KSO concerto winner to perform Feb. 18 in DeKalb

Shaw Local News Network

DeKALB – The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s 2023 Arthur D. Montzka Young Artists Concerto Competition winner Ella Wimbiscus will perform with the orchestra at the annual Arthur D. Montzka Memorial Concert.

The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, in the the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall of the Northern Illinois University Music Building in DeKalb, according to a news release.

The concert, led by music director and conductor Linc Smelser, will feature works by Lili Boulanger, Maurice Ravel and Ottorino Respighi. A free pre-concert talk with the music director will be held at 6:30 p.m.

Wimbiscus won the concerto competition by performing Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky on the cello. She began learning to play the cello at the age of 2½ with her mother.

Wimbiscus has been a student of

News Briefs

DeKalb library to host story and song event Feb. 18

DeKALB – The DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St., will host a “Swinging the Lantern: Songs and Stories of the Sea” event at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, in the lower-level Yusunas Meeting Room.

The event is free and open to people of all ages.

Singer, songwriter and storyteller Dave Martin will share stories of exploration on the world’s oceans and Great Lakes. Stories include a real pirate of the Caribbean, a precarious position with a Boston Whaler captain off Nantucket, and the fury of a “November Witch” on the Great Lakes.

No registration is required. For information, email samanthah@ dkpl.org or call 815-756-9568, ext. 1701.

Presidents Day activities planned at DeKalb library

DeKALB – The DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St., will host a Presidents Day crafts and activities program from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, in the children’s department.

The program is free and intended for children only.

Crafts include making their own Mount Rushmore and drawing their faces as future presidents. Attendees also can browse the library’s display of president books.

Hans Jørgen Jensen, a faculty member of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, since the age of 5. She made her solo orchestral debut with the Sinfonia da Camera as a winner of its concerto competition at the age of 8. Advance tickets are available in the concert hall lobby before the concert or online at kishorchestra.org/ticket-info. Students and children get in free.

The orchestra’s annual concerto competition features instrumentalists who are Illinois residents and are age 18 and younger. Each competitor has 12 minutes to perform one or more movements of a concerto of the musician’s choice, which is critiqued by a panel of judges.

For information, visit kishorchestra.org.

For information, email stormye@dkpl. org or call 815-756-9568, ext. 3350.

Sycamore TOPS chapter meeting Thursdays

SYCAMORE – The Sycamore chapter of Take Off Pounds Sensibly will host open meetings for the nonprofit weightloss and maintenance group.

The chapter meetings are held from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursdays in the commons area of Sycamore United Methodist Church, 160 Johnson Ave., according to a news release.

Admission is free for first-time visitors.

Attendees will learn about nutrition, portion control, meal planning, and exercise. A private weigh-in is held prior to the start of the meeting.

The national membership fee is $49, $69 or $79 per year depending on package choice and includes a bimonthly magazine.

Local chapter dues are $2 per month, which covers contest prizes and chapter supplies. There also is a yearly maintenance fee of $1.

For information, call 815-501-1757 or 815-895-316

–ShawLocalNewsNetwork