The Good Life - Senior Travel and Entertainment

The Good Life!

Senior Travel and Entertainment

Legacy Girls Trio Announces

Summer Performance Dates

Legacy Girls invites you to come on out for some world-famous chicken and enjoy some great music from two very distinct and unique eras. Come along with them as they boogie woogie to the hits of the famous Andrews Sisters of the 30s and 40s, or be-bop to the songs you know and love from the 50s and 60s! Whichever show you attend, you’ll be sure to have a fun, nostalgic trip down memory lane.

In their production of “America’s Wartime Sweethearts”, Legacy Girls entertains with the famous three-part harmonies, costumes, and synchronized dance moves of the Andrews Sisters. The show brings a focus to these great United States of America and especially the World War II veterans and their families who made those great sacrifices so long ago. With hits like Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree, Rum and Coca-Cola, Chattanooga Choo Choo, and of course, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, audiences are reconnected with the times of the past through the songs that uplifted and unified a nation.

The group will be performing their “America’s Wartime Sweethearts” at the White Fence Farm in Romeoville on July 22, Sept. 23, and a special show in honor of Veteran’s Day on Nov. 12.

Legacy Girls also offers a fun-filled romp through the music of the 50s and 60s with their newest show, “Those Nifty Fifties and Sixties.” You’ll experience a fun flash from the past with the tunes from the famous doo-wop decades. Show dates for “Those Nifty Fifties and Sixties” at the White Fence Farm in Romeoville are Aug. 27 and Oct. 29. The October 29 date is extra fun because you get to come dressed in your favorite 50s or 60s attire! You know you’ve been waiting for the perfect excuse to put that cool stuff back on. Now’s your chance!

Legacy Girls also has several performances scheduled at the beautiful Starved Rock Lodge in Utica. Check out their website at www.starvedrocklodge.com for specific dates.

Come relive the musical legacies with Legacy Girls! Visit the website at www.legacygirls.com or call 630-851-7609 for ticket information. Special group rates are available.

College Art Gallery Opens Exhibits for New Season

Eight diverse art exhibitions, encompassing everything from concepts of a mythical paradise to air and space photography, are planned for the 2010-11 season at the College of Lake County Robert T. Wright Community Gallery of Art. The gallery will present the following exhibits in the coming year, and opening receptions with food and entertainment are planned on Fridays from 7 to 9 p.m. for each exhibit. All receptions and exhibits are free and open to the public.

The first exhibit, “From Here to Paradise” from July 9 through Aug. 13, consists of works by the Mythopian Artists Group, a group of seven highly respected Midwestern artists with an interest in narrative painting in a contemporary context. In this exhibition, they examine the concept of what a contemporary paradise might be and what it takes to get there. The artists are Kim Laurel, Karena Karras, Robert Kameczura, Steve Sherrell, James Mesplé, Diane Levesque and Christine O’Connor. The exhibit’s opening reception will by held at 7 p.m. July 9.

Aug. 20 to Sept. 26: Carrie Schneider: Photography & Video. Working in ambiguously narrative photography and video, Carrie Schneider mines the complexities of relationships, both romantic and familial; nature; and the self. Schneider, formerly of Chicago, now resides in New York City. Reception will be held Aug. 20.

Oct. 1 to Nov. 7: Recent Works: A Juried Competition. This 29th annual competition includes all fine art media and is open to all artists who reside or work in Lake County. Approximately $2,000 will be presented in cash prizes and purchase awards for the college’s art collection. Reception: Oct. 1.

Nov. 12 to Dec. 12: Tim Vermeulen: Inscrutable. Chicago artist Timothy Vermeulen is a contemporary oil painter who paints self portraits with psychological and social narrative themes. Reception will be held Nov. 12.

Jan. 14 to Feb. 20, 2011: Members Exhibition. A diverse group show of all fine art media by approximately 100 Lake County, Illinois artists. Funds from artist memberships support the endowment of the Robert T. Wright Gallery. Reception will be held Jan. 14.

Feb. 25 to April 10: Binh Pho: Wood Turner. Binh Pho, who escaped his native Vietnam after the Communist takeover and now resides in the Chicago area, creates figurative and abstract imagery on delicately pierced and painted wood vessels. His forms and subjects come from memories, Eastern culture, Zen mind and his own playful thoughts. Reception will be held Feb. 25.

April 15 to May 14: The College of Lake County Student Art Competition. A juried exhibit by current art students at CLC featuring painting, drawing, computer graphics, photography, ceramics, jewelry, digital media and sculpture. The Lake County Art League sponsors two $500 scholarships for art students. Reception will be held April 15.

May 20 to July 1: Roland Miller and Steven Mark: Air & Space. Miller, of Grayslake, exhibits photographs that examine the winding down of the U.S. Space Shuttle Program and the buildup of the next generation of manned rockets. He combines documentary and abstract approaches to the subject. Steven Mark, of Antioch, will feature photographs from his documentary series on Galt Airport in Greenwood, Ill. Reception will be held May 20.

