October 21, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: amusicfest@aol.com
Website: www.americanmusicfestivals.org
Resonance and Reckoning: The Power of Music
Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra Presents a Free Concert of Healing, History, and Transformation
Lincolnwood, IL — The Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra invites the public to a stirring musical experience, Resonance and Reckoning: The Power of Music, on Sunday, November 2 at 3:00 PM at the Lincolnwood Community Center, 6900 N. Lincoln Avenue. Admission is free.
Conducted by Philip Simmons, the program explores music’s dual capacity to heal and confront, weaving together spirituals, classical works, and contemporary reflections. Renowned vocalist and composer Van Gilmer joins the orchestra, performing spirituals that echo resilience and cultural memory. He will host a brief question-and-answer session immediately following the concert.
Van Gilmer is a celebrated vocalist, composer, and choral director whose life bridges music and civil rights. Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Gilmer grew up amid segregation and became active in the 1960s sit-in movement. As a student at North Carolina A&T, he participated in the wave of peaceful protest that followed the historic Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in on February 1, 1960—a pivotal moment that helped ignite the youth-led movement for racial justice across the South. Gilmer’s lifelong commitment to social justice has shaped both his music and his leadership, including 37 years of service in the U.S. Navy’s engineering and equal opportunity divisions. Since 2005, he has served as Director of Music at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, where he founded the annual “May Choral Festival,” attracting hundreds of international singers.
Gilmer is a longtime collaborator with American Music Festivals and a familiar presence with the Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra. His powerful performances have anchored programs honoring Black History Month in Wilmette, including the 2023 concert Black Resistance, as well as the evocative Coming of Age concert at Chicago’s Copernicus Center and featured appearances at the Lincolnwood Town Center and DuSable Museum of African American History. His soulful voice has also graced major stages such as Carnegie Hall and echoed across Europe with distinguished ensembles including the Warsaw Philharmonic and the Czech National Symphony.
“Music can be used for good, as well as bad purposes,” says Gilmer. “It touches people directly, and can be a personal call to action—helping bring the community together.”
The November 2 concert features works by Antonio Vivaldi, Paul Wranitzky, Arthur Farwell, and original compositions by Van Gilmer, offering a rich tapestry of sound that spans centuries and continents.
“This program is about more than beauty—it’s about reckoning with history, honoring underrepresented voices, and inviting audiences into a space of emotional and ethical reflection,” says American Music Festivals Artistic Director Philip Simmons.
Free concerts in Lincolnwood are made possible through longstanding community partnerships—this one with Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation. The program is presented by American Music Festivals, a nonprofit committed to cultural exchange and the preservation of orchestral heritage, and is sponsored by Loeber Motors Mercedes-Benz.
