Chicago Philharmonic 2021-2022

THE CHICAGO PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY | 2021-2022 SEASON 5 2021-2022 SEASON Chicago Philharmonic From Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Scott Speck Dear Friends, Welcome back! After a long year and a half, the Chicago Philharmonic is thrilled to finally return to the stage in front of a full audience. Thanks to your support, and thanks to the Herculean efforts of our musicians, Board, and staff, we’ve weathered the huge challenge of the past year. Now it’s our goal to come back even stronger than before. For me personally, it’s such a joy to be reunited with my musical colleagues. I especially feel for those musicians who couldn’t perform for the better part of a year. As you can imagine, it was especially hard to be a woodwind or brass player during the past season! That’s why every moment of the year will be suffused with extra gratitude for being together again. Just as importantly, we all truly realized last season how important our audience is to us. As you’ve heard me say before, at least fifty percent of the energy in a performance comes from you. When we play, we feel your energy, and we feed off of it. I can’t say enough what a difference this makes to all of us. What a joy it will be to have you all in the hall with us again! We’re filling the season with some of the music we’ve missed playing—including masterpieces by Brahms, Dvorak, Mozart, Respighi, William Grant Still, Aaron Copland, and a whole concert devoted to Aretha Franklin! But we’re also going to exciting new places—offering four world premieres, including works by our three new Donna Milanovich Composers in Residence, plus a major American premiere by Jennifer Higdon. All in all, this will be a season to remember—played by an orchestra that is thrilled to have you back! Thank you for being here for us. Sincerely, Scott Speck