The Illinois Symphony Orchestra [ISO] is capping its season with a Route 66-themed world premiere from Chicago-based composer Michelle Isaac.
It’s Music Director Taichi Fukumura's first-ever commission since joining the orchestra two years ago, but the Illinois Symphony has a long-standing history of world premieres.
Before now, the most recent was Gate of Horn, then-ISO Music Director Ken Lam commissioned piece from Illinois State University music professor Carl Schimmel. When Fukumura was a candidate, he conducted a Hannukah medley commissioned by Kenneth Kiesler decades ago for the orchestra’s holiday concert.
“Illinois Symphony has a history not just with composers but also with soloists,” he said, “finding people who are up-and-coming and bringing them to our community when we still can. Then we can say ‘we remember when,’ because they go off and do big things.”
Fukumura met Isaac at the Chicago Sinfonietta, where he was a conducting fellow and later assistant conductor. Isaac grew up in Waukegan, a far north suburb of Chicago, and was the orchestra’s inaugural Freeman Composing Fellow at the same time.
“I got to write a piece as part of my fellowship for Chicago Sinfonietta and Taichi conducted that piece—which was such a cool experience.”
Isaac said accepting the invitation to compose for the Illinois Symphony was a “no-brainer,” despite a busy schedule that includes writing six pieces this year.
“[Fukumura’s] dedication to the music is just beyond anything,” she said. “He’s so thorough and so musical. All of his suggestions are spot on. He really helps bring pieces to life.”
The idea to make a Route 66 piece began about a year ago as Fukumura was planning the 2025-26 season. Anticipating both the United States’ 250th birthday and the 100th anniversary of the Mother Road, he brought it up during a lunch with Isaac.
“I had just moved back to Chicago from Fort Worth and I was catching up gradually with some friends I knew in Chicago,” he said. “When I was catching up with Michelle, I was like, wait a minute…”
Fukumura felt Isaac might be a perfect fit and pitched the idea. Isaac invests in a deep research process and has a keen sensibility for light, fun, whimsical pieces.
The season has emphasized transformational journeys, sometimes spiritual, sometimes metaphorical, and in one instance, the season opening Star Wars pops concert, fictional.
There’s also been a lot of attention paid to American composers and others inspired by sounds and sites in the United States.
Fukumura said Isaac’s Reverie on the Mother Road is essentially the cherry on top of this all-American sundae.
“Right during that lunch, we already started talking about what the piece might look like. It really took off really quickly from there,” he said.
For style points, the May 2 concert at Illinois State University’s Center for Performing Arts also includes Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 and piano virtuoso Janice Carissa delivering Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
The concert also coincides with Illinois' Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor festival, part of a slate of spring and summer programs celebrating the route's centennial year.
Temple blocks and rumble strips
Route 66 is generally affiliated with a mid- 20th century aesthetic that includes classic cars and rock-and-roll. Isaac said she’s borrowed some cues from popular genres but didn’t find it difficult to introduce the Mother Road to symphonic music.
“We talked a lot about Route 66 as a connecting force,” she said. “When Route 66 was in its heyday, towns were springing up around it because of the tourist traffic. So, it was really like this lifeline. It was this artery of America where things flourished.”
Freedom, perseverance and “good old-fashioned fun” are themes pulsing through the piece, Isaac said, drawing from the adventuresome spirit of road-trip culture—all crammed into a 6-minute overture.
Originally a percussionist, Isaac challenged herself to focus on toy, auxiliary instruments for Reverie on the Mother Road: temple blocks, wood blocks, xylophone and tambourine feature prominently.
“I’ve spent so many hours of my life at the back of an ensemble counting rests as a percussionist,” she said. “So, I like to give them a fun time.”
Isaac also simulates car sounds in the brass and other special effects, including an homage to New Mexico’s Musical Highway, a set of rumble strips along Route 66 tuned to play America the Beautiful.
“I gave a shout out to that,” she said. “It’s over 10 years old now, it’s really fading, so I wanted to preserve that. So, there are some fun effects in this piece,” she said.
