Spring Flute Fling set for Sunday in Peru

The Music Suite 408 flute ensembles, under the direction of Natalie Lindig and Sue Gillio, will present the 30th (almost) annual Spring Flute Fling at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 21, at the Zion United Church of Christ, 1521 Sixth St., Peru.

Free will offerings will be accepted with money going to the flute scholarship fund to assist those who would like to attend the Summer Flute Retreat, June 18-24, in Peru.

Maddie Vescogni, LaSalle-Peru High School senior, will be featured on Morlacchi’s “Swiss Shepherd” and other graduates will be acknowledged.

Performers are Mackenzie Bangert, of Tonica; Jilian Cornwall, of Gridley; Lois Croasdale, of Spring Valley; Emily Bonnell, of Utica; Madi Bulen, Abby Sindel, of Mendota; Paige Evans, of Cedar Point, Emily Kmetz, Becky Weiler, of La Salle; Kathy Gage, Lake Ozark, Missouri; Brie Clayton, or Paw Paw; Maggie Ferguson, Sue Johnson, Gabby Mosley, Killian O’Dell, Julia Smith and Vescogni, of Peru; Alex Aubry, Tony Grunstad, Natalie Lindig, Hallee Loza, of Ottawa; Eileen Hagenbuch, of Utica; Kendra Herman, Lizzie Herman, Kendra Olson, Seneca; Jan Hoge, of Wenona; Raahi Patel, Julie Pleskovitch, of Oglesby; Ava Rosengren, of Serena; and Jamie Valadez, of Dalzell.

The concert is sponsored by Music Suite 408 and the Illinois Valley Flute Ensemble.

Music Suite 408 in Peru is the home base for the Illinois Valley Flute Ensemble, which was established in the summer of 1991. The ensemble is one of the flute ensembles at Music Suite 408 ranging in age from 6 through adult. The Illinois Valley Flute Ensemble has performed annually in April as part of the Music at the Mansion series at the Hegeler Carus Mansion; on television for the Easter Seals Telethon, La Salle Christmas Open House, City of Peru Maud Powell Arts Celebrations, Senica’s Oak Ridge, Deer Park Country Club, Hunter’s Ridge Country Club, Reddick Mansion, St. Margaret’s Auxiliary Dinner, Morton Grove Library, Liberty Village in Streator, Princeton and Peru, Ottawa Community Hospital Cancer Survivor Breakfast, Hornbaker’s Gardens and various private parties and seasonal gatherings. Additionally, the IVFE has performed as one of three ensembles invited to the 37th annual Principals Association three-day conference at the Peoria Civic Center and have performed at the Chicago Flute Festival in 2001 (Wheeling) and 2009 (Evanston). The IVFE has produced three CDs: “In the Mood for Flutes” (2005), “Christmas Tidings” (2009) and “Flute Spangled Spectacular (June 2012).

Sue Gillio, an Oglesby native, is the owner of Music Suite 408 and director of the Illinois Valley Flute Ensemble. She received her BA and MA from Western Illinois University with emphasis in flute performance where she studied with Gerald Carey. She is principal flute of the Illinois Valley Symphony, and has performed in the Quad City Symphony, Heartland Philharmonic, Knox-Galesburg Symphony, DuPage Symphony and the Peoria Symphony. She has been a featured soloist with the Northwest Indiana Youth Symphony, Illinois Valley Youth Symphony, Mendota High School Band, Illinois Valley Community College Wind Ensemble and guest soloist with members of the Chicago Symphony and Northwest Indiana Symphony at St. Xavier College in Chicago performing “Brandenburg Concerto 5″ by J.S. Bach. She has been the featured soloist with the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra in 2006, 2014 and will be again in the 2023-2024 season.

Internationally, Gillio has performed in Italy as part of the Rome Festival Orchestra (1998, 2004). She is on faculty at Illinois Valley Community College, executive board of North Central Illinois Artworks and is a member of the Chicago Flute Club and National Flute Association where she has performed at conventions in Columbus, Ohio (2000) and Dallas (2001). She has been published in the Flute Talk periodical, the Pipeline of the Chicago Flute Club and will be the featured educator in the May 2016 Flute Talk. She founded the annual Summer Flute Retreat and is on the faculty of the Summer Flute Camp at Westminster Choir Conservatory in Princeton, New Jersey. She was awarded the 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Illinois Small Business Development Center and OMNI ARTS 2018 Excellence Award for Music.

All Illinois Valley Flute Ensemble performances are on a donation basis, which enables the groups to purchase new music, help with the upkeep of instruments and provides full or partial scholarships to the Summer Flute Retreat and other summer music opportunities for flute students.