New Philharmonic to end season with April concerts at McAninch Arts Center

New Philharmonic, the professional orchestra in residence at the McAninch Arts Center on the College of DuPage campus, caps its 2024-2025 season with concerts featuring works tied together with a common theme of destiny at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12 and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 13.

The program for each concert opens with “Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto” by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang. Award-winning violinist Yang Liu will perform the concerto encircled by lit candles. The second half of the program will feature Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F Minor. A free MAC Chat will precede each concert one hour prior to performance.

According to a news release from McAninch Arts Center, “Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto” is an orchestral adaptation based on a Chinese legend that tells the story of two lovers, who are separated by destiny but not able to be separated by death as they are transformed into two magnificent butterflies.

“Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto” premiered at the Shanghai Music and Dance Festival in May 1959 as part of the celebration of the 10th anniversary year of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The concerto was subsequently banned during the Cultural Revolution, as fellow composers and political figures associated the folktale with anti-Communist themes that exalted the bourgeoisie.

In 1978, the piece resurfaced at the Shanghai Spring festival, signaling a larger revival of the piece in China and beyond. Today, the concerto is widely referred to in China as “our symphony,” the release stated.

The performance will be led by Music Director and Conductor Kirk Muspratt.

The McAninch Arts Center is located at 425 Fawell Blvd., on the campus of College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn.

Tickets are $57 and $10 for youth, and can be purchased at AtTheMAC.org or by calling 630-942-4000. The McAninch Box Office is open Tuesday – Saturday, noon – 6 p.m. and two hours prior to each performance.