The Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and Trinity Christian College are pleased to announce that the College will serve as the primary venue for the orchestra's 2017-18 main series season. IPO approved the proposal from the College at its December 7, 2016, board meeting. The concerts will be held at the College's Palos Heights campus in the beautiful, 1,165 seat Ozinga Chapel Auditorium. The chapel features comfortable theater-style seating and is home to both a concert grand piano and a 46-rank pipe organ. The venue also features ample free parking.
Currently, the IPO's 6-concert main series season is split among four area venues: the Lincoln-Way West, Central and East High Schools' Center for Performing Arts, along with Governors State University's theater.
"For the past 18 months, our board of directors has spent countless hours researching venue options in the Chicago Southland," said board President Timothy Coburn. "Our goal was to find a single venue that would meet all of our organization's needs--from the musicians to the patrons to our financial stability. Trinity Christian College early on demonstrated a desire to work with us and has extended a warm welcome to their campus."
The IPO has previously performed at Trinity's Ozinga Chapel four times over the past five years, including this past April's Soaring Sounds concert. That concert was preceded by an afternoon of educational sessions centered around music and faith in everyday life, with several sessions led by Trinity professors. Over 50 patrons took advantage of the pre-concert offerings, with more than 500 attending the evening concert of Schubert's Mass in A-flat major.
"We are very excited to welcome IPO, its musicians, and its patrons as regular members of the Trinity community," said Trinity's President Kurt D. Dykstra, J.D. "We look forward to a wonderful relationship and a fantastic artistic experience for the Chicagoland region."
The IPO is currently in a music director search season and will hire the new director in Spring 2017. However, the upcoming 40th anniversary season program planning is underway, and the season dates and repertoire will be announced, with Ozinga Chapel as the Saturday concert series venue, in March.
The next 2016-17 Saturday evening concert is Saturday, January 21, 2017, at 7:30PM at Lincoln-Way East Performing Arts Center in Frankfort. Conductor candidate Maestro Stilian Kirov leads the orchestra in the Slavic Soul program with guest artist Sean Chen, the 2013 American Pianists Award Winner. Chen joins the orchestra for Rachmaninoff's Piano Concert No. 3. Tickets are available from $25 in advance at ipomusic.org or by calling 708.481.7774.
