South Bend Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Alastair Willis announce the second concert of the June H. Edwards Mosaic Series, Alastair Presents: Neighboring Bach, on Sunday, January 14, 2024, at 2:30 p.m. at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. This installment of Alastair Presents takes us back to 1723 Köthen, Germany, where the great Johann Sebastian Bach lived.
“Bach is widely considered by countless musicians to be the greatest composer of all time. Discover why by traveling back with us to 1723 to experience what it was like to live next door to Bach and his family – as I did – and hear some of his most famous pieces played brilliantly by our South Bend Symphony in a dramatic and historical context,” explained Music Director Alastair Willis.
South Bend Symphony’s own musicians will shine as soloists, including Concertmaster Jameson Cooper, Associate Concertmaster Mark Portolese, Violin II Associate Principal Rachel Brown, Viola Principal Nicholas Jeffery, and Flute Principal Leslie Short.
The South Bend Symphony Orchestra thanks Jack M. Champaigne for supporting the June H. Edwards Mosaic Series in memory of his friend, June, and Jordan Lexus of Mishawaka as a distinguished Artistic Sponsor of the 2023-24 Season.
How To Buy Tickets:
ONLINE – https://performingarts.nd.edu/event
PHONE – DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Box Office 574-631-2800
(Noon – 6 pm, Monday – Friday)
IN-PERSON – Visit the DeBartolo Box Office (100 Performing Arts Center Notre Dame, IN 46556) during the times listed above or one hour before any performance.
Tickets are $12 for students and $35 for adults.
To VIEW the 2023-24 Season schedule, visit www.southbendsymphony.org
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About the South Bend Symphony Orchestra
The South Bend Symphony inspires the community with the transformative power of orchestral music in all its forms by producing 20 mainstage programs, serving more than 23,000 attendees annually. As the region’s only professional orchestra, the Symphony is committed to diverse sound and a robust arts community in Michiana that entertains and connects people to music.
In addition to being recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and other state and local arts funding organizations, the South Bend Symphony Orchestra is the recipient of the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County’s Leighton Award for Nonprofit Excellence, which recognizes the best-run nonprofit organization in St. Joseph County, Indiana.
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About Music Director Alastair Willis
Grammy-nominated conductor Alastair Willis is the Music Director of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of The Symphonia Boca Raton. In past seasons, Willis has guest conducted orchestras around the world including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Mexico City Philharmonic, Orquestra Sinfonica de Rio de Janeiro, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchestra Berlin, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, China National Orchestra (Beijing), and Silk Road Ensemble (with Yo-Yo Ma) among others. His recording of Ravel’s “L’Enfant et les Sortileges” with Nashville Symphony and Opera for Naxos was Grammy nominated for Best Classical Album in 2009.
Last season Willis was re-engaged by the Chicago Symphony, Qatar Philharmonic, and Salute to Vienna, and made his Vienna debut with the Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra. This season he returns to the Qatar Philharmonic and Salute to Vienna and makes his debut with Vienna’s Imperial Philharmonic.
Previous positions include Music Director of the Illinois Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor with the Florida Orchestra’s Coffee Concert series, Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony, Assistant Conductor with the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestras, and Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Born in Acton, Massachusetts, Willis lived with his family in Moscow for five years before settling in Surrey, England. He received his bachelor’s degree with honors from England’s Bristol University, an education degree from Kingston University, and a Master of Music from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Willis currently resides in South Bend, Indiana, with his wife and daughter.