Opening Weekend: Beethoven 9
Saturday, September 12 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, September 13 at 2:30 pm
Hemmens Cultural Center, Elgin, IL
Sorry, tickets to this experience are no longer available.
“O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!” With these immortal words from the fourth movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, the human voice thundered its way into the symphonic form, broke the shackles of convention and transformed western music forever. Hear the 9th Symphony and it’s famous Ode to Joy as Maestro Andrew Grams and the ESO return to the stage for the start of the 71st season!
Concert Program
Andrew Grams, conductor
Elgin Master Chorale, Andrew Lewis, conductor
Northern Illinois University Concert Choir, Eric A. Johnson, conductor
Felicia Moore, soprano
Kayleigh Decker, alto
James Ley, tenor
Wayne Tigges, bass
Inside the Music with Andrew Grams
Beethoven Symphony No. 9
Single Tickets on Sale Summer 2020
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Prices: Gold $66 / Red $51 / Green $36
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NOTEworthy Concert Facts
Coming Soon!
Andrew Grams
Felicia Moore
American soprano Felicia Moore is recognized as a powerful and innovative emerging artist having made music in partnership with Alan Gilbert, Anne Manson, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Speranza Scappucci, Gary Thor Wedow, and Brian Zeger among others.
In the current season, Felicia Moore joins the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for First Lady in The Magic Flute led by Lothar Koenigs and sings the role of Susan B. Anthony in The Mother of Us All at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a part of Project 19, the New York Philharmonic’s multi-season initiative marking the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which guarantees women the right to vote in the United States. Other highlights of the season include the Verdi Requiem with Music Director Alexander Shelley conducting the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Music Director Rafael Payare and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos at Arizona Opera, and Lady Macbeth in a newly constructed version of Verdi’s Macbeth with Heartbeat Opera.
Felicia Moore sang Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni last season for Palm Beach Opera, Heartbeat Opera, and with Chamber Music Northwest and she made her debut with Donato Cabrera and the Las Vegas Philharmonic in performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Highlights of the recent past also include Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at Opera Columbus and the title role of Janáček’s Katya Kabanova conducted by Anne Manson in a new production by Stephen Wadsworth at Juilliard.
Kayleigh Decker
Praised for her “dulcet-toned mezzo-soprano” by the Wall Street Journal, Kayleigh is currently an ensemble member of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
She made her Lyric Opera debut as Second Cretan Woman Idomeneo, followed by Dorothée in Laurent Pelly’s critically acclaimed Cendrillon under Sir Andrew Davis in 2018. Still to come this season she sings Kate Pinkerton Madama Butterfly. Notable cover roles in Chicago include Le Prince Charmant Cendrillon, Rosina The Barber of Seville, Laura Luisa Miller and Donna Elvira Don Giovanni conducted by James Gaffigan.
An alumna of University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory, Kayleigh’s roles at CCM Opera include Fox The Cunning Little Vixen, Le Prince Charmant Cendrillon, Idamante Idomeneo and the title role of Ariodante. Other opera highlights include the title role in La Cenerentola for Queen City Opera, Peggy in Jack Perla’s Shalimar the Clown for Cincinnati Opera, and Fox in Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince for Cincinnati Chamber Opera.
Future plans include her Glyndebourne Festival debut covering Ruggiero Alcina, Annio La Clemenza di Tito for Opera de Rouen also touring to Paris, and a return to the Lyric Opera as a Guest artist.
A passionate song interpreter, she was named one of Caramoor’s 2018 Schwab Vocal Rising Stars and was a participant in the inaugural season of Renée Fleming’s SongStudio at Carnegie Hall. She has given recitals produced by the Cincinnati Song Initiative, and this season performs a solo recital at Carnegie Hall and the Chicago Cultural Center.
In 2019, Kayleigh was the recipient of three prestigious scholarships: the Luminarts Fellowship, first place in the Musicians Club of Women Scholarship Competition, and a Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. Further accolades include first place in the Three Arts Scholarship Fund Competition and The Macdowell Society Scholarship Award in Cincinnati, second place in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions-Great Lakes Region, first place in the CCM Corbett Competition, and the Encouragement award in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions-Cincinnati District in 2016.
Kayleigh was a young artist at the Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the Utah Festival Opera. Other training programs include the Houston Grand Opera Young Artists Vocal Academy, and Oberlin in Italy. She also participated in the first of Joyce DiDonato’s Masterclass Series at Carnegie Hall, streamed live on Medici.tv.
Wayne Tigges
Lauded by the Chicago Sun-Times for his “rich, dark tone and beautiful legato,” Wayne Tigges returns to San Francisco Opera as Mr. Flint in Billy Budd in the 2019/20 season. He also returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Owen Hart in Dead Man Walking, to Michigan Opera Theatre for Howie Albert in Champion, and to Des Moines Metro Opera for Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd. Last season, he joined Michigan Opera Theatre for Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, returned to L.A. Opera for Barone Douphol in La traviata, Atlanta Opera for Owen Hart in Dead Man Walking, Palm Beach Opera for Frank in Die Fledermaus, and Opera Santa Barbara for John Proctor in The Crucible.
