When you reach a milestone year, the celebration has to be bigger than ever.
As Wheaton’s Cantigny Park marks its 60th anniversary July 30, visitors can enjoy a full day of free activities and performances, capped off by a special concert by the Chicago Sinfonietta.
“We’re going to open the performance by sending a little musical birthday wish to Cantigny by performing ‘Happy Birthday,'” said Jim Hirsch, executive director of Chicago Sinfonietta.
The selections that follow will be a mix of familiar classical works, along with newer pieces and performances by two young Naperville soloists.
“It’s going to be a really fun and interesting mix of repertoire from the very well-known, like Copland and Tchaikovsky, to a few things that are slightly less well-known, like the Gliére and the Saibei Dance,” Hirsch said. “It should just be a beautiful night under the stars with gorgeous music played at the very highest levels.”
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. on the lawn outside the park’s First Division Museum. Visitors are encouraged to bring blankets or chairs. Admission and parking are free.
Chicago Sinfonietta performed at the park for the first time last summer, Hirsch said. The orchestra, he said, had “a wonderful time” and “fell in love with the place.” This year, the Sinfonietta was invited to be the headline performers ending the daylong 60th anniversary celebration.
“We’ve never had concerts before on McCormick Day,” said Jeff Reiter, spokesperson for Cantigny Park and Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Each year on July 30, Cantigny celebrates the birthday of Col. Robert R. McCormick, former editor and publisher of the baiduhai. McCormick lived on the Cantigny estate from 1919 until his death in 1955. In his will, he designated the 500-acre estate a public space for education and recreation.
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This year marks the seventh McCormick Day celebration at Cantigny, and a variety of family-friendly activities, games and presentations are scheduled – many reflecting various aspects of McCormick’s life and career.
“We hope that people might learn from this about him, what life was like then, and have a fun time in the process,” Reiter said.
The park opens at 10 a.m. with free admission and parking all day. In honor of the park’s 60th anniversary, the number of activities was increased and music was added. Along with the evening concert by Chicago Sinfonietta, Miss Jamie & Farmhands will perform at 2 p.m. and Barefoot Hawaiian at 5:30 p.m.
Hirsch said Chicago Sinfonietta will acknowledge Cantigny’s history of serving so many people over the years, as well as the men and women of the Armed Forces, with a performance of Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.”
“We really wanted to draw attention to the fact that Cantigny Park, which has been serving the western suburbs for 60 years, really is a place where everybody in the community, and in fact the entire Chicagoland area, is invited and can feel welcome,” Hirsch said. “And because of their association with the veterans, it also is a way for us to musically acknowledge the incredible bravery and sacrifice that so many millions of people have made to defend all of us.”
Other selections include “Saibei Dance” by Au-Lun Hung.
“This is a piece that our music director, Mei-Ann Chen, has actually kind of brought to American audiences almost single-handedly. It’s a very short, explosive piece of music that was inspired by harvest and the agricultural life of her home in China. It’s a piece with a wonderful melody and kind of a great big, huge, bombastic ending that the audience will love,” Hirsch said. “Sometimes Mei-Ann gets so excited during the conducting of it that we joke that she levitates at the end of piece. It’s a big energetic piece of classical music.”
Featured soloists during the concert are two young Naperville musicians. Violinist Rebecca Moy will perform “Carmen Fantasy” by Pablo de Sarasate, and Jack McCammon will perform “Horn Concerto, Movement No. 1” by Reinhold Gliére.
“Both of these young performers are incredibly talented, gifted young musicians,” Hirsch said. “So we’re really excited to be showcasing their work for their hometown audiences.”
The two were selected to perform after the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and Midwest Young Artist Program were each asked to recommend a soloist thought worthy of showcasing, Hirsch said.
After intermission, the orchestra will play “one of the greatest symphonies ever composed,” Hirsch said.
Symphony No. 4 by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky will be the only piece performed in the second half of the concert.
“It’s a great example of the lyricism of the Romantic era of classical music. It’s not only got these beautiful passages, but it’s also got these incredibly passionate and emotional crescendos that happen throughout the piece,” Hirsch said. “It starts with these big well-known orchestral themes, and then in the second movement it gets quiet and very beautiful and it sort of builds up to one of your classic orchestra finales.”
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
Chicago Sinfonietta celebrates 60 years of Cantigny
When: Celebration begins at 10 a.m.; Concert at 7:30 p.m. July 30
Where: Cantigny Park, 1S151 S. Winfield Road, Wheaton
Tickets: Free admission and parking
Information: 630-668-5161 or cantigny.org