The Robert T. Wright Community Gallery of Art on the Grayslake Campus, a project of the College of Lake County Foundation, is located at 19351 W. Washington St. For further information, contact curator Steve Jones at 847-543-2240, by email at sjones@clcillinois.edu, or on the web at www.gallery.clcillinois.edu/. Exhibit hours vary during college breaks, so call or check the website for current hours.

Orion Ensemble Announces

2010-11 Season Highlights

The Orion Ensemble, Chicago’s nationally recognized and critically acclaimed chamber music ensemble, announces its 18th season of concerts, featuring a collaboration with Ballet Chicago on a world premiere by Victoria Bond, as well as an all-French program and works celebrating milestone birthdays of Robert Schumann and Gustav Mahler.

Orion will perform each of the four programs at venues spanning the Chicagoland area: Ganz Memorial Hall at Roosevelt University, where Orion is Ensemble-in-Residence at the Chicago College of Performing Arts (Chicago); the Music Institute of Chicago’s Nichols Hall (Evanston); and Fox Valley Presbyterian Church (Geneva).

The season opens with a lively program featuring Robert Schumann’s Fantasy Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 73, in honor of the composer’s 200th birthday; Astor Piazzolla’s tango-influenced Four Seasons of Buenos Aires for Violin, Cello and Piano (1965); and Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Trio in C Minor for Violin, Viola and Cello, Op. 9, No. 3. Performances take place September 19 (Geneva), September 22 (Chicago) and October 3 (Evanston).

For its all-French program, Orion performs César Franck’s Sonata in A Major for Violin and/or Cello (with Orion violinist Florentina Ramniceanu and Orion cellist Judy Stone each playing two different movements) and Piano, M.8; Jean Françaix’s Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano (1990); and, bringing together the full Ensemble, Théodore Dubois’s Quintet in F Major for Piano, Clarinet, Violin, Viola and Cello (1905). Performances are November 17 (Chicago), 21 (Geneva) and 28 (Evanston).

As the centerpiece of the season, the entire Ensemble joins Ballet Chicago dancers to perform the world premiere of “Instruments of Revelation” by Victoria Bond, featuring choreography by Ballet Chicago Director Daniel Duell, commissioned by a gift from Mary Ann and John Gee. Also on the third concert program are Rezsö Kókai’s Four Hungarian Dances for Clarinet and Piano (1951) and Franz Schubert’s Trio in E-flat Major for Violin, Cello and Piano, Op. 100. Performances are February 27 (Evanston), March 6 (Geneva) and March 9 (Chicago).

Two special guests join the Ensemble for the final concert program of the season: CSO Second Violinist Baird Dodge, who plays the viola on this program, and violinist Stefan Hersh, a founding member of Callisto Ensemble and faculty member at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. The program includes Gustav Mahler’s Quartet in A Minor for Violin, Viola, Cello and Piano (1876), in celebration of the composer’s 150th birthday; William Bolcom’s Little Suite of Four Dances for E-flat Clarinet and Piano (1984); John Williams’ “Simple Gifts” for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano, which was performed during the 2009 Presidential Inauguration; and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Quintet in G Minor for 2 Violins, 2 Violas and Cello, K. 516. Performances are May 1 (Geneva), 8 (Evanston) and 18 (Chicago).

In addition to its annual four-concert series in three areas, the Orion Ensemble will appear on the broadcast series “Live from WFMT” November 22, 2010 and February 28, 2011 and in the Chicago Cultural Center’s Lunchbreak Series “Classical Mondays” on September 20 and November 15, 2010. Orion also tours, performing in chamber music series across the country. Its most recent CD is Twilight of the Romantics.

Founded in 1992, the Orion Ensemble boasts a roster of five superb musicians—Kathryne Pirtle (clarinet), Florentina Ramniceanu (violin), Diana Schmück (piano), Judy Stone (cello) and Jennifer Marlas (viola)—who have performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chicago’s Music of the Baroque orchestra, and at music festivals including Ravinia, Aspen, Mostly Mozart, Hollywood Bowl, Taos Chamber Music, Salzburg and Banff. The Chicago Tribune called Orion “one of Chicago’s most vibrant, versatile and distinctive ensembles,” and the Chicago Sun-Times said Orion is “what chamber music should be all about: Individual virtuosity melded into a group personality.” The Orion Ensemble received a Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming for its critically acclaimed millennium celebration, “An Inside Look at Contemporary Music.” The group is also currently the Ensemble-in-Residence at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. The Orion Ensemble is supported in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture; the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; and the Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development.

Each concert program during the 2010–11 season takes place in three areas. The Chicago Loop Series takes place at Roosevelt University’s Ganz Memorial Hall, 430 S. Michigan Avenue, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, September 22, November 17, March 9 and May 18. The Evanston Series, at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Nichols Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, is 7:30 p.m. Sundays, October 3 and February 27 and 3 p.m. Sundays, November 28 and May 8. The Geneva Series, at Fox Valley Presbyterian Church, 227 East Side Drive, is 7 p.m. Sundays, September 19, November 21, March 6 and May 1. Single tickets are $26, $23 for seniors and $10 for students; children 12 and younger are free. A four-ticket flexible subscription provides a 10 percent savings on full-priced tickets. For tickets or more information, call 630-628-9591 or visit orionensemble.org.