Thursday, June 26, 2025, at 7:30
Friday, June 27, 2025, at 7:30
Saturday, June 28, 2025, at 7:30
There will be one intermission.
This concert is part of the CSO at the Movies series, which is generously sponsored by Megan and Steve Shebik.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council.
STEVEN SPIELBERG Presents
A ROBERT ZEMECKIS Film
MICHAEL J. FOX
CHRISTOPHER LLOYD
LEA THOMPSON
CRISPIN GLOVER
Written by ROBERT ZEMECKIS & BOB GALE
Music by ALAN SILVESTRI
Produced by BOB GALE and NEIL CANTON
Executive Producers
STEVEN SPIELBERG
KATHLEEN KENNEDY and FRANK MARSHALL
Directed by ROBERT ZEMECKIS
Tonight’s program is a presentation of the complete film Back to the Future with a live performance of the film’s entire score, including music played by the orchestra during the end credits. Out of respect for the musicians and your fellow audience members, please remain seated until the conclusion of the credits.
© Universal City Studios LLC and Amblin Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Great Scott! After forty years we find ourselves being sent Back to the Future. This time the reentry is in the concert hall, bringing a new sense of excitement through gifted musicians all around the world. Unlike Doc Brown, I could never have dreamed that I would have the opportunity to set the time circuits back to 1985 and have the chance to relive the excitement of the arrival of Back to the Future.
“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads . . .” With a timeless film, and a timeless machine known as an orchestra, we can go anywhere.
—Alan Silvestri
Back to the Future in Concert produced by Film Concerts Live!, a joint venture of IMG Artists, LLC and The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, Inc.
Producers: Steven A. Linder and Jamie Richardson
Director of Operations: Rob Stogsdill
Production Manager: Sophie Greaves
Production Assistant: Katherine Miron
Worldwide Representation: IMG Artists, LLC
Technical Director: Mike Runice
Music Composed by Alan Silvestri
Music Preparation: Jo Ann Kane Music Service
Film Preparation for Concert Performance: Kristopher Carter and Mako Sujishi
Technical Consultant: Laura Gibson
Sound Remixing for Concert Performance: Chace Audio by Deluxe
The score for Back to the Future has been adapted for live concert performance.
With special thanks to: Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Alan Silvestri, David Newman, Michael Silver, Patrick Koors, Tammy Olsen, Lawrence Liu, Chuck Nilsen, Mike Pastrano, Thomas Schroder, Tanya Perra, Chris Herzberger, Noah Bergman, Jason Jackowski, Shayne Mifsud, Darice Murphy, Mark Graham, and the musicians and staff of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra thanks Megan and Steve Shebik for sponsoring CSO at the Movies.
Alan Silvestri has scored some of the most beloved and profitable films in Hollywood history, with over a hundred credits to date, earning him two Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, two Emmy awards, and three Grammy awards. Born in New York City and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, Silvestri had ambitions to become a bebop jazz guitarist. He studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and at twenty-two eventually found his way to Hollywood, where he composed the scores for several successful low-budget films, including The Doberman Gang and its sequel The Amazing Dobermans. This led to the energetic, action-driven music for the hit TV series CHiPs, which caught the ear of filmmaker Robert Zemeckis. Their first collaboration, the 1984 film Romancing the Stone, was a runaway hit, and its success formed the basis of a decades-long composer-director relationship that continues to this day. Their numerous other collaborations include the jazzy world of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, the time-travel adventure of Back to the Future 1, 2 and 3, the dramatic tension of What Lies Beneath, the cosmic wonder of Contact, the Wagnerian brawl of Beowulf, and the holiday magic of A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express, from which Silvestri’s original song “Believe” garnered an Oscar nomination. But perhaps no film
defines their creative partnership better than Zemeckis’s 1994 Best Picture winner Forrest Gump, which earned him a Best Original Score Oscar nomination.
Silvestri’s other films feature original scores in a wide range of styles and genres, including the hard-hitting percussive scores of Predator; Judge Dredd and James Cameron’s The Abyss; the ethnic rhythms of Soapdish and The Mexican; and the raucous fun of family films like Stuart Little 1 and 2, Disney’s Lilo and Stitch, and the Night at the Museum trilogy. Other credits include the romantic film noir The Bodyguard; edgy comedies like Mouse Hunt; and heartfelt romantic comedies like The Father of the Bride 1 and 2 and What Women Want. Silvestri has also proven adept at evoking the wild West in Young Guns 2 and The Quick and the Dead, providing macho muscle for Van Helsing and The A-Team and creating a dynamic soundscape for Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One. Silvestri’s long-standing collaboration with Marvel Studios has helped to propel many films to worldwide success, including Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, and, most recently, The Avengers: Endgame, which has broken all previous box office records.
In 2014 Silvestri won two Emmy awards for his music for Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, based on Carl Sagan’s original 1980 series. A follow-up series, Cosmos: Possible Worlds, premiered in 2020.
Alan Silvestri and his wife, Sandra, are long-time residents of California’s central coast. As founders of Silvestri
Vineyards, the Silvestri family has embarked on a new venture, creating wines that show that lovingly cultivated fruit has a music all its own.
