Our 48th Season
Four Community Concerts
Sundays at 3 p.m.

“Congratulations and thank you to Larry Block and the incredibly talented members of the Highland Park Strings! May they continue to provide a cultural focal point for our city and beyond.” – Nancy Rotering Mayor of Highland Park

As we prepare to embark on our 48th Season, the mission of the Strings remains the same–to provide community concerts free of charge where families, friends, and north shore neighbors can gather for an afternoon of musical enjoyment at the highest level. We recall with pride the 450 different works we have performed including those by 135 composers whose lifetimes span more than 300 years. As we say on our website: "Continually reinventing itself Is what keeps the Highland Park Strings new and exciting each season." Consistent with that, this season, in recognition of the Semi-quincentennial of America, we will be performing music nearly exclusively by American composers...and what a treasure trove it is!

Our opening concert on October 18 will feature the young tenor CRISTIAN GIBBS. An alumnus of the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, Cristian is currently a sophomore pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre at Carnegie Mellon University. The Season begins, appropriately, with Morton Gould's "American Salute", followed by excerpts from George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" sung by Cristian. The Strings will then perform the celebrated Symphony Number 9, "From the New World" by Antonin Dvorak, written when he was in the United Sates in the post of director of the National Conservatory in New York.

Our concert on December 6 will present our dear friend, internationally renowned cellist AMIT PELED. Praised by the New York Times as one of the most exciting and virtuosic instrumentalists on the concert stage, Amit will return to the Strings tor the sixth time to perform the marvelous, but rarely performed, Concerto No. 2 by Victor Herbert. The Strings will add Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", George Walker's "Lyric for Strings" and the delightful "Concerto Grosso No. 1" by Ernest Bloch.

Our Gala Benefit Concert in the acoustically perfect Bennett Gordon Hall at Ravinia on February 7, features internationally acclaimed pianist DAN TEPFER. Born in Paris to American parents, and now based in New York, Dan is "a pianist of extraordinary technique and fearless harmonic sensibility" ( Jazz Times). He has performed world wide, recently to a sold out audience at Carnegie Hall. Dan will perform the beloved "Rhapsody in Blue" by Gershwin. Also on the program will be Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" narrated by Robert Harris, selections from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein and the "Serenade for Strings" by Victor Herbert.

The final concert on May 16 will present the brilliant young violinist MASHA LAKISOVA. Praised for her "sensitive musicianship and communication" (The Strad"), Masha is distinguishing herself as one of the unique voices of her generation. Masha received her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from New England Conservatory, under the guidance of Miriam Fried. She is an alumnus of the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. Masha will play the Concerto by Samuel Barber. Also on the program are "Three Places in New England" by Charles Ives and the Symphony No. 3 by Florence Price, the first black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major symphony orchestra

We look forward to your continued support. On behalf of the Strings, I am deeply grateful.

Lawrence Block
Founder and General Manager
With Pride in the Past, We Embrace the Future
Phone: 847.831.3622