New Philharmonic, the professional orchestra in residence at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at the College of DuPage, completes its 2025-2026 season with an eclectic and ambitious program: “Harp of Ages & Pictures at an Exhibition.” Under the baton of Music Director Kirk Muspratt, the program will be performed Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 12 at 3 p.m. Concertgoers will be among the first to learn about New Philharmonic’s 2026-2027 50th Anniversary Season programming. In addition, a free MAC Chat will be held one hour before each performance.
“Harp of Ages” is a colorful suite by contemporary American composer Michael Daugherty, whom The Times (London) has called “a master icon maker” with a “maverick imagination, fearless structural sense, and meticulous ear.” The six-time GRAMMY Award-winner is one of the most-performed living American composers and is known for drawing on American popular culture, literature and history. With “Harp of Ages,” Daugherty crafted seven eclectic movements, each inspired by a memorable figure associated with the harp. Among them are comedian Harpo Marx, Mexican poet Sister Juana and “Star Trek” communications officer Nyota Uhura. The work was commissioned by the Colorado Symphony for Principal Harpist Courtney Hershey Bress and received its premiere in May 2023.
Maestro Muspratt and New Philharmonic take a bow. Photo courtesy of the McAninch Arts Center
Guest harpist Nichole Young will perform “Harp of Ages” at both New Philharmonic concerts. Her credits include collaborations with Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Audra McDonald and Celtic Women, among others.
Sharing the program is Maurice Ravel’s celebrated 1922 orchestral adaptation of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” which has endured as one of the most beloved works in the orchestral canon. An innovator of the Russian Romantic tradition, Mussorgsky drew inspiration for “Pictures” from an 1874 memorial exhibition of paintings by his recently deceased friend, artist Viktor Hartmann. Originally composed as a 10-movement piano suite, the work takes listeners on a vivid emotional journey, with each movement evoking the mood and imagery of a different canvas.
Audiences at both performances will have the exclusive opportunity to be among the first to hear details of New Philharmonic’s 2026-2027 50th Anniversary Season. Following each concert, the MAC Box Office will remain open for 45 minutes to accommodate patrons wishing to purchase subscriptions for the new season.
Tickets
New Philharmonic presents “Harp of Ages & Pictures at an Exhibition” at the McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, on the campus of College of DuPage. Tickets are $60 (adult) and $10 tickets for youth/students . To purchase, visit www.AtTheMAC.org or call 630-942-4000. The McAninch Box Office is open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m., and two hours prior to each performance.
Media Sponsor: WDCB 90.9 FM, Chicago’s Home for Jazz.
About New Philharmonic
New Philharmonic, the only professional orchestra based in DuPage County, Ill., has inspired classical music enthusiasts in Chicago and the suburbs for nearly five decades. It continues to thrive with the goal of giving innovative treatment to both classic compositions and modern works while striving to make the music accessible to new audiences and youth through a variety of educational efforts. New Philharmonic was recently honored with the Illinois Council of Orchestras’ 2020 ICO Award in the category Programming of the Year. Today, under the direction of Music Director/Conductor Kirk Muspratt, named 2018 Conductor of the Year (Professional Orchestra) by Illinois Council of Orchestras, and recipient of a 2025 honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Lethbridge, New Philharmonic consists of more than 60 professional musicians and typically performs more than a dozen concerts a year, reaching more than 7,500 from the greater Chicago area annually.
2025-2026 season support for New Philharmonic is provided in part by the DuPage Foundation, a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Brookdale Glen Ellyn; Sullivan Taylor Family Trust, Frank Modruson and Lynne Shigley, Anonymous, and the College of DuPage Foundation. Media sponsor is 90.9 FM WDCB Public Radio.
About the MAC
McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and a versatile black box Studio Theatre), outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit www.AtTheMAC.org or @AtTheMAC on Facebook and Instagram.
Support for the McAninch Arts Center is provided in part by Brookdale Senior Living Glen Ellyn, Anonymous, College of DuPage Foundation, Sullivan Taylor Family Trust, DuPage Foundation, Ball Horticultural, Frank Modruson & Lynne Shigley, Enjoy Illinois, Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Media Sponsor is WDCB 90.9 FM, Hotel Sponsor is DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville.
Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit www.foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.
Bios
Composer Michael Daugherty (b. 1954 –) is an American composer acknowledged as one of the most commissioned, performed, and recorded composers in contemporary concert music. He first gained international attention when the Baltimore Symphony performed his “Metropolis Symphony” at Carnegie Hall in 1994. A long-time professor at the University of Michigan, his orchestral recordings have earned several GRAMMY Awards, including Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
Composer Modest Mussorgsky (1839 –1881) was a pioneering Russian composer known for his bold originality and commitment to creating a distinctly Russian musical voice. A member of the influential group “The Five,” he sought to break from Western traditions and capture the rhythms, language, and atmosphere of Russian life. His best known works include “Pictures at an Exhibition,” the opera “Boris Godunov,” and the tone poem “Night on Bald Mountain.’ Though often challenged by poverty and ill health, Mussorgsky’s innovative harmonies, powerful drama, and vivid musical imagery left an enduring impact, influencing generations of composers worldwide.
Composer/Adaptor Maurice Ravel (1875 –1937) was a French composer recognized for his meticulous craftsmanship, vivid orchestration, and innovative harmonies. Often associated with Impressionism, he blended clarity, color, and modernity in works that reshaped 20th‑century music. His compositions range from the shimmering “Daphnis et Chloé” and the virtuosic “Gaspard de la nuit” to the hypnotic, world‑famous “Boléro.”
Guest violinist Nichole Young is a specialist in orchestral and celebratory performance. Young serves as principal harpist for both the Peoria Symphony and the DuPage Symphony and performs regularly with orchestras throughout Illinois and Iowa. Her credits include collaborations with Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Audra McDonald and Celtic Women, among others.