Composer-in-Residence: Camerata Chicago
Camerata Chicago is an Orchestra of distinction in the greater Chicago area. The orchestra was founded right in Dupage County by the inimitable Maestro Drostan Hall, a violinist and educator who had a vision for a superb orchestra in the western suburbs of Chicago. Camerata. Chicago was found by Maestro Hall nearly 25 years ago and will be taking a European concert tour to celebrate a quarter century of music making.
In 2024, Dr. Tony Payne was invited to become Composer-in-Residence for Camerata Chicago and has been working away on a piece that would challenge the orchestra members and delight the audience with the familiar and the innovative. Dr. Payne decided to compose a new work in honor of Maestro Hall, who has done some much for the music-making community over the years. The result is Fantasy on English Folk Tunes, celebrating Maestro Hall’s impeccable music credentials having grown up in a musical family in the UK and carrying on the legacy of his uncle, the great conductor Sir Charles Mackerras.
Tony Payne deemed all of this as the perfect reason to compose a new work filled with beloved English folksongs, some obscure and others familiar. Camerata Chicago will present the world premiere of Fantasy on English Folk Songs on October 16th at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, on October 17, 2026 at Wheaton College and on October 18, at Union Church, Hinsdale, IL. Tickets will be available at cameratachicago.org starting this spring.
Fantasy on English Folksongs is a 14-minute work in one movement celebrating the great heritage of English folk music that has blessed the people of many nations, especially the United States. In this work, you will find the splendor of Rule, Britannia! And the melancholy of Flow, My Tears. Robin Goodfellow, aka “Puck,” makes a dramatic appearance, as does the Third Mode Melody of Thomas Tallis. All in all, the Fantasy takes listeners on a wondrous journey of brilliant English folk melodies and beautiful orchestral textures.
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