Two-time Grammt winner, ESO String Quartet highlight Norris Cultural Arts Center events

Concerts by two-time Grammy Award winner Howard Levy and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra’s ESO String Quartet highlight the October schedule of three event series produced by the Norris Cultural Arts Center.

The 12th season of Music in the Gallery concerts gets started on Oct. 6 in the Norris Gallery. The ESO String Quartet performs “Autumn” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the Faure string quartet Op. 121, Faure “Sicilienne” from Pelleas and Melisande Op. 80, and Mozart quartet in B flat Major (K.V. 458) (the “Hunt”) along with other favorites from the standard string quartet repertoire. The concert commemorates the 100th anniversary of Gabriel Faure’s passing in 1924. Quartet members are violinists Carol Dylan and Caroline Slack, violist Loretta Gillespie and cellist Sara Sitzer.

The October lineup continues at the Baker Community Center in downtown St. Charles, when the fifth season of Saturday Night Lights concerts begins on Oct. 19 with a concert by pianist, diatonic harmonic artist, and composer Howard Levy. He will perform with frequent and long-time collaborator, the jazz/blues/rock guitarist Chris Siebold.

According to a news release from Norris Cultural Arts Center, Levy, who has won Grammy Awards for Pop Music Performance and Instrumental Composition, is an acknowledged master of the diatonic harmonica, a superb pianist, innovative composer, educator and producer. At the age of 19, he discovered how to play the diatonic harmonica as a fully chromatic instrument by developing techniques on it that had never existed before. This enabled Levy to take the harmonica out of its usual role as a folk and blues instrument, and into the worlds of jazz, classical, Middle Eastern music and more. His discovery unlocked infinite possibilities for the harmonica world. He and Siebold have performed and recorded with many of the world’s leading musicians and ensembles.

The Norris’ October schedule concludes with a “Wednesdays @ One” presentation in the Baker Community Center on Oct. 30 with “The Dam at St. Charles: A 200-Year History.” Admission is free, but attendees are asked to register online.

Amid intensifying debate over the future of St. Charles’ Fox River dam, the St. Charles History Museum shares a program about the dam’s fascinating past, dating back to the early days of St. Charles’ history. Eric Krupa, collections and exhibitions manager for the St. Charles History Museum, will discuss all aspects of the dam’s history, with special attention on key milestones and mishaps. The presentation includes rare historical photos of the dam and downtown St. Charles.

For tickets, reservations and more information, visit https://norrisculturalarts.com.