Saturday Night Fever
- Date April 26th, 2025 Time 5:00pm Venue President Abraham Lincoln Springfield - a Doubletree by Hilton Hotel
GET YOUR GROOVE ON WITH THE ISO!
The Illinois Symphony Guild of Springfield, the ISO Board of Directors and Music Director Taichi Fukumura invite you to attend SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER presented by Lutheran Senior Services and the Illinois Symphony Guild of Springfield.
Go back to the era of bell bottoms, wide lapels and dancing the night away.
Join us for a fantastic SATURDAY NIGHT as we celebrate with dinner, auctions and the fantastic talent of the ISO!
We will be honoring longtime ISO supporters Wilma Beatty and Dick & Phyllis Cheaney. Please join us in thanking them for their years of service to the ISO and the Springfield community.
Evening includes groovy tunes spun by: The musicians of the Illinois Symphony Youth Orchestras and the musicians of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra led by Music Director Taichi Fukumura
Saturday, April 26, 2025 @ 5:00 PM
President Abraham Lincoln Springfield - a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Springfield, IL
Gala Ticket: $125
Individual Sponsor: $175
Table Sponsor: $1,500
RSVP by Thursday, April 17, 2025. Reservations may be made online, by calling (217) 522-2838, or by mailing a check to the Illinois Symphony Orchestra at P.O. Box 5191, Springfield, IL 62705-5191.
Sponsorship inquiries may be made by contacting Director of Development Darrin Burnett at (217) 522-2838 Ext. 3 or dburnett@ilsymphony.org.
Menu:
- Salad: Ripe vine tomato, basil pesto, and mozzarella over arugula with a balsamic reduction and extra virgin olive oil
- Entree (Choose One):
- Beef: Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with Pinot Noir Sauce and Gremolata served with Boursin Whipped Potatoes, Asparagus, and Glazed Carrots
- Seafood: Farm Raised Atlantic Salmon with White Wine Goat Cheese Beurre Blanc servied with Boursin Whipped Potatoes, Asparagus, and Glazed Carrots
- Vegetarian/Gluten-Free: Grilled Portabella Mushroom stack with Tomato, Squash, Zucchini, Spinach, and Fresh Mozzarella
- Desserts: Red Velvet Cake or Flourless Chocolate Torte
Support Provided By:
Concordia Village Lutheran Senior Services, Illinois Symphony Guild of Springfield
Springfield Venue President Abraham Lincoln Springfield - a Doubletree by Hilton Hotel
701 E Adams St, Springfield, IL 62701
Featured:
Taichi Fukumura Music Director - Music Director
Taichi Fukumura is a rising Japanese-American conductor acclaimed for his dynamic stage presence and musical finesse. He is the Second Prize Winner of The Mahler Competition 2023 and a four-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award 2021-2024.
Fukumura was recently named Music Director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, following two guest conducting appearances as part of an extensive international search. He begins his role in the 2024-2025 season as the fifth music director in the orchestra’s history.
Other highlights include his guest conducting debut with the Bamberg Symphony, and his return to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra as guest conductor after leading the orchestra in over 110 concerts as Assistant Conductor appointed by Music Director Robert Spano. Fukumura is also Music Director Finalist of the Eugene Symphony, Delaware Symphony Orchestra and Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and will guest conduct each during the 2024-2025 season. Additionally, he returned to the Aspen Music Festival and School as guest assistant conductor for the opening week of summer 2024. Other guest assisting engagements include collaborations with Barbara Hannigan and the Musikkollegium Winterthur in Switzerland, as well as Dima Slobodeniouk and the Minnesota Orchestra.
Past engagements include guest conducting members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Stravinsky L’Histoire du Soldat. He was also invited by the Berlin Philharmonic as one of 10 assistant conductor candidates for Kirill Petrenko in 2021, and guest assisted the Houston Symphony and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Fukumura served as the Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Sinfonietta where he previously received mentorship from Music Director Mei-Ann Chen as a Freeman Conducting Fellow. Additionally, he worked closely with the Chicago Philharmonic as cover conductor.
Equally adept in opera conducting, Fukumura conducted full productions of Britten Turn of the Screw and Mozart Don Giovanni at the Northwestern University Opera Theatre and led rehearsals of Puccini La Boheme with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, the only youth orchestra in the country to present annual opera productions.
Born in Tokyo, Taichi Fukumura grew up in Boston and began music studies at age three on the violin. Professionally trained on the instrument, he received a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Boston University, studying with Peter Zazofsky. Fukumura received both his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University, studying with Victor Yampolsky. Additional conducting studies include Aspen Music Festival and Pierre Monteux School and Festival.
