Serenade of Strings
- Date April 5th, 2025 Time 7:30pm Venue Second Presbyterian Church - Bloomington
Waltz into spring with Tchaikovsky's lush and powerful Serenade for Strings and William Grant Still's vibrant folk rhythms of Danzas de Panama. Yasushi Akutagawa's fiery Triptyque for Strings will captivate audiences of all ages.
Taichi Fukumura, Music Director
Akutagawa Triptyque for String Orchestra – Still Danzes de Panama – Tchaikovsky Serenade for String Orchestra
Springfield
Friday, April 4, 2025 @ 7:30 PM
First Presbyterian Church
Coda Conversations will immediately follow
Bloomington-Normal
Saturday, April 5, 2025 @ 7:30 PM
Second Presbyterian Church
Coda Conversations will immediately follow
Feel the rhythm of our sensational strings at Serenade of Strings concerts! Order your tickets today!
General Admission: $30
Students (Age 24 & Under): $10
Ticket prices do not include online ticketing fees.
Support Provided By:
Debra & Daniel Brownstone, M.D., The Landmark Automotive Group, Kathryn Ransom
Bloomington-Normal Venue Second Presbyterian Church - Bloomington
404 N Prairie St, Bloomington, IL 61701
Your Illinois Symphony Orchestra performs Chamber Orchestra concerts at the Second Presbyterian Church. Tickets for Chamber Orchestra concerts may be purchased through the ISU Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Office or at Second Presbyterian Church prior to the performance.
Physical Address:
404 N Prairie St | Bloomington, IL 61701
Ticket Office Information
ISU CPA Ticket Office Information
Tickets for all Illinois Symphony Orchestra season concerts are sold through the ISU CPA Ticket Office. Tickets may be purchased by in-person, by phone, or online.
- In-Person: ISU CPA Ticket office is located in the lobby of the Center for the Performing Arts located on the ISU Campus
- Phone: (309) 438-2535
- Online: finearts.illinoisstate.edu/tickets/
Second Presbyterian Church
Tickets may be purchased at Second Presbyterian Church one hour prior to the performance.
Parking
Free parking is available off of North Prairie Street and East Jefferson Street.
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.
