinoisians may know Demutsky’s work from his time as a George A. Miller Visiting Artist at the University of Illinois’ Center for Advanced Study. Read on for our interview with Demutsky to learn more about his score for Eugene Onegin, his approach to composing for ballet, and his time at the University of Illinois.

On May 1, beloved former WILL employee and local organist Nancy Stagg passed away. She served in various capacities at WILL-FM between 1973 and 1994, including as a broadcast assistant, announcer, producer, program coordinator, music librarian, and music director.

Now in its fourth year, the Five Cities Baroque Festival returns June 16–21, bringing artists from around the region and beyond to perform in venues across central Illinois. This season features Handel’s epic oratorio Israel in Egypt, as well as a recital by renowned harpsichordist Charlotte Mattax Moersch and the festival’s first-ever collaboration with the Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana. We spoke with the festival’s founding director and principal conductor, Nate Widelitz, to learn more about this year’s festival.