All material found in the Press Releases section is provided by parties entirely independent of Musical America, which is not responsible for content.
Press Releases
Camerata Chicago Chamber Orchestra Announces 2026–2027 Season
October 16-18: Music of Mendelssohn, Mozart,
and Tony Payne (world premiere) in Chicago,
Wheaton, and Hinsdale
November 20–22: Handel’s ‘Messiah’ and ‘Zadok the Priest’
in Oak Park, Wheaton, and Hinsdale
March 5-7: ‘Baroque Violin Concerti
with Apollo’s Fire Soloists’ in Oak Park,
Wheaton, and Hinsdale
April 9-11: Fauré Requiem and Poulenc Organ Concerto
in Chicago, Wheaton, and Hinsdale
Drostan Hall, founder and music director,
appoints Eric Gratz as guest concertmaster
and Wheaton College’s Tony Payne
as composer-in-residence
CHICAGO, July 25, 2026 — Camerata Chicago, led by its British-born founder and music director Drostan Hall, has announced its 23rd concert season, 2026-2027, which will see the professional chamber orchestra performing classical masterworks in Chicago and suburban Hinsdale, Oak Park, and Wheaton, Illinois.
“Our hallmark is music that’s tonal and melodic, performed with historically grounded interpretations,” Hall says of his 40-piece modern-instrument ensemble. “In addition to mainstream classical repertoire, our artistic touchstone, we also relish 20th century and contemporary compositions that traditional concertgoers will enjoy.”
Reflecting that artistic vision, the season’s four concert programs include the October 16-18 opener featuring Felix Mendelssohn’s music for Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Op. 61; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds in E-flat Major, K. 297b; and the world premiere of Chicago-area composer Tony Payne’s “Fantasy on English Melodies,” commissioned by Camerata Chicago. All three are new to Camerata Chicago’s repertoire.
“Audiences who are used to hearing the Mendelssohn and Mozart played by a symphony orchestra can savor these more intimately scaled performances for the musical detail they reveal,” Hall says.
“Both are examples of works that were originally written for orchestras the size of Camerata Chicago,” he says, “as were many other important works in the classical repertoire we feature.”
Camerata Chicago, Hall says, “is about chamber-music intimacy on a larger stage.”
Camerata Chicago’s holiday concerts November 20-22 offer George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” (Part 1 and “Hallelujah” chorus) and “Zadok the Priest.”
Violinists from Cleveland’s renowned early music ensemble Apollo’s Fire take the spotlight March 5–7 in violin concerti by Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi.
In Camerata Chicago’s all-French season finale program April 9–11, the pipe organ — Mozart called it the “king of instruments” — will resound in Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ and, in a supporting role, in Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, which will feature the Camera Chicago Chorus and soloists.
Family-friendly experience
Camerata Chicago’s Hall says the ensemble’s concerts “are conceived for the enjoyment of the whole family.” He points to $2 ticket prices for youngsters age 14 and under, Saturday and Sunday afternoon performances that don’t conflict with school obligations, brief introductory remarks during the concert that suggest what to listen for, and venues that put listeners close to the music making.
In addition, Hall adds a signature touch to the proceedings by relating, from the stage, “short, amusing, anecdotal remarks about the music.” He says he’s often told that “these little presentations have become a beloved element of the Camerata Chicago experience.”
Guest concertmaster and composer-in-residence announced
Hall recently announced the appointment of violinist Eric Gratz as Camerata Chicago’s guest concertmaster for the 2026-2027 season. He succeeds concertmaster Mathias Tacke, who retired at the end of the 2025-2026 season after serving 18 years with the chamber orchestra. “Mathias’s leadership has elevated every performance, inspiring both musicians and audiences alike,” Hall says.
Gratz, an international prize-winning violinist, is artistic director of the American Chamber Music Society in Chicago. He previously served for nine seasons as concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony. As both soloist and concertmaster, he has appeared with more than two dozen orchestras, including those of Cleveland, Louisiana, Phoenix, San Antonio, Tucson, Santa Fe Opera, and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra.
Tony Payne, whose “Fantasy on English Melodies” will be premiered in the October concerts, was recently named Camerata Chicago’s third composer-in-residence.
Following a distinguished, four-decade career at Wheaton College’s Conservatory of Music, he retired as managing director of their Artists Series and associate professor of music emeritus in 2024.
Payne holds degrees in music composition from Wheaton College, Bowling Green State University, and Northwestern University, where he earned a Doctor of Music degree.
He has composed and published more than 100 hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs. His historical song cycles include “Departures: Four Songs on Texts by Malcolm Muggeridge,” “Lincoln’s Farewell: Four Songs,” and “The Last Words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.”
Among his award-winning works are a Trio Sonata for violin, alto saxophone and piano; and Concerto for Concert Band.
For mid-autumn, Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” October 16-18
Camerata Chicago’s 23rd season opens with concerts headlined by Felix Mendelssohn’s music for William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Opus 61, comprising the overture Mendelssohn wrote as teenager and the incidental music he composed nearly two decades later.
