Mega Music Marathon Runs Through Two Counties

							For Immediate Release
Contact: John Whitman
(917) 304-7015
jwhitman@sugarcreekfestival.org




      Sugar Creek Symphony & Song Offers Free and
      Discounted Tickets to Iroquois County Students

JULY 23, 2004---WATSEKA, IL---Getting closer to the classics just got a little easier for

Iroquois County students. Sugar Creek Symphony & Song is now offering free and discounted

tickets to area students.



Now through August 4, students may register for a drawing for 40 free tickets to the opening

night performance of the opera Romeo et Juliette, to be held August 6 at 8 p.m. The drawing will

be held on the evening of August 4.



Sugar Creek Symphony & Song, the opera and classical music festival, will take place in

Watseka, Illinois, from August 6-8. It will feature a full production of the opera Romeo et

Juliette, a solo violin concert and a solo piano concert. Daytime activities such as an antique

auction, an art fair, and a food fair will also be held.



“A generous donation from an area patron of the arts has made it possible for us to offer these

tickets to students,” says John Whitman, executive director of the festival. “His generous gift not

only helps us meet our financial goals, but also paves the way for area youth to experience the

greatness of opera and performance.”
To register for the drawing for free tickets, students should send in their name, address, and

telephone number to:

Barbara Todd

Student Ticket Giveaway

335 East Cherry Street

Watseka, IL 60970

Entries must be received by Wednesday, August 4.



Students may also register by clipping out and sending in the form in the advertisement

appearing in the Iroquois County Times-Republic during the weeks of July 26 and August 1.



Discounted tickets are also available for students. They may be purchased online through Ticket

Web at www.TicketWeb.com. Students receive a 10 percent discount off of face value. Tickets

are also available at Travel Discoveries in Watseka.



This year, the festival will offer a full-scale production of the French grand opera Romeo et

Juliette and will feature opera talent from across the United States and around the world. The

stage director is the New York Metropolitan Opera’s Gina Lapinski. The conductor is

Washington (D.C.) Concert Opera’s Antony Walker. The artistic director is Watseka native

Helen Todd. Singers contracted for the opera have sung at houses across the United States from

the Metropolitan Opera to New York City Opera to Minnesota Opera to Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The festival has also hired more than 50 Illinois-based artists to perform with the orchestra and
chorus. Other events during the festival include a violin concert by Nicholas DiEugenio and a

piano concert by Julliard graduate Soyeon Lee.



Each year, the festival works to bring superb music performance to East Central Illinois, build

educational opportunities for area youth, expose students to careers in the arts, and create

economic opportunity for area business.



Over time, the festival hopes to expand into a 10-day opera and classical music festival, replete

with nighttime musical events and daytime festival activities capable of drawing thousands of

visitors to the area. The model for this festival is based on the OK Mozart Festival held each

June in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. That festival draws approximately 15,000 visitors from 30 states

and several foreign countries.



More information on the festival is available at www.sugarcreekfestival.org. Tickets to festival

musical events are available at www.TicketWeb.com, by phone at (866) 468-3401, or in

Watseka at Travel Discoveries.

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