The Western Illinois Museum presents an evening of music with flutist Amanda Pond exploring the relationship between dance and music, from Baroque minuets to Romantic-era waltzes to Argentine tangos. Known for her innate musicality and natural ease, Pond will perform unaccompanied on the Museum’s Our Front Porch on Friday, June 5th at 5:30 pm, with doors and bar opening at 5:00 pm. Audience members will also have the opportunity to learn two Baroque dance styles during the program. A $5 suggested donation is requested at the door.
Spanning several centuries of music, the evening explores the close relationship between music and dance and how social dances evolved into expressive concert hall music. The lyrical sounds of the flute reveal the rhythms that inspired these dances, and guests will enjoy both a live performance and have an opportunity to learn the dance movement behind them. The performance includes works by Marin Marais, C.P.E. Bach, Friedrich Kuhlau, Sigfrid Karg-Elert, and Astor Piazzolla.
This performance is part of the Music on Our Front Porch series, which presents world-class jazz and classical musicians in the Museum’s cozy, oneof- a-kind garage space, offering a rare chance to experience locally accomplished musicians up close.
The Music on Our Front Porch series continues on September 4th with soprano Melissa Chavez. This program is supported in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council.
The Western Illinois Museum is a non-profit organization celebrating and nurturing the history, culture, and traditions of McDonough County. It is a vibrant community hub that features exhibits, an open collection area, lectures, music, and other programs in a historic building. The Museum is located at 201 S. Lafayette Street, one block south of Macomb’s Courthouse Square and is fully accessible.
A full schedule of events can be found at wimuseum.org or follow on social media @wimuseum. For further information, call 309-837-2750, text 309-8372613, or email [email protected].
About Flutist Amanda Pond Amanda Pond enjoys an active career as a flutist and teacher. As an orchestral flutist, she currently performs with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, Danville Symphony Orchestra, Baroque Artists of Champaign Urbana, and Sugar Creek Opera. As an avid chamber musician, Amanda can be heard frequently with her duo partner and harpist Julia Jamieson, and with the Millikin University Faculty Quintet and Trio. As a Baroque Flutist, she has played with Bach Society Houston and as a soloist with Concerto Urbano. In recent years, Amanda performed as a soloist with the Champaign Urbana Symphony Orchestra, the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, and with the Five Cities Baroque Festival. Amanda is also on the faculty at Millikin University.
