DuPage Symphony Orchestra & Naperville Art League Thrilled Audience with PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION Pop-Up Gallery in Wentz Concert Hall Lobby Sunday, 3/16/25

Naperville Art League Artists and Board Members Pose in North Central College's Wentz Concert Hall lobby from Left to Right: Lisa Kanellos, Carole Stone Carson, Beata Nowak (NAL Board President), Debbie Venezia (Board Member-at-Large), Patricia Melekus, Sally Sharp (board member), and Jennifer Hauser (board member). Scroll down to view art....

The symphony audience was treated to a literal art gallery in the lobby of Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College in Naperville, IL where this local symphony regularly performs. At the Sunday, March 15, 2025 program, under the baton of Maestra Barbara Schubert, Mussorgsky's PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION was performed with a chance before and after the concert to browse through original art by members of the Naperville Art League and meet the talented artists.

Fifteen Naperville Art League artists participated showing work in a variety of mediums which was artistically displayed on easels across the lobby. This inspired collaboration between symphony and art league was coordinated by Mari Ullrick, the symphony's Strategic Director of Operations and Engagement and Beata Nowak, NAL Board president among others. Arts DuPage and the DuPage Foundation funded the effort.

Sunday's outstanding concert program also featured Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C. Major, Op 26 (Andante--Allegro) performed by Joseph Galwas, a Junior-year student at York High School in Elmhurst, IL who won First Place in the 2025 DuPage Symphony Orchestra's Young Artists Auditions. An avid concerto pianist at only 17 years old, he has performed with orchestras in the U.S. and Italy, and along with his twin brother, played at Carnegie Hall when they were both only age 9!

Additionally, the concert included performances by The Young Naperville Singers with such selections as Kiiriminna a traditional Finnish song and featured Leah Dexter, mezzo-soprano, a soloist joining the Young Naperville Singers for John Rutter's "Feel the Spirit". Leah is known for her performances of contemporary opera where she premiered several roles with the Chicago Opera Theater.

Music Director and Conductor, Maestra Barbara Schubert, has a performed repertoire of more than 2,500 works. She brings a wealth of musical knowledge and experience to the podium. Known throughout the Chicago area as an orchestra builder, she has dramatically increased the quality and the scope of the symphony orchestras she directs, as cited in the program notes.

If you haven't yet had a chance to enjoy one of their concerts, the next scheduled program is Saturday, May 17, 2025, at 7:30 PM for "Mexican Montage."

Learn more here: DuPage Symphony Orchestra in Naperville, IL

Mezzo-soprano Leah Dexter (left) poses after the concert with Maestra, Barbara Schubert.

"You Look Different" by cheri Matousek

"The Green Apple" by Jan Schrader

"I Got Music in Me" by Carole Stone Carson

"Joyful Beats" by Firoza Syed