The 2024-25 Jack M. Champaigne Masterworks Series ends on a high note as the South Bend Symphony Orchestra takes audiences on a musical journey with Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. On Saturday, May 24, at 7:30 p.m. at the Morris Performing Arts Center, the stage comes alive under the baton of Music Director Alastair Willis and award-winning pianist and composer Jeffrey Biegel.
The evening opens with Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, an enduring symbol of national pride with its powerful brass and percussion. Two Indiana premieres follow this! Adolphus Hailstork’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Peter Boyer’s Rhapsody in Red, White & Blue. Hailstork’s bold and expressive concerto contrasts his earlier works, offering a striking reflection of contemporary life. Boyer’s Rhapsody, inspired by Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, captures the optimism of American music while incorporating jazz-inflected elements. Pianist Jeffrey Biegel, who originally conceived this project, will bring his remarkable artistry to the stage as the featured soloist.
The Symphony will conclude the evening with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, the composer’s final orchestral masterpiece. This work blends Russian nostalgia with American influences, featuring lyrical melodies, energetic rhythms, and a powerful finale that transforms the traditional Dies Irae theme into a triumphant exclamation of life’s journey.
The South Bend Symphony Orchestra thanks Jack M. Champaigne for supporting the Masterworks Series and Jordan Lexus of Mishawaka for being a distinguished Artistic Sponsor of the 2024-25 Season, reflecting their commitment to fostering artistic excellence and enriching the community through exceptional musical experiences.
SUBSCRIPTIONS / TICKETS start at $24 and range to $74.
Online: www.morriscenter.org
Phone: Morris Performing Arts Center Box Office (574) 235-9190
(10 am – 4 pm, Tuesday & Wednesday, 10 – 5:30 p.m., Thursday & Friday)
In-person: Visit the Morris Box Office (211 N. Michigan St., South Bend) during the times listed above or two hours before any performance.
To view the 2024-25 Season schedule, visit www.southbendsymphony.org
Dates, programs, and venues are subject to change.
For questions or media appearances, please contact:
Sarah Perschbacher
sperschbacher@southbendsymphony.org | (574) 230-4875
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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 29,000 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 Jeffrey Biegel
Jeffrey Biegel is award winning pianist and composer known for his successful career, which has been marked 44 by concerts with major orchestras and over 25 commissioned works. Overcoming childhood hearing issues, he developed a unique connection to music. During the 2020 pandemic, he composed pieces like “Waltzes of Hope” and “Three Reflections: JFK, RBG, and MLK.” In 2021, he premiered “Reflection of Justice: An Ode to Ruth Bader Ginsburg” with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s “Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg” with mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves. In 2022, Biegel premiered works by Jim Stephenson and others. In 2023, he launched the 50-state Rhapsody National Initiative, collaborating with the Utah Symphony and Peter Boyer. Biegel’s accolades include a Grammy for Kenneth Fuchs’s “Piano Concerto: ‘Spiritualist’” with the London Symphony Orchestra. He has commissioned works by renowned composers and is a faculty member at Brooklyn College’s Conservatory of Music.