September 14, 2017
Tomorrow night, ticketholders for the Canadian Brass performance hosted by the Wheaton College Artist Series will also have an opportunity to encourage the artists of the future, thanks to a partnership between the College, students from local high schools, and the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation.
Under the direction of Wheaton College Professor of Music Education Dr. Timothy Yontz, a brass ensemble featuring 35 students from 11 high schools--Addison Trail, Carl Sandburg, Glenbard East and South, New Trier, Niles North, Timothy Christian, West Aurora, West Central (Indiana), Wheaton Academy, Wheaton Warrenville South, and local homeschools--will join members of the Wheaton College Symphonic Band and the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra to perform several ragtime classics at the beginning of the concert. During intermission, the group will present Paul Dukas’ “Fanfare: La Peri.”
Tony Payne, General Manager of the Artist Series, says the initiative is the latest in the Artist Series’ long history of collaborating with area organizations to inspire emerging audiences
“Arts education is at the core of this initiative,” he says. “The Wheaton College Artist Series has always been doing this, and now it’s even more important. The need to inculcate emerging generations with the love of the arts is essential to a civil society.”
The collaboration with local young musicians was made possible by a grant from the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation. In addition to assembling the brass ensemble, the Artist Series worked with interns from the schools to coordinate logistics for the partnership.
Payne hopes that the benefits of the partnership with area brass players lasts beyond the evening’s performance.
“Our hope is that we can attract new groups to live musical experiences—not to receive a lecture in music, but to enter a conversation with the guest artists,” he says.
The evening begins with an Opening Night Festival in Edman Plaza from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. and the Canadian Brass performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. For more information about Friday’s concert, or to purchase tickets, visit wheaton.edu/artistseries.