Whether in the studio or in the vineyard, Alan Silvestri continues to find inspiration and passion for music, film, family, and wine.
David Newman is one of today’s most accomplished creators of music for film. In his career of more than thirty years, he has scored more than 110 films, ranging from War of the Roses, Matilda, Bowfinger, and Heathers to the more recent Girls Trip, Night School, and Serenity. His music has brought to life the critically acclaimed dramas Brokedown Palace and Hoffa; such comedies as Galaxy Quest and Throw Momma from the Train; and the award-winning animated films Ice Age, The Brave Little Toaster, and Anastasia (for which he holds an Academy Award nomination).
In 2021, after a decade of conducting numerous live music-to-film concerts for the classic West Side Story film, Newman arranged the score to Steven Spielberg’s bold new reimagining of the legendary musical, earning him a Grammy Award nomination in 2022.
As a highly sought-after conductor, Newman appears with leading orchestras throughout the world, including
the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, Deutsches SymphonieOrchester Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and the Cleveland Orchestra. In 2017 Newman led the world premiere of John Williams’s epic film series, Star Wars—Episodes IV, V, VI, and VII, with the New York Philharmonic. In 2020 he conducted the world premiere of his score to the film Galaxy Quest with the San Diego Symphony during ComicCon, and in 2021 he was invited by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles for its inaugural concerts of The Wizard of Oz with the American Youth Symphony.
For Newman, the son of nine-time Oscar-winning composer Alfred Newman, creating and conducting music has been a lifelong pursuit. An active composer for the concert hall, he has written works performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, as well as at the Ravinia Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival. He also composed a suite for solo violin and orchestra for Sarah Chang based on the songs from West Side Story.
David Newman has served on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School in the film scoring program. He is married to Krystyna and is the father of Diana and stepdaughter Brianne.
PHOTO BY MIKEL HEALEY
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra— consistently hailed as one of the world’s best—marks its 134th season in 2024–25. The ensemble’s history began in 1889, when Theodore Thomas, the leading conductor in America and a recognized music pioneer, was invited by Chicago businessman Charles Norman Fay to establish a symphony orchestra. Thomas’s aim to build a permanent orchestra of the highest quality was realized at the first concerts in October 1891 in the Auditorium Theatre. Thomas served as music director until his death in January 1905, just three weeks after the dedication of Orchestra Hall, the Orchestra’s permanent home designed by Daniel Burnham.
Frederick Stock, recruited by Thomas to the viola section in 1895, became assistant conductor in 1899 and succeeded the Orchestra’s founder. His tenure lasted thirty-seven years, from 1905 to 1942—the longest of the Orchestra’s music directors. Stock founded the Civic Orchestra of Chicago— the first training orchestra in the U.S. affiliated with a major orchestra—in 1919, established youth auditions, organized the first subscription concerts especially for children, and began a series of popular concerts.
Three conductors headed the Orchestra during the following decade: Désiré Defauw was music director from 1943 to 1947, Artur Rodzinski in 1947–48, and Rafael Kubelík from 1950 to 1953. The next ten years belonged to Fritz Reiner, whose recordings with the CSO are still considered hallmarks. Reiner invited Margaret Hillis to form the Chicago Symphony Chorus in 1957. For five seasons from 1963 to 1968, Jean Martinon held the position of music director.
Sir Georg Solti, the Orchestra’s eighth music director, served from 1969 until 1991. His arrival launched one of the most successful musical partnerships of our time. The CSO made its first overseas tour to Europe in 1971 under his direction and released numerous award-winning recordings. Beginning in 1991, Solti held the title of music director laureate and returned to conduct the Orchestra each season until his death in September 1997.
Daniel Barenboim became ninth music director in 1991, a position he held until 2006. His tenure was distinguished by the opening of Symphony Center in 1997, appearances with the Orchestra in the dual role of pianist and conductor, and twenty-one international tours. Appointed by Barenboim in 1994 as the Chorus’s second director, Duain Wolfe served until his retirement in 2022.
In 2010, Riccardo Muti became the Orchestra’s tenth music director. During his tenure, the Orchestra deepened its engagement with the Chicago community, nurtured its legacy while supporting a new generation of musicians and composers, and collaborated with visionary artists. In September 2023, Muti became music director emeritus for life.
In April 2024, Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä was announced as the Orchestra’s eleventh music director and will begin an initial five-year tenure as Zell Music Director in September 2027.
Carlo Maria Giulini was named the Orchestra’s first principal guest conductor in 1969, serving until 1972; Claudio Abbado held the position from 1982 to 1985. Pierre Boulez was appointed as principal guest conductor in 1995 and was named Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus in 2006, a position he held until his death in January 2016. From 2006 to 2010, Bernard Haitink was the Orchestra’s first principal conductor.
Pianist Daniil Trifonov is the CSO’s Artistin-Residence for the 2024–25 season.