Mr. Tigges recently returned to the title role of Der fliegende Holländer with Atlanta Opera, sang Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana and Tonio in I Pagliacci with New Orleans Opera, the title role in Gianni Schicchi and Tonio in I Pagliacci with Utah Opera, Ping in Turandot with Tulsa Opera, and creating the role of Sgt. Aaron Marcum in the world premiere of Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s An American Soldier in a return to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Other recent performances include his first performances of Méphistophélès in Faust at the Macau Music Festival, Owen Hart in Dead Man Walking and Howie Albert in Blanchard’s Champion with Washington National Opera, all four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann with L.A. Opera and Hawaii Opera Theater, the title role Falstaff in a return to Des Moines Metro Opera, Assur in Semiramide with Washington National Opera, Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd with San Francisco Opera, the title role of Der fliegende Holländer with Virginia Opera, Austin Opera and Florentine Opera, Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress with the Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Roy Cohn in Angels in America with New York City Opera, Mr. McGuire in Tobias Picker’s Emmeline with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Gustavo in Handel’s Faramondo with Brisbane Baroque, and Il conte Gil in Il segreto di Susanna with Opera San Antonio Opera. He also joined Opera Philadelphia for Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviiglia as well as Justice Sir Alfred Wills and Colonel Henry B. Isaacson in Morrison’s Oscar. He created the role of Joe St. George in the world premiere of Picker’s Dolores Claiborne with San Francisco Opera; sang Escamillo in Carmen at the Glyndebourne Festival and with San Diego Opera; Kolenaty in The Makropolous Case with the Opéra National de Paris; and Ariodate in Xerxes, Sam and Wesley in the world premiere of Theofanidis’ Heart of a Soldier, Ariodate in Xerxes, and Zuniga in Carmen with San Francisco Opera. He sang Achilla in Giulio Cesare in his Metropolitan Opera debut and returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago the following season for further performances of the role as well as Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Mr. Tigges enjoys a strong relationship with the Lyric Opera of Chicago where he sang the title role in Le nozze di Figaro to great critical acclaim while still a member of the prestigious Ryan Opera Center (formerly Lyric Opera Center for American Artists). Also with the company, he sang Snook in Bolcom’s A Wedding, Capulet in Roméo et Juliette, Angelotti in Tosca, Sam in Un ballo in maschera, and Bonze in Madama Butterfly.
His other recent engagements include the Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Hercules in Gluck’s Alceste, Douglas in La donna del lago, and Nourabad in Les pêcheur de perles with Santa Fe Opera; Donner in Das Rheingold and both Zuniga and Escamillo in Carmen with Los Angeles Opera; the title role of Don Giovanni with Opera Pacific and Austin Lyric Opera; Blitch in Susannah with Florentine Opera, Willy Wonka in the European premiere of Peter Ash’s The Golden Ticket at the Wexford Festival, Jochanaan in Salome with Arizona Opera; Scarpia in Tosca with Austin Opera; Faraone in Mose in Egitto with New York City Opera, further performances of Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia as well as Ferrando in Il trovatore with Opera Colorado; Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with Seiji Ozawa’s Ongaku-juku Festival and the North Carolina Symphony and Austin Opera; Leporello in Don Giovanni with Pittsburgh Opera and Tulsa Opera; Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Palm Beach Opera; Bonze in Madama Butterfly with Los Angeles Opera and at the Ravinia Festival under the baton of James Conlon, the Tutor in Le comte Ory as well as Owen Hart in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with Des Moines Metro Opera; Count Walther in Luisa Miller with Chautauqua Opera; First Nazarene in Salome with the Philadelphia Orchestra; Sacerdote in Nabucco at the Gran Teatro del Liceu, and Zuniga in Carmen with
San Diego Opera. He has joined Minnesota Opera as Claudius in Hamlet, Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse as Superintendent Budd in Albert Herring, Cincinnati Opera for Angelotti in Tosca, Sam in Un ballo in maschera, and Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte. With Opera Omaha, he has sung Mother in Seven Deadly Sins, Gideon March in Little Women, and Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors. He has also sung the Father in Hänsel und Gretel with the Fort Dodge Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to his performances on the opera stage, Mr. Tigges maintains a busy concert schedule. He recently joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3, Orchestra of Saint Luke’s for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in his Carnegie Hall debut, and Teatro Regio di Parma for Haydn’s Creation. He made his Avery Fisher Hall debut with the Collegiate Chorale as Erasto in the American premiere of Handel’s Giove in Argo. He sang Stravinsky’s Les Noces with the Cleveland Orchestra; Britten’s Serenade under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis; Zemlinsky’s Psalm 83 at the Cincinnati May Festival; Verdi’s Requiem with the Washington Chorus, Tulsa Oratorio Chorus, Arizona Music Festival, Cathedral Choral Society in Washington D.C., and as a guest artist at Bard College; and the title role in Elijah with both Soli Deo Gloria with John Nelson conducting and the Apollo Chorus and Orchestra. Other performances include Bach’s St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion with the Knox Chamber Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah with the Beyer Music Chamber Orchestra, Poulenc’s Stabat Mater with the Musica Antiqua Chamber Orchestra, and concerts of operatic arias at Oregon’s Britt Music Festival.
Originally from Dubuque, Iowa, Wayne Tigges received a graduate degree and Artist Diploma from the University of Cincinnati-College
Conservatory of Music and his Bachelor of Music from Iowa State University.
