Maestro Simmons conducting the Russian State Symphony, July 4th, 1999


Chronology of American Music Festivals:

1997
American Music Festivals (AMF) founded by Artistic Director Philip Simmons.

1998
American Music Festival in Saint Petersburg, Russia performed in the Great Hall of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. American guest artists were AMF's first Artistic Advisor William Warfield and Chicago Symphony Orchestra clarinetist John Bruce Yeh.

1999
American Music Festival in Russia, concerts in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. On July 4 a free concert of American music was presented at the Moscow Conservatory by the Russian State Symphony (former U.S.S.R. Symphony), which was televised across the entire country. Mr. Warfield performed Russian works with the Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra at the Chicago Cultural Center.

2000
Second American Music Festival in Russia, with concerts in Saint Petersburg, Sochi and Novgorod, and a recording project with the Yaroslavl Symphony. A third consecutive July 4th concert in Russia was given by the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra at the Yusupov Palace. In Chicago, the premier of Ilya Levinson’s (AMF’s Composer-in-residence) “Chicago Fantasy”.


2001
American Music Festivals visits Eastern Europe included concerts in Russia, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria. A U.S. Memorial Day program in Moscow with the President's Orchestra (Orchestra of the Kremlin Theater) was presented by the Chicago-Moscow Sister Cities International Committee. Concerts by the Community Players Orchestra, (Chicago Board of Education) and collaboration with Chicago Silent Summer Film Festival.

2002
After 9/11 2001, American Music Festivals merged with the Lincolnwood Orchestral Association, focusing on community based programming in the Chicago area. This included presenting concerts by the Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra and newly founded Glenview Symphony. Collaboration in the Czech Republic with the International Dvorak Society.

2003
Exchanges brought Czech artists Radoslav Kvapil, piano and soprano Edita Randova to Chicago, with Mr. Simmons performing as guest conductor in Ceske Budweiss and Hradec Kralove. Side by side concerts with the Lincoln Hall Jr. High School and educational outreach to Lincolnwood School District 74.

2004
AMF’s first tour group travelled to Saint Petersburg, attending a sold-out July 4 concert by the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic with American pianist Kevin Kordi as soloist. Concerts by the Lake Bluff Sinfonietta and collaboration with Lake Forest Academy. Performances in Chicago by Belorussian Associate Conductor Anatol Lysenka.



2005
Composer/conductor/pianist Lukas Foss, AMF’s second Artistic Advisor, conducts and appears as piano soloist with the Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra at the Chicago Cultural Center. This program included a new work by Mr. Simmons, Music for Flute, Guitar, and Strings.

2006
In cooperation with the Village of Lincolnwood and Mayor Jerry Turry, AMF participated in a major concert by the LCO in support of victims of Hurricane Katrina. String orchestra programs of American music were facilitated in Belgrade, and Prague.

2007
Artistic Direction of Tutti Chamber Orchestra, Skokie, IL. Collaboration with Bosnian American Cultural Association of Chicago, formally acknowledged by Senator Joseph Biden, Chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

2008
Concert with Classic Avante Garde Soloists Ensemble, Belarus, made possible by a grant from the US Embassy in Minsk. Commission of Sevdah Medley, and exchange instituted with Sarajevo Philharmonic. Collaboration with Wilmette Fine Arts Commission. Participation in Dimitar Nenov International Piano Competition in Razgrad, Bulgaria (first prize winner Victoria Vassilenko will perform in Chicago in spring of 2010). Lincolnwood Day of the Arts, with painter David Zoberis, new AMF Visual Artist in Residence.

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