Heartland Festival Orchestra’s (HFO) Season 3 begins on August 27 at Five Points Washington. HFO is the professional chamber orchestra that was founded in a recession – ready to begin its 3rd season having recently been named Illinois Council of Orchestras Professional Orchestra of the Year and our artistic director/conductor David Commanday named ICO Professional Conductor of the Year.

You now know what to expect at an HFO concert – the unexpected! There is always an unannounced surprise (we have a very special one for our August concert), there will be music performed exquisitely by the finest professional musicians in central Illinois, and there will be fun. Concerts are family-friendly. Live video enhances the concert-going experience. Who ever said classical concerts had to be “stuffy”? It sure wasn’t the HFO!

Come on August 27 as superstar guest artist Adam Neiman performs Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The program includes Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished), Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony, and Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni.

Season and single tickets are available online at: http://www.heartlandfestivalorchestra.org/ or by calling (309) 444-8222 or in person at Five Points Washington or Kidder Music in Peoria. Season tickets are $135 for adults and $35 for children and students through college. Single tickets are $30 for adults and $8 for children/students.

Free bus rides to the concert leave from 2Chez at 6:15 p.m. and Junction City (near Butcher Block) at 6:30 p.m. Call the HFO at (309) 339-3943 to reserve your spots on the bus. Seating is limited.

Pre-concert dinners are available in Peoria at Butcher Block (free glass of wine or dessert with dinner for ticket-holders) and 2Chez, and in Washington at Denhart Baking Company (free glass of wine or dessert with dinner for ticket-holders). Maria’s in Washington will open specially for pre-concert dinners on August 27; reservations encouraged – 444-7805. Please patronize our supporters!

Concert benefits: http://www.casapeoria.org/