The Orchestra first performed at Ravinia Park in 1905 and appeared frequently through August 1931, after which the park was closed for most of the Great Depression. In August 1936, the Orchestra helped to inaugurate the first season of the Ravinia Festival, and it has been in residence nearly every summer since.
Since 1916, recording has been a significant part of the Orchestra’s activities. Recordings by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus— including recent releases on CSO Resound, the Orchestra’s recording label launched in 2007—have earned sixty-five Grammy awards from the Recording Academy.
Klaus Mäkelä Zell Music Director Designate
Daniil Trifonov Artist-in-Residence
VIOLINS
Robert Chen Concertmaster
The Louis C. Sudler Chair, endowed by an
anonymous benefactor
Stephanie Jeong
Associate Concertmaster
The Cathy and Bill Osborn Chair
David Taylor* Assistant Concertmaster
The Ling Z. and Michael C. Markovitz Chair
Yuan-Qing Yu*
Assistant Concertmaster
So Young Bae
Cornelius Chiu
Gina DiBello
Kozue Funakoshi
Russell Hershow
Qing Hou
Gabriela Lara
Matous Michal
Simon Michal
Sando Shia
Susan Synnestvedt
Rong-Yan Tang
Baird Dodge Principal
Danny Yehun Jin Assistant Principal
Lei Hou
Ni Mei
Hermine Gagné
Rachel Goldstein ‡
Mihaela Ionescu
Melanie Kupchynsky §
Wendy Koons Meir
Joyce Noh §
Ronald Satkiewicz
Florence Schwartz
VIOLAS
Teng Li Principal
The Paul Hindemith Principal Viola Chair
Catherine Brubaker
Youming Chen
Sunghee Choi
Wei-Ting Kuo
Danny Lai
Weijing Michal
Diane Mues ‡
Lawrence Neuman
Max Raimi
CELLOS
John Sharp Principal
The Eloise W. Martin Chair
Kenneth Olsen Assistant Principal
The Adele Gidwitz Chair
Karen Basrak §
The Joseph A. and Cecile Renaud Gorno Chair
Richard Hirschl
Daniel Katz
Katinka Kleijn
Brant Taylor
The Blickensderfer Family Chair
Riccardo Muti Music Director Emeritus for Life
BASSES
Alexander Hanna Principal
The David and Mary Winton Green Principal Bass Chair
Alexander Horton Assistant Principal
Daniel Carson
Ian Hallas
Robert Kassinger
Mark Kraemer
Stephen Lester ‡
Bradley Opland
Andrew Sommer
HARP
Lynne Turner
FLUTES
Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson
Principal
The Erika and Dietrich M. Gross Principal Flute Chair
Emma Gerstein §
Jennifer Gunn
PICCOLO
Jennifer Gunn
The Dora and John Aalbregtse Piccolo Chair
OBOES
William Welter Principal
Lora Schaefer Assistant Principal
Scott Hostetler
ENGLISH HORN
Scott Hostetler
CLARINETS
Stephen Williamson Principal
John Bruce Yeh Assistant Principal
The Governing Members Chair
Gregory Smith
E-FLAT CLARINET
John Bruce Yeh
BASSOONS
Keith Buncke Principal
William Buchman Assistant Principal
Miles Maner
HORNS
Mark Almond Principal
James Smelser
David Griffin
Oto Carrillo
Susanna Gaunt
Daniel Gingrich
TRUMPETS
Esteban Batallán Principal
The Adolph Herseth Principal Trumpet Chair, endowed by an
anonymous benefactor
Mark Ridenour Assistant Principal
John Hagstrom
The Bleck Family Chair
Tage Larsen
TROMBONES
Jay Friedman § Principal
The Lisa and Paul Wiggin Principal Trombone Chair
Michael Mulcahy Acting Associate Principal
Charles Vernon
BASS TROMBONE
Charles Vernon
TUBA
Gene Pokorny Principal
The Arnold Jacobs Principal Tuba Chair, endowed by Christine Querfeld
TIMPANI
David Herbert § Principal
The Clinton Family Fund Chair
Vadim Karpinos Assistant Principal
PERCUSSION
Cynthia Yeh Principal
Patricia Dash
Vadim Karpinos
LIBRARIANS
Justin Vibbard Principal
Carole Keller
Mark Swanson
CSO FELLOWS
Jesús Linárez Violin
The Michael and Kathleen Elliott Fellow
Olivia Reyes Bass
ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL
John Deverman Director
Anne MacQuarrie Manager, CSO Auditions and Orchestra Personnel
STAGE TECHNICIANS
Christopher Lewis Stage Manager
Blair Carlson
Paul Christopher
Chris Grannen
Ryan Hartge
Peter Landry
Joshua Mondie
* Assistant concertmasters are listed by seniority.
‡ On sabbatical
§ On leave
The CSO’s music director position is endowed in perpetuity by a generous gift from the Zell Family Foundation.
The Gilchrist Foundation and Louise H. Benton Wagner chairs currently are unoccupied.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra string sections utilize revolving seating. Players behind the first desk (first two desks in the violins) change seats systematically every two weeks and are listed alphabetically. Section percussionists also are listed alphabetically.