Arts & Entertainment
Oakton Six Piano Ensemble to perform April 28-29 concerts
Oakton Six Piano Ensemble will celebrate Leonard Bernstein at 100, a global celebration of the life and career of the American composer.
The internationally-acclaimed Oakton Six Piano Ensemble, conducted by Skokie resident Glenna Sprague, will celebrate Leonard Bernstein at 100, a two-year global celebration of the life and career of the American composer and conductor, with performances at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 28, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 29, at Oakton Community College’s Footlik Theater, 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines.
“Leonard Bernstein is one of the greatest conductors and pianists of all time,” Sprague says. “His compositions of all styles, including symphonies and chamber music, are timeless and legendary. As a tribute, we’ll be playing selections from his operetta, ‘Candide.’”
The ensemble will play selections by other composers including Beethoven, Brahms, Scott Joplin and John Philip Sousa.
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“The audience can also expect to hear the crowd pleaser, ‘Stars and Stripes Forever,’ and there will be additional musical surprises throughout the two performances,” Sprague adds.
Unique in the world of music, the Oakton Six Piano Ensemble has performed throughout the U.S. and the world, including the 2016 International Society for Music Education (ISME) World Conference in the Royal Conservatoire of Glasgow, Scotland.
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Founded and conducted by Sprague, Oakton professor and coordinator of music, the Oakton Six Piano Ensemble has delighted sold-out audiences for more than 20 years. Members include Sam Hozian of Chicago, Beatriz Levi of Skokie, Des Plaines resident Greg Luberda, Tanya Melamed of Chicago, Evanston resident Jason Nelson and Chicago’s Marianne Pyster.
The group’s rich, layered sound is comparable to an orchestra, with each pianist playing a different part of a composition following a conductor. Critics from Honolulu to Vienna, Austria, have hailed the ensemble as “extraordinary,” “innovative” and “technically superb.”
Tickets are $17 for general admission, $14 for seniors and students and $12 for groups. Tickets include a post-concert reception. Call 847-635-1900 to purchase tickets or order online at www.oakton.edu/tickets.
