"In its all-Beethoven concert Sunday under music
director Alan Heatherington, the orchestra’s crisp, clean transparent
playing made three 200-year old works sound like today’s news."
Dan Tucker, Chicago Tribune
"This amounted to a refreshing, clear-eyed
re-examination of an old favorite. How good to hear this music without
the ponderous heaviness big symphony orchestras almost invariably
bring to it. With such able conducting and resilient playing,
Schubert’s ‘heavenly length’ did not seem at all protracted."
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
"Without leaning unduly on the score’s operatic
gestures, Heatherington conveyed much of the spiritual questioning at
the heart of the work. Heatherington drew nuances from his capable
orchestra - composed of Chicago Symphony and Lyric Opera players -
that sometimes elude bigger-name conductors."
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
"Heatherington is a gifted conductor who has
built a reputation for presenting outstanding concerts, often with
unusual repertory and always with some of the city’s best musicians."
Wynne Delecoma, Chicago Sun-Times
"Heatherington can be counted on for two things:
performances of high technical quality and evenings that combine the
familiar and the unfamiliar effectively."
Chicago Sun Times
"One admired the skill with which Heatherington
brought off this risky undertaking as much as the accuracy and
dedication of his hard-working personnel."
John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
"Rarely has Bach been played so buoyantly...
rich, resonant sound and vibrant rhythms... every piece had a suitable
sweep and drive."
Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Sun-Times
|
Recently named Chicagoan
of the Year (by the Chicago Tribune) and 2005 Conductor of the Year
(by The Illinois Council of Orchestras), Alan Heatherington is founder
and Music Director of the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra; he was
appointed Music Director of the Lake Forest Symphony in 2000; and he
is Music Director and Conductor of the Chicago Master Singers, a
140-voice chorus and that organization’s Chicago Master Singers
Chorale of 40-voices.
Alan Heatherington has built his career in the Chicago metropolitan
area as an orchestral and choral conductor, a violinist/concertmaster
and an educator. Few conductors are as accomplished at both orchestral
and choral conducting. Through Ars Viva and the Lake Forest Symphony,
Heatherington offers audiences a fresh concert experience. In addition
to programs of a broad repertoire, Maestro Heatherington frequently
speaks to the audience from the stage about the music. These engaging
and somewhat informal "verbal program notes" have been extremely well
received. Critic Lawrence Johnson of the Chicago Tribune comments, "Heatherington
could also have success in stand-up comedy judging by his wryly witty
extemporized introduction to Smetana’s Moldau." This rapport also
exists between the conductor and the orchestra itself. Again the
Chicago Tribune reports: "The opening concert once again demonstrated
the easy camaraderie and close musical rapport between Alan
Heatherington and his all-star chamber orchestra."
 Heatherington
has been Music Director of the Chicago Master Singers (formerly The
New Oratorio Singers) since 1989. This auditioned chorus has performed
numerous major choral/orchestral works as well as a cappella
repertoire. Recent performances have included the Bach St. John and
St. Matthew Passions and works of Mendelssohn, Kodály, Poulenc,
Beethoven, Mozart, and Rachmaninoff. The Chicago master Singers tour
extensively in Europe. It has issued four CDs: Masters in this Hall;
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs; The ‘Wearin’ of the Green (English
and Irish folk songs) and A Christmas Collection
http://www.chicagomastersingers.org.
Heatherington was the founder and, for 18 years, Music Director of the
Chicago String ensemble (1977-1995). John von Rhein of the Chicago
Tribune wrote: "The Chicago String Ensemble is the city’s only
professional string orchestra and one of the finest groups of its kind
in the nation." The String ensemble can be heard in the highly
acclaimed Centaur CD, "Israeli Melodies".
He was the Artistic Director and conductor of the annual Innsbruck
International Choral Festival for four years. He was the director of
Music Ministries at the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest
(1995-2003) as well as Director of Anshe Emet Synagogue professional
choir (1992-2000) which can be heard on a collection of compact discs
being issued of Jewish High Holy Days music with Hazzan Alberto
Mizrahi.
He has conducted or played with virtually all the major orchestras in
Chicago for over three decades, has taught at various colleges and
universities for more than twenty years, and has conducted choral
concerts in many of the major cultural capitals of Europe, including
London, Paris, Vienna, Salzburg, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Rome, Prague
and Budapest. He continues his commitment to education through regular
engagements as guest conductor/clinician with area university and
community orchestras.
Currently Music Director of the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra and
Music Director of the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, Alan Heatherington
has conducted the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Missouri Symphony, the
Mozart Orchester Salzburg, and the Marianske Lazne Symphony Orchestra
(Czech Republic) among others. He is also Music Director of the
Chicago Master Singers which has made six European tours, including
performances in England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany,
the Czech Republic and Hungary. CMS has issued four CDs of the Chicago
Master Singers: Masters in this Hall,Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual
Songs, and The Wearin’ of the Green, (English and Irish folk songs),
and A Christmas Collection.
Heatherington has served as Artistic Director of the Innsbruck
International Choral Festival and is also a violinist who performed at
Carnegie Hall with the Delft Trio. |
