by Katie Arvia
LANSING, Ill. (July 24, 2022) – Fox Pointe welcomed the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra (NISO) back to Lansing on July 22 for a free concert full of patriotic songs, light classical pieces, and popular tunes from movies and Broadway shows. This performance kicked off NISO’s summer concert series, the South Shore Summer Music Festival.
Approximately 1,500 people attended the NISO performance, including many audience members from Indiana, such as Munster residents Mark and Amanda Schoon, along with their son Andre. Amanda is a self-employed hairdresser at Combing Attractions and often hears the music from her shop.
“Just seeing everyone gather and hearing the music is what drew us to Fox Pointe,” said Amanda. This performance marked the family’s first time visiting Fox Pointe, and Andre’s first concert. Amanda said she hopes they can come back for future performances.
Also rather new to the Fox Pointe scene were Mary Ann and Tom Golden. Last year, they attended the NISO performance and came back this summer, marking their second time visiting Fox Pointe.
“We thought it was a wonderful concert. It was a very nice night, people were nice, it was just gorgeous; and the symphony played excellent,” Mary Ann said of their experience last year.
“It was a nice mixture of different styles of music. It wasn’t all one kind of music, and the crowd was very involved,” added Tom.
Usual Fox Pointe protocols were relaxed for the occasion, and concert-goers were allowed to bring in outside food and drinks for the NISO show. Many audience members took full advantage of that, bringing in coolers, picnic baskets, bottles of wine, and more.
Laurie Crosby, along with friends and family, came prepared for the evening with a folding table stocked full of goodies, complete with candles. Crosby said the symphony is what drew her to Fox Pointe, along with the opportunity to “spend a beautiful night with friends and family.”
Crosby, a Lansing resident, has seen the symphony several times before: “We’re avid goers. We come to [Fox Pointe] a lot,” Crosby said.
Before the performance began, Sandie Phalen, Director of Development and Marketing for NISO, welcomed the audience and thanked the sponsors of the event, the John W. Anderson Foundation and Strack & Van Til. Additionally, Ken Reynolds, Director of Communications for the Village of Lansing, thanked First National Bank for sponsoring the NISO performance.
Lansing Mayor Patty Eidam also welcomed the crowd and said, “It’s no secret that this is my favorite evening of the year at Fox Pointe, and it is absolutely a pleasure to welcome Maestro [Kirk] Muspratt, and the entire orchestra back to Lansing. We’re already planning for their appearance next year!”
Mayor Eidam also thanked Lansing’s other elected officials and acknowledged their assistance in being able to keep bringing events such as the NISO performance to Fox Pointe. Many of the trustees were in attendance, including Mike Fish, who said, “My favorite thing about coming to Fox Pointe is getting to meet people from Lansing. It gets people together. After COVID for the last two years, this is a nice night out.”
The performance began at 7:30 and played for about two hours for an enthusiastic audience. Song selections included the West Side Story Suite, Malaguena, and John Williams’s Tribute to the Film Composer, among many others.
The Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra will continue its South Shore Summer Music Festival throughout the summer, with upcoming events in Valparaiso, Griffith, and Hammond, along with additional performances. More information, including a schedule of events, is available at nisorchestra.org.
Information about upcoming events at Fox Pointe was published at the beginning of the 2022 season:
Fox Pointe is located at 18138 Henry Street in Lansing, Illinois.
