Tickets for Reagan show on sale now
DIXON – Tickets for the biggest musical event to hit Dixon are on sale now.
The Historic Dixon Theatre – the same place where Ronald Reagan hung out with friends, watching live performances and silent movies – will host a concert in his honor on Feb. 19, with a piece commissioned especially for his 100th birthday celebration.
Composer David R. Holsinger was commissioned by Dixon Municipal Band Director Mark Bressler for the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission.
It took him “the better part of a year,” to compose “Reagan of Illinois,” which will feature 200 musicians and run about 35 minutes, Holsinger said.
He is a fan of Reagan’s, so “it wasn’t hard to say yes” when Bressler approached him, Holsinger said.
Bressler reviewed the work of nearly 150 composers before hiring Holsinger. Commission Chairwoman Ann Lewis is pleased with the outcome.
“We hosted auditions, and some people were upset that they didn’t make it,” Lewis said. “But when you pay $12,000 for an original piece of music, you want the best of the best. And that is exactly what we have.”
“It really has been a labor of love,” Bressler said. “This has been a four-and-a-half-year project. I’m looking forward to it being done. I thought it would be a small, humble tribute. I never imagined it going this far.”
The 200 participating musicians are members of the Dixon Municipal Band, Dixon High School Choir, Rockford Lutheran Civic Chorale, Clinton River Choir and the Eureka College Chamber Singers.
There also will be a narrator who will recite from Reagan’s autobiography.
“As I was writing this piece, the interesting thing for me is I got to zoom back in history,” Holsinger said.
A CD and DVD recording of the concert will be released upon completion, Bressler said.
