2023 Fall Concert – Lord of the Rings

Concert Details

Link to Streaming

Concert Program

Join Windy City Winds as we kick off our 9^th formal concert season and welcome renowned Dutch composer, arranger and conductor Johan De Meij to conduct his Symphony #1 “The Lord of the Rings” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 18. The concert will mark the 35^th anniversary of his composing this enormously popular five-movement symphony, inspired by the trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien – an epic piece of music, befitting an epic story. First performed in 1988, the symphony won the Sudler Composition Prize and has been recorded by top-tier ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra. De Meij and Windy City Winds will perform the new 2023 Revised Edition, reorchestrated by the composer. De Meij will also conduct his Windy City Overture and Downtown Divertimento (3^rd mvt. – “Hitting the Highline”). The program will open with the Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare by Richard Strauss. The concert will be at St. Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 N Orchard in Chicago, and admission is free.  Audience members can meet the composer at a reception immediately after the concert, celebrating Johan De Meij’s 70^th birthday.