CRO News:

The Chicago Reading Orchestra held a public reading session of Elgar's magnificent Symphony no. 1 provided with the generosity of the International Elgar Society on Tuesday and Thursday, August 1st and 3rd at the Chicago Federation of Musician's Union Hall at 656 W. Randolph #2W, Chicago in Chicago's West Loop area. The sessions were conducted by our own Elgar expert Maestra Kim Diehnelt. The reading sessions were well attended and were a rousing success!!! We owe many special thanks to Adrian Paul Rooke, the International Coordinator of the Elgar Society of Great Britain.

We are also planning on having a special concert in honor of Sir Edward Elgar's 150th birthday some time in 2007 in an all-Elgar concert which will feature his Symphony no.1 and the Cockaigne Overture and his magnificant In The South all conducted by the Chicago Reading Orchestra's Elgar expert and Conductor Maestra Kim Diehnelt.

CONGRATULATIONS TO EDDIE NICHOLSON, CRO VIOLA PLAYER, FOR WINNING A JOB WITH THE DAVE MATTHEWS BAND!

The Chicago Reading Orchestra is committed to diversity among its members and we just have begun working with the Phoenix Society and the Chicago Sinfonietta to increase opportunities for those who might not otherwise have them.

On July 13th, the Chicago Reading Orchestra, the only professional development orchestra for classical musicians in the world, will host a reading session of two brand-new works by two major international young composers, one who is from Chicago.

Scroll down to see the photos of the event.

One is Angel Lam from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, winner of the Yo-Yo Ma's Carnegie Hall /Silk Road Project Composition Commission culminating to a premiere at the Tanglewood Music Festival and a New York premiere at the Carnegie Hall. Sept. 2006. We will read her new work entitled; "Memories from My Previous Lives".

The other composer, Bjourn Berkhout, from Chicago and on the music faculty of Loyola University, is the recent winner of a prestigious international Mahler composition competition in Germany. We will perform a work yet untitled written especially for the Chicago Reading Orchestra. The rehearsal will open with a short press conference and then we will read the music. The reading session and press conference begin at 1 pm and last until 3 pm at the Chicago Musicians Union Rehearsal Room in the West Loop at 656 W. Randolph, #2W, Chicago, IL. For directions and parking call 312-782-0063. Tickets for the reading session which benefit the Chicago Reading Orchestra, are $15.
For ticket info call, 708-358-1786 or email cro@trumpetworkspress.com.

I recently premiered and soloed on a work entitled "Cascade" that Bjourn wrote especially for me, and I can tell you that his gift for composition is amazing. The same is true for Angel Lam, who I was thrilled to play in another orchestra for the U.S. premiere of her work "Ambush in Ten Directions".

Angel Lam;s visit coincides with the Silk Road Project's year long residency in Chicago. The Silk Road Project was started by the world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Hope to see you there!!! For more information, please stay tuned to our website here at www.trumpetworkspress.com and click on the "Chicago Reading Orchestra" tab.

-- Michael Goode
General Manager and Principal Trumpet
Chicago Reading Orchestra