Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra to perform work by Illinois composer

The Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra will present Inspired by Friends!

The Sunday, Nov. 5, concert features performers from within the orchestra and a new, commissioned work by a composer from Arlington, Illinois.

“I know I speak for the whole orchestra when I say that our rehearsals for this concert have had an extra measure of enjoyment,” said Conductor Dan Sommerville, adding the soloists are friends and outstanding performers.

The concert is set 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5 at La Salle-Peru High School’s Matthiessen Auditorium, 541 Chartres St., La Salle. Tickets for this concert are available online at ivso.org. Adult general admission tickets are $20, college students (with ID) are $5, and students kindergarten through 12th grade are free.

The program will feature works from across the centuries, from “Symphony No. 99 in E Flat” by Franz Joseph Haydn to the most recent, “An Overture to Harmony,” composed in 2023 by Illinois Valley native Elliot Butler.

Sommerville described Butler’s work as “thoroughly engaging for any audience” but “never predictable!” This is Butler’s second orchestral commission, but he said it was his “dream” to compose a piece for the IVSO.

“I grew up attending IVSO performances and grew to love the orchestra because of it,” Butler said. “I always wanted to write something for them that the next generation of musicians in the Illinois Valley can connect with.”

Butler is a graduate of Western Illinois University, where he earned his bachelor’s in music theory and composition, and Illinois State University, graduating in 2023 with his master’s in music theory.

The first set of featured soloists on the concert are principal flutist Sue Gillio and principal oboist Ben Crosby, playing Concertante for flute and oboe by Ignaz Moscheles. Sommerville said the piece is impressive and characterized by fresh, colorful harmonies.

Gillio hails from Oglesby and is a graduate of La Salle-Peru High School. Upon graduating with both her bachelor’s and master’s of arts degrees from Western Illinois University, she went on to perform across the world and founded local music studio Music Suite 408 in 2012. She is on faculty with Illinois Valley Community College and leads the Illinois Valley Flute Ensemble.

Crosby is an active performer and teacher in the northern and central Illinois areas. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Northern Illinois University. Ben has not only been a member of Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra since 2005, but also has performed with multiple other orchestras and wind ensembles. He teaches locally at Music Suite 408.

The other work featuring musicians from the orchestra is Heinrich Huebler’s Concertstück for four horns and orchestra, performed by horn players Phillip Lancaster, Christine Hansen, David Snyder and Micah Lancaster.

“[It’s] music that shows the lyrical beauty of the horn and its sheer power,” Sommerville said, describing the technique required as impressive.

IVSO principal horn Lancaster earned a Bachelor of Arts with majors in voice and French horn performance from Tennessee Temple University, Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has a Master of Music Performance in voice and French horn from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Besides performing in the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra, he is a member of the Prairie Wind Ensemble of East Peoria and the Heart of Illinois Wind Quintet. He is also an assistant pastor at El Vista Baptist Church in Peoria and an adjunct professor of horn at Bradley University in Peoria.

Hansen is an active performer and instructor in central Illinois. In addition to playing for the IVSO, she performs in orchestras and chamber groups across the state, including in the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, Heartland Festival Orchestra, Peoria Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Brass Band Brass Quintet. Hansen holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Horn Performance from Illinois State University. She serves as the lead academic advisor and assistant to the director for the Illinois State University School of Music.

Snyder is professor of Music Education at Illinois State University, where he teaches the instrumental methods courses and heads the graduate music education program. Snyder has been a member of the IVSO since 2018 and also has been a member of the Peoria Symphony horn section since 1995.

Lancaster is originally from Peoria and now lives in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. He began playing horn at 8 years old, and by 15 he was performing alongside his father Phillip Lancaster with the IVSO. Micah Lancaster was enlisted with the 132nd Army Band from 2012 to 2022, and during this time he was recognized nationally as the Army Music Soldier of the Year (2014), and featured as a soloist with the concert band on their Wisconsin tour (2016). He performs regularly across Wisconsin in various ensembles.

This concert is made possible in part by season sponsor Miller Group Charitable Trust and the family of Phyllis Jacobson, long-time friend and member of the IVSO, who are sponsoring this concert in her memory.

Matthiessen Auditorium is accessible to all. If you have any questions about accessibility, contact accessibility@ivso.org.