The DePaul Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Cliff Colnot, will present the premiere of "Sinfonietta I" by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Perle at its spring concert May 12 at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. Perle, 84, a DePaul School of Music alumnus, is expected to attend the 8 p.m. performance.

The orchestra also will perform "Overture to the Barber of Seville" by Rosini, "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" by Vaughan Williams and "Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47" by Shostakovich. Proceeds from the concert benefit the DePaul School of Music Scholarship Fund.

Ninety talented musicians who are students at DePaul's School of Music perform in the orchestra. Each year they present three concerts at the DePaul Concert Hall on the Lincoln Park Campus and a spring concert at Symphony Center.

"Playing at Symphony Center is a highlight for the year," said trombone player Donna Parkes, a graduate student at the School of Music. "It’s a beautiful place to perform, full of prestige and history."

Parkes said that one reason she came from Australia to study at DePaul is the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s historically excellent brass section. Ten CSO musicians are faculty members at the School of Music.

DePaul Symphony Orchestra musicians have successfully auditioned for prestigious positions with several local, national and international orchestras and ensembles this season. Twelve perform with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and a dozen more are substitute players. Parkes will perform with the Pacific Music Festival orchestra that will tour Japan in July and August. In addition, violinist Julia Sheynin of Moscow has accepted a position with the Russian Youth Orchestra this summer, trombone player Benjamin Perrier of Thunder Bay, Canada has won a summer Tanglewood Institute fellowship and cellist Luis Zorita of Leon, Spain will perform with the Vienna Philharmonic next year.

A distinguished conductor, composer and commercial musician with credentials in both jazz and classical music, Colnot has led the DePaul Symphony for two years. He also has taught jazz composition and arranging at DePaul. Colnot has collaborated with the CSO on a number of programs for the orchestra's new music series, Crosscurrents, which provided him an opportunity to consult with Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez and other master musicians. As CEO for his production company, Cliff Colnot Music, Inc., he has written hundreds of compositions in a variety of styles for television and film.

Tickets to the concert are $12 for lower balcony and main floor center seats, $50 for box seats and $6 for all other seats. Call the CSO box office at 312/294-3000 for tickets.

School of Music Benefit, Crescendo ’99, Precedes Concert

Crescendo '99, a fundraiser for the DePaul University School of Music, will precede the DePaul Symphony Orchestra concert at Symphony Center on May 12. The benefit will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m at the University Club, 76 E. Monroe St. The event includes cocktails, buffet supper and a raffle. Tickets are $100 per person to attend the fundraiser and receive a main floor seat to the concert, or $125 per person for the benefit event and a box seat at the concert. For information and reservations for Crescendo ’99, call DePaul’s advancement office at 312/362-5214.