Join the North Suburban Symphony for a Mother's Day Celebration Concert

The North Suburban Symphony, Lake Forest's community orchestra with sponsorship by the Lake Bluff Park District, will present a Mother's Day Celebration Concert at 4 p.m. Sunday (May 13) at , 400 E. Illinois Road. 

The concert will provide an outstanding way to treat your mom on her special day. Provided will be a pleasing afternoon of music performed by the North Suburban Symphony, followed immediately in the portico area (south entrance) of Gorton Center with a complimentary Champagne and Rose Reception to honor all mothers. 

The theme of the North Suburban Symphony's Mother's Day Celebration Concert is Beloved Beethoven led by Music Director and Conductor Ron Arden. Beloved as Beethoven's music was during his lifetime, so it remains today. 

Born in 1770, many in the musical world have concluded that Ludwig van Beethoven was the greatest composer ever to live. Even though Beethoven's hearing began to deteriorate in 2000, he continued to compose music, 849 separate items in all, until his death in 1827.   

Many people are familiar with a few of Beethoven's works. The "Moonlight" Sonata comes to mind and "Symphony No. 9," known as the choral symphony because of the famous "Ode to Joy" performed by four vocal soloists and chorus in its last movement. Beethoven was completely deaf by the time he composed "Symphony No. 9" in 1824.

To open the program, the "Overture" to Beethoven's ballet score, "The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43," will be featured. Commissioned in 1800 and first performed in 1801, the ballet was initially a great success. Although the ballet is seldom staged, the overture has remained a staple of the symphonic repertoire.   

The driving rhythm, energy and excitement of the "Overture" to "The Creatures of Prometheus" is sure to capture your attention, as the crowd-pleaser that it is, as you settle in to enjoy the rest of the concert.

The second featured Beethoven composition will be his "Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op.68," also known as the "Pastoral Symphony." Although the "Pastoral Symphony" was completed in 1808, only eight years after Beethoven completed the "Overture" to "The Creatures of Prometheus," listeners will notice a definite change in the sound and composition of the music. 

Beethoven's "Pastoral" symphony is recognized as one of the main compositions that bridges the Classical and Romantic era in music history. As is prevalent in the Romantic era, the "Pastoral" symphony is geared largely around nature. 

This is fitting, for Beethoven's loved nature and enjoyed waking in the countryside. The five movements offer musical portrayal of scenes depicting an arrival in the country, at a brook, a gathering of country folk, a thunderstorm and a Shepherds song. 

If you have never head Beethoven's "Pastoral" symphony, Gorton Center is your place to be on Sunday, May 13th. Through Beethoven's instrumental scoring, you will hear a story unfold through musical notes making the addition of words unnecessary. Very evident is the sound of a cuckoo in the woods portrayed by our principle clarinetist, Scott Schappe, Associate Professor, Department of Physics at Lake Forest College.

Rounding out the program will be the winner of the James Glacking Young Musicians Competition held on Friday, February 3rd of this year. Scott Greene, a sophomore at Highland Park High School, will perform the "Allegro" movement of Carl Maria von Weber's "Clarinet Concerto in E flat." 

While Beethoven's music bridged the Classical/Romantic eras of music, Carl Maria von Weber, born 16 years after Beethoven in 1786, is considered one of the most significant composers of the Romantic school. Unfortunately, Weber died young at age 39 from tuberculous in 1826. 

Not only will Scott Greene dazzle you with his superb clarinet playing, but the movement finishes with a virtuosic clarinet part that extends to the very limits of the clarinet range. 

Tickets prices are $18 for adults, $10 for seniors and students, and children under 12 are free with an adult ticket purchase. 

Tickets can be purchased at the door on the day of the concert.

For more information, visit the website: www.northsuburbansymphony.org.