71 and Fabulous

By Jen Banowetz
Appears in the October 2024 issue.

The DuPage Symphony Orchestra tunes up for it new season

Seven decades are bound to bring plenty of change to any group. Now launching into its 71st season, the DuPage Symphony Orchestra has come a long way since its inception in 1953.

“The orchestra itself has more than doubled in size since its founding and has grown into a highly accomplished ensemble made up of 100 talented, dedicated, and enthusiastic musicians,” says maestra Barbara Schubert, music director and conductor since 1986. “The players and I enjoy embracing the great masterworks of the literature, as well as exploring more unfamiliar pieces and brand-new compositions.”

Case in point: This season’s first concert (aptly titled “Bold Beginnings”) on Oct. 13 features a world premiere—by local high school composer Angel Alday.

“In recent years we have been deepening our connections with area high schools and youth orchestras, as well as with the Illinois Music Educators Association,” Schubert says. “Among its many important programs, the ILMEA runs an annual contest for high school composers.”

The DSO will be performing Alday’s composition, The True Awakening to Greatness, which took first place in the large instrumental ensemble category this year. “Angel’s piece is actually the third in a series of pieces he wrote,” Schubert says. “The first two are scored for much smaller forces.”

That includes the 13-minute work for saxophone quartet titled Desperate Awakening and a six-minute woodwind quintet titled A New Awakening.

“Obviously, the theme is deeply personal—and Angel’s compositions are heartfelt expressions of his thoughts,” she says. “In the program notes he writes: ‘Throughout The Awakening Series, there have always been two moods, Delighted and singing; Miserable & depressed.’ This award-winning piece is extremely well-crafted and reveals a remarkably mature and genuine ‘voice’ for so young a composer.”

For this first concert of the new season, Alday’s work is paired with 19th-century Russian composer Alexander Borodin’s dramatic Symphony No. 2 in B minor. Of course, this is just the, well, beginning. The orchestra has five more concerts in its “Bold and Beautiful” season lineup—which takes plenty of planning on Schubert’s part. “Putting together a concert season is a gradual process—I’m always looking for something a little different, whether that is a piece of music I just discovered or a work that I’ve always wanted to perform but never had the opportunity,” she says. “I also think a lot about what composers or types of music we haven’t performed in a number of years, and what pieces or styles seem particularly appropriate to our times.”

Guests artists are also a consideration.

“I try to engage soloists that stand out from the norm—through their artistry, of course, but also because of their particular instrument and/or the repertoire they might offer,” she explains. “Last year we had a bassoon soloist, for example, as well as a flute player and a trumpet player; this season we are featuring a viola soloist, Rose Armbrust Griffin, who is a Wheaton resident.”

Collaboration is another key.

“I try to put together meaningful partnerships with other DuPage County arts organizations—this year we are thrilled to offer our first-ever collaboration with the Young Naperville Singers at our March 16 concert,” she says. “When I put all of those factors into the mix for 2024–25, I came up with a season of music that was particularly melodious—and beautiful—but also bold in its concept, character, and gestation. I think the season title aptly describes the music we will present.”

The hard-working community orchestra makes it look easy. “Each concert we present is the culmination of thousands of man-hours of preparation, between rehearsals and individual practice time, and the musicians put their hearts and souls into every performance,” Schubert says. “We always want to provide our listeners with an entertaining and inspiring concert experience, as well as do justice to the composer’s artistic vision. That requires an enormous amount of concentration, of course, but it’s exhilarating as well.”

The ultimate goal is to move the audience—to entertain, comfort, intrigue, and inspire, Schubert says. “I hope that they leave Wentz Hall with a recognition of the incredible power of orchestral music to touch the emotions and move the human spirit,” she adds. “I also hope they share in the pure joy of vividly experiencing great art, which is one of the main motivating factors for the musicians onstage.”

“Bold Beginnings” takes stage 3 p.m. Oct. 13 at Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave. in Naperville. For tickets, subscriptions, and info on the DSO’s schedule and community outreach, visit dupagesymphony.org.

Photos: DuPage Symphony Orchestra; Angel Alday