The work includes the resplendent “Wedding March,” one of the most famous pieces of classical music, traditionally heard at the conclusion of the ceremony as the newlywed couple walks out in joyous celebration.
Music Director Drostan Hall, who was born in Norwich, England, and retains his “plummy” British accent, will narrate excerpts from the play, set in an enchanted forest, as well as conduct Mendelssohn’s witty and colorful, atmospheric score conjuring bird songs, buzzing insects, rustling leaves, and rippling creeks.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds in E-flat major, K. 297b, is a charming and melodious three-movement orchestral work. The soloists are four of Camerata Chicago’s principal players: Grace Hong, oboe; Elizandro Garcia Montoya, clarinet; Vincent Karamanov, bassoon; and Lee Shirer, horn.
“We are thrilled to feature our superb principal wind players for the first time with the programming of this marvelous concerto,” Hall says.
Hall describes Tony Payne’s ““Fantasy on English Melodies” as “beautifully cast in the mold of Ralph Vaughan Williams, who turned English folk tunes into wonderful, spiritually uplifting compositions.”
The “Fantasy,” which Payne dedicated to Hall, includes the folk ballad “Lovely Joan,” a tribute to Hall’s late mother, Joan.
Concerts are at 7:30 p.m. October 16 at Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut Street (at Michigan Avenue), Chicago; 3 p.m. October 17 at Armerding Concert Hall, 520 E. Kenilworth Ave., Wheaton; and 3 p.m. October 18 at Union Church of Hinsdale, 137 S. Garfield Street, Hinsdale.
All-Handel holiday concerts November 20-22
Heralding the Christmas season, Camerata Chicago and its Camerata Chicago Chorus will feature Part I of Handel’s “Messiah,” HWV 56 — traditionally known as the Christmas section — followed by the jubilant “Hallelujah” chorus from Part II, sung first by the chorus and repeated as an audience sing-along.
The concert opens with Handel’s celebratory “Zadok the Priest,” HWV 258, for orchestra and chorus, an anthem written for the coronation of England’s King George II. The text is derived from the biblical account of the anointing of King Solomon by Zadok and the public’s rejoicing.
The piece opens with a long suspenseful build-up leading to the chorus’s glorious entry.
Music director Drostan Hall sees a spiritual connection between these works. “’Zadok’ is about the anointment of an earthly king, recognized by God and the Church,” he says. “‘Messiah’ is about the arrival of the heavenly king.”
Soloists are soprano Emily Richter, mezzo-soprano Camille Robles, tenor Daniel Luis Espinal, and bass-baritone Laureano Quant.
The program will be presented at 7:30 p.m. November 20 at the Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park; 3 p.m. November 21 at Gary United Methodist Church, 224 North Main Street, Wheaton; and 3 p.m. November 22 at Union Church of Hinsdale, 137 S. Garfield Street, Hinsdale.
Baroque violin concerti featuring artists from Apollo’s Fire March 5-7
Emi Tanabe and Hanna Bingham, violinists with Cleveland’s celebrated early music ensemble Apollo’s Fire, take star turns, on modern instruments, in Camerata Chicago’s program of violin concerti by J. S. Bach and Antonio Vivaldi, a composer Bach greatly admired. Bach modeled his own concerti after Vivaldi’s.
Tanabe and Bingham are soloists in Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043, with its lively conversational counterpoint between violinists.
Tanabe is soloist in Bach’s elegantly melodic Violin Concerto in A Minor, BWV 1041, while Bingham solos in the effervescent “Spring” concerto from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” which energetically evokes the sounds of nature reawakening.
Tanabe and Bingham, who is also a Camerata Chicago ensemble member, will be joined as soloists by guest concertmaster Eric Gratz and Ann Montzka Smelser, Camerata Chicago’s principal second violin, in Vivaldi’s inventive Concerto for Four Violins in B Minor, Op. 3, No. 10, RV 580, from his collection L’estro armonico (Harmonic Inspiration).
Bach was so enamored of the concerto that he arranged it for four harpsichord soloists.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. March 5 at the Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park; 3 p.m. March 6 at Armerding Concert Hall, 520 E. Kenilworth Ave., Wheaton; and 3 p.m. March 7 at Union Church of Hinsdale, 137 S. Garfield Street, Hinsdale.
Fauré Requiem and Poulenc Organ Concerto cap Camerata’s season with French flair April 9-11
Drostan Hall conducts the Chicago Camerata in an all-French, season-finale program of late Romantic and early 20th-century works with guest organist Douglas Cleveland.
The orchestra and choir, with organist Cleveland and soprano and baritone soloists to be announced, will perform Gabriel Fauré’s calm, ethereal Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48, famous for its serenely beautiful melodies.
Francis Poulenc’s Organ Concerto in G Minor, FP 93, scored for organ soloist, timpani, and strings, is notable for its virtuosic orchestration, drama, and majestic sweep.
Cleveland won first prize in the American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition in Dallas. Since then, he has performed with the Chicago Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony and National Symphony in Washington, D.C. He’s appeared multiple times on the Seattle Symphony Organ Series at Benaroya Hall. His discography includes six albums on the Gothic label.
