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Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Northbrook Symphony leans toward classical, with some contemporary, as it celebrates 45 years
Music will fill the Sunset Ridge Country Club in Northfield on June 19 when the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra celebrates the conclusion of its 45th season with its annual gala, 'American Songbook.' Robbie Ellis, the on-air announcer for radio station WFMT, will emcee and serve as the orchestra's preconcert speaker, according to Highland Park resident Steven Greene, who is in his third year as president of the orchestra's board of directors. 'He's both a pianist and a singer,' Greene said. 'For our benefit, he's taking a bunch of Tom Lehrer songs and rewording them to the current day and adding a bit about Northbrook Symphony.' Lehrer is an American songwriter known for penning lyrics that were frequently satirical. A string quintet from the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra will also perform. In addition, several students will speak about their experience of getting musical instruments from the orchestra's Instrument Drive, in which the orchestra collects musical instruments for underserved music students in Waukegan Public Schools, working with Bravo Waukegan. There will also be a silent auction and raffle. The Northbrook Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1980 by former Chicago Symphony concertmaster Samuel Magad. The current music director, Mina Zikri, who was a violinist with the orchestra starting in 2002, began leading the orchestra in the 2019-20 season. 'We have five or six concerts a year,' Zikri said. Sometimes, the family concert is part of the season; other times it's the sixth concert. This year's family concert, on Aug. 24, will be 'Mozart's Magnificent Voyage.' All of the concerts are performed at Sheely Center for the Performing Arts, 2300 Shermer Road in Northbrook. 'Because we play less concerts, we tend to do the classical favorites,' Zikri said. 'I tend to stay away from experimental compositions and contemporary, even though we do offer them because we owe it to our audiences to inform them and perform for them what's happening in the world. I try to do this in reasonable doses.' Board President Greene noted that, for the last two seasons, the orchestra's final program has been focused on a particular event, composer or culture. 'At the end of our 22-23 season, we presented a program called 'The Violins of Hope,'' Greene said. That refers to a collection of stringed instruments played by Jewish musicians before and during World War II. Prior to the concerts, there was a presentation of those instruments in the lobby. 'We had tremendous attendance from people very interested in this unique collection of instruments,' Greene said. 'And, for the concert, some of our musicians played on those instruments. It was a very moving experience for a lot of our concertgoers.' At the end of the 2023-24 season, Greene reported, the Orchestra performed 'Fiesta Mexicana,' a celebration of the music culture of Mexico. The Northbrook Symphony played classical Mexican music, folk band Sones de Mexico Ensemble played Mexican folk music, and there was also a mariachi band and a dancer. Clarinetist Ilya Shterenberg and 55 musicians were scheduled for a June 8 concert of Tchaikovsky's 'Symphony No. 4.' Between 45 and 65 musicians perform at each concert. 'It depends on the repertoire,' Zikri explained. 'The string section composes two-thirds of the orchestra. The other third is split between woodwinds, brass and percussions.' Although the Northbrook Symphony began as a community orchestra, Zikri noted, it is now 100% professional. 'I have personally focused on young professionals,' he added. Principal Cellist Daniel Klingler joined the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra 12 years ago at the request of a previous musical director, Lawrence Rapchak. 'One of the reasons I had a lot of interest in joining the orchestra was they played a little off-the-beaten track repertoire,' Klingler explained. 'Having been a professional freelancer and having played in orchestras for many years, a lot of the repertoire was repeated. I was interested in playing with an orchestra that was playing music that wasn't being played that often.' Although the repertoire has changed to more traditional selections under Conductor Zikri, Klingler enjoys the fact that 'a lot of the members of the orchestra are friends so it has a really comfortable feeling of making music with your friends. And I feel like the Northbrook community has a lot of pride in their orchestra, as I feel they should.' There are currently eight members on the orchestra's board of directors, with two more scheduled to be added shortly. The bylaws of the organization allow a dozen board members. Greene said, 'In years past, when we had a general manager, we just provided broad oversight.' Since the general manager left six or seven years ago and wasn't replaced, 'the board has gotten more involved in operational control of the symphony,' Greene said. That has become 'unwieldy' for the board, Greene said, so they are currently planning to hire a general manager or an executive director. Currently, the board spends a lot of time planning events like the upcoming June 19 gala, since fundraising is one of its vital responsibilities. The board hires an outside person to work on grant-writing with them. 'Grants are an essential part of all fundraising,' Greene said. 'Right now, about 25% of our annual revenue is from ticket sales; the rest is from grants and individual donors.' Tickets to the 6 p.m. June 19 gala at Sunset Ridge Country Club, 2100 Sunset Ridge Rd. in Northfield, are $150. Find details at or 847-272-0755. Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Chicago Tribune
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Letters: Illinois can help support local farmers with the Good Food Purchasing Law
