Chicago Classical Music

The Chicago Philharmonic has been presenting concerts at Pick Staiger Hall on the Northwestern campus for the past 17 years. It takes a lot of effort to keep presenting quality concerts year after year. Sometimes I wonder if it’s all worth it. Ticket sales don’t begin to cover the cost of our concerts so we are constantly looking for additional income or for ways to trim costs.

The long hours of volunteering as board president and the onerous duty of asking others to contribute both time and money can take a toll. I begin to wonder sometimes about how much we all have to contribute to make such beautiful music. Usually my cloud lifts quickly, especially when we have a great concert like our most recent one.

But several weeks before our November concert, I was feeling a little weighed down… and then the doorbell rang. Two neighbor boys were selling Christmas wreaths. They live a little more than a block away, and we didn’t know them. Jean greeted them at the door. I was upstairs practicing. The older of the two brothers became distracted from his sales pitch. “What instrument is that?” he questioned. Jean told him I play the bassoon and play at Lyric Opera and with the Chicago Philharmonic. With great animation he explained that he studied the cello with one of our Philharmonic cellists.Jean (who plays flute in the orchestra) invited Brian, James, and their family to the November 12th concert.

Two weeks ago they returned with our wreath and, to our delight, told us how much they enjoyed the concert. They plan to come to our concert in March and bring their older sister who plays the piano, to hear Angela Cheng.But the thing I treasure most is the thank you letter Brian sent me. He said, “We all enjoyed the concert very, very much (his emphasis). The Sibelius Concerto was very lively, and sometimes we don’t get that in classical music [in our school orchestra].” After telling me what they were playing in his orchestra, he went on, “It must be fun to be a professional musician. It’s very enjoyable to hear your orchestra play…. It’s nice having you as neighbors.” He signed it, “Your New Friend, Brian.”

It took an 11 year-old to remind me why so many work so hard for the Chicago Philharmonic. A youngster had made me remember how important music can be for all ages, but especially our youth. Earlier this fall, Augustin Hadelich, our young violin soloist in the Prokofiev Concerto last fall, won the Indianapolis Violin Competition. This is a world-class competition – his career will skyrocket. Can anyone doubt that Krista Stewart, the sixteen year-old who appeared with us in our last concert, will be far behind?

The impact of everyone’s efforts, whether contributor or volunteer, is felt in so many important ways, and in many ways we may never fully understand. The thanks come when you look into the eyes of some very important people like Brian, James, Augustin, and Krista. So much is at stake.

James T. Berkenstock

President/Principal Bassoon

Chicago Philharmonic

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