Concerts are at 3 p.m. April 9 in Chicago at a downtown venue to be announced; 3 p.m. April 10 at Armerding Concert Hall, 520 E. Kenilworth Ave., Wheaton; and 3 p.m. April 11 at Union Church of Hinsdale, 137 S. Garfield Street, Hinsdale.
Tickets and information
Single tickets for Camerata Chicago’s 2026-2027 concerts are $50 adults, $40 seniors 65 and over, $10 students, $2 children 14 and under. VIP tickets are $75.
Using online code CCPR provides a 15% discount.
Group discounts are available.
All venues are general seating with special front sections for VIP ticket holders with the exception of Armerding Concert Hall at Wheaton College, which has assigned seating.
Tickets and information are available at CamerataChicago.org and by phone 312-799-0916. Email: andiamo@cameratachicago.org.
Camerata Chicago
Founded in 2003 by British-born violinist Drostan Hall, Camerata Chicago is recognized as one of America’s finest chamber orchestras.
“Camerata Chicago is firmly planted in the classical music mainstream, keeping alive the truly great, melodic orchestral works,” Hall says.
The professional ensemble, typically comprising about 40 musicians, performs on modern instruments in historically grounded styles.
“We are a mid-size orchestra playing in suitably sized venues, so concertgoers can expect an intimate, direct, chamber-like experience,” Hall says.
Grammy Award-winning American soprano Sylvia McNair, who appeared as soloist with the orchestra, says, “In my opinion, Camerata Chicago is Chicago's second orchestra, behind only the CSO.”
Hailed as “one of the top five chamber orchestras in America" by Shmuel Ashkenasi, first violinist of the former Vermeer Quartet, Camerata Chicago also won praise from international conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, who served as the ensemble’s international advisor: "I was very impressed indeed with the very high quality of the playing.”
In 2013, Camerata Chicago undertook a European tour with Chicago cellist Wendy Warner, a protégé of Mstislav Rostropovich, as soloist. Other artists with whom the ensemble has collaborated include, among others, pianist Evan Ozel, bronze medalist of the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, soprano Michelle Arezaga, and cellist-composer Joshua Roman. The ensemble had a particularly close relationship with the internationally acclaimed Vermeer Quartet, which was active until 2007.
Camerata Chicago makes regular guest appearances on the Artist Series at Wheaton College and recently collaborated with the Joffrey Ballet Academy. The ensemble has performed at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, and Chicago Cultural Center, among other high-profile Chicago venues.
The chamber orchestra’s discography includes albums on the Centaur, DMD Classics, and Cedille Records labels.
Drostan Hall graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, where he met first violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi of the former Vermeer Quartet during the American ensemble’s residencies there. Hall went on to study under Ashkenasi at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, from which he graduated, and put down roots in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, Illinois, where Camerata Chicago is headquartered.
# # #
Camerata Chicago’s 2026–2027 Season
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Music of Mendelssohn, Mozart,
and Tony Payne
October 16, 7:30 p.m.
Fourth Presbyterian Church
126 E. Chestnut Street (at Michigan Avenue)
Chicago, Illinois 60611
October 17, 3 p.m.
Armerding Concert Hall
520 E. Kenilworth Ave.
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
October 18, 3 p.m.
Union Church of Hinsdale
137 S. Garfield Street
Hinsdale, Illinois 60521
Handel’s “Messiah”
Handel: Messiah, Part 1, with sing-along
“Hallelujah” chorus, and “Zadok the Priest”
November 20, 7:30 p.m.
Nineteenth Century Club
178 Forest Avenue
Oak Park, Illinois 60301
November 21, 3 p.m.
Gary United Methodist Church
224 North Main Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
November 22, 3 p.m.
Union Church of Hinsdale
137 S. Garfield Street
Hinsdale, Illinois 60521
‘Baroque Violin Concerti with Apollo’s Fire Soloists’
Music of J.S. Bach and Antonio Vivaldi
March 5, 7:30 p.m.
Nineteenth Century Club
178 Forest Avenue
Oak Park, Illinois 60301
March 6, 3 p.m.
Armerding Concert Hall
520 E. Kenilworth Ave.
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
March 7, 3 p.m.
Union Church of Hinsdale
137 S. Garfield Street
Hinsdale, Illinois 60521
Fauré Requiem and Poulenc Organ Concerto
April 9, 3 p.m.
Venue to be announced
Chicago, Illinois
April 10, 3 p.m.
Armerding Concert Hall
520 E. Kenilworth Ave.
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
April 11, 3 p.m.
Union Church of Hinsdale
137 S. Garfield Street
Hinsdale, Illinois 60521
Tickets and information:
CamerataChicago.org
*Photo credit: Dan Andersen
Press contact:
Nat Silverman
Nathan J. Silverman Co. PR
2906 Central St. #250
Evanston, IL 60201
United States
Office tel: 847-868-1417
Email: nat [at] njscompany [dot] com
FEATURED JOBS
RENT A PHOTO