As a Black urban farmer in Chicago, I see firsthand how our food system is stacked against small, local farmers who are Black, Indigenous and people of color. Despite my farm growing fresh, nutrient-rich food in North Lawndale, state agencies often can't buy from farms like mine. Large distributors control government contracts, shutting out community-based growers who provide healthier, more sustainable food and keep dollars circulating locally. But change is possible. In Chicago, the Good Food Purchasing Initiative has helped small and BIPOC farmers like me sell to local institutions. Through this program, I've worked with the Garfield Park Community Council Farmers Market, Clair House Seniors and the Bronzeville Farmers Market. Most importantly, the majority of the food I grow reaches families in our neighborhood thanks to trusted partnerships with the Young Men's Educational Network, Stone Temple Missionary Baptist Church, Firehouse Community Arts Center chefs and the Chicago Street Vendors Association. Because I have seen the impact of this program firsthand in Chicago, I strongly believe it should be expanded statewide. Now, with federal funding cuts hitting Illinois farmers hard, the need for state action is urgent. Programs such as Illinois EATS, which provided critical income to small farmers while feeding people in need, have been eliminated. Farmers across the state are left scrambling, and without action, many will struggle to stay afloat. House Bill 3701 and Senate Bill 2187, the Good Food Purchasing Law, would give Illinois lawmakers a clear opportunity to act. This legislation would make it easier for state agencies and state facilities to buy from local farmers, keeping taxpayer dollars in Illinois instead of that money flowing to corporate distributors with no ties to our communities. For farmers in North Lawndale and across Illinois, this legislation represents economic opportunity, food justice and environmental sustainability. Institutions should have the ability to procure food from farmers like me who are deeply invested in our land and our communities. With federal support proving unreliable, Illinois must take action to build a stronger, more resilient local food system. I urge lawmakers to pass HB3701 and SB2187 to ensure Illinois food dollars support Illinois farmers. — Dr. Shemuel Israel, lead farmer, Garden to Table Pipeline and North Lawndale Greening Committee, Chicago Union effort at WFMT Hannah Edgar's article on WFMT employees' intent to unionize ('WFMT employees announce intent to unionize,' March 21) was illuminating and helped explain the dysfunctional decline at parent company WWCI over recent years as it loses program hosts and reporters without providing any explanation. The lack of transparency is disconcerting, especially from a nonprofit public media group that is constantly having fundraising drives and imploring its audience to give money. The WTTW-Ch. 11 news program 'Chicago Tonight' always demands more honesty and transparency from city and state government, so why shouldn't viewers expect the same from this media group? We WFMT supporters have a right to know if our donations are benefiting the experienced hosts and production staff who make the station great, or are being used to inflate a bloated management that won't even allow its underpaid and overworked staff to form a union. Its treatment of longtime host Dennis Moore, whose firing was detailed in the Tribune article, was deplorable and hypocritical, especially in turbulent times of funding cuts in which the arts community should be pulling together. Instead, WWCI created its own turbulence with a CEO whose leadership style and intentions seem similar to that of Elon Musk and his wrecking ball approach to cost-cutting. The arrogant anti-union stance did not start with the current CEO; even the legendary Studs Terkel was slapped down by WFMT management for his earlier support of an effort to unionize in 1990. I read his book 'Working' when I was a teenager in the Teamsters Union driving a forklift on a factory night shift during summers between college semesters and first started listening to WFMT after noticing its program guide showed Studs had a daily morning program. I tuned in for Studs' program, then heard my first Richard Wagner Ring cycle on the station and have been listening ever since. Apparently, management supports Studs' programs about unions in the abstract, as it continues to replay archived interviews. But it doesn't support its own employees wanting to unionize today for the same historical reasons — better pay and working conditions — that Studs described so well in his books and interviews. In these troubled times, where oligarchs fire thousands of people without cause, it is imperative that the union finally succeeds and WWCI actually practices the 'community' values it preaches on air and in its mission statement. Make Studs great again. — Franz Burnier, Wheaton Transportation reporting Thank you so much for featuring the excellent and informative reporting of Sarah Freishtat on Chicagoland public transportation. As an ancient who has not been able to drive for more than a decade, even the bad stuff is helpful to know. — Jesse Auerbach, Chicago Adventures on the CTA I have been taking CTA buses to a 12-week physical therapy session at Northwestern Medicine, allowing about an hour for the trip. I'm in the South Loop and take either a No. 146 from State Street and Balbo Drive to Huron Street, or a No. 29 to the library stop and catch a No. 147 to Huron. The No. 146 to my second physical therapy session broke down at the Tribune Tower stop, and I ended up walking and was quite late. For my fourth session, I took the No. 29 to the library and caught the No. 147 to Huron. The bus had traveled two blocks when the driver got a phone call to take the bus out of service. I got off and waited for another bus. When that bus came, two blocks later, it picked up a person with the ramp extended. The driver had a difficult time retracting the ramp and after several tries got it on the bus, but the bus would not start. The driver tried many times, and it still did not start. The driver then left the driver's seat and jumped up and down on the ramp to lock it in. That worked, and the bus started. Finally, we proceeded to the turn to Michigan Avenue only to find an ambulance unloading a stretcher at the turn, so we lost more time. I was very late to my appointment. I can't wait to see what other adventures await me during my remaining trips to physical therapy. I've decided I need at least two hours for my future trips on the CTA. — Jacqueline Will, Chicago Stop releasing balloons I was distressed to see the Tribune story about a balloon release on the front page ('Balloon release for slain teen,' March 25). I'm very sorry for the loss of the child, but releasing balloons is not going to help, and it will likely cause the death of animals in the ocean. I beg people not to do balloon releases.
