May 31, 2026: Romantic Essentials

Northbrook Symphony
Mina Zikri, Music Director
Joshua Brown, violin

This concert starts at 4:00pm and will be approximately 1 hour 55 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.

There is also a pre-concert talk with Robbie Ellis at 3:00pm.

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Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Adagio
III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace
(approximately 41 minutes)

—Intermission (15 minutes)—

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, “Eroica”
I. Allegro con brio
II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai
III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
IV. Allegro molto
(approximately 50 minutes)

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Joshua Brown
Violin

Violinist Joshua Brown has been praised by audiences and critics worldwide for his “richness of sound, elegance of reading…commitment of every moment at the service of the work…” (La Libre). Joshua was awarded a 2025 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and gained international attention after winning the 2nd Prize and both Audience Awards at the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. As the recipient of a 2025 Louis and Susan Meisel Prize, Joshua is currently represented by Concert Artists Guild.

Joshua was first recognized for his debut performance with the Cleveland Orchestra and has gone on to perform regularly with orchestras around the world, including the Munich Radio Orchestra, MDR Sinfonieorchester, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Civic Orchestra, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, and Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege, among others, continually garnering praise from critics. A passionate recitalist and chamber musician, Joshua also regularly appears in recital performances and takes part in chamber music festivals.

Joshua is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music under Donald Weilerstein after also earning his Bachelor and Master of Music there. Before his time at NEC, Joshua studied with Almita and Roland Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago. Joshua is grateful to be playing an outstanding Nicolo Amati violin from Cremona, circa 1635-1640, on extended loan through the generosity of the Mary B. Galvin Foundation and the efforts of the Stradivari Society, a division of Bein & Fushi, Inc.

Joshua previously appeared with the Northbrook Symphony in 2017, playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with conductor Lawrence Rapchak. He also performed at the Northbrook Symphony’s Annual Gala in June 2015.

joshuabrownviolinist.com | @joshuabrownviolinist

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Mina Zikri
Music Director and Conductor

Mina Zikri was appointed Music Director of the Northbrook Symphony and assumed his artistic leadership duties in the 2019-20 season. As founder, music director, and conductor of the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago, Zikri uses his considerable talents to forge relationships with artists and musical organizations throughout the world, all in the name of developing new audiences for classical music. As a violinist and assistant conductor to Daniel Barenboim, he travels with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra on their annual tours to major music festivals and concert halls around the world. He returns each season to his native Egypt to guest-conduct the National Symphony.

At a time when even some of the greatest orchestras in the United States are falling under the pressures of financial and cultural uncertainty, Zikri believes that the future of symphony orchestras can, and must, venture beyond traditional expectations.

As a faculty member of the DePaul University Community Music Division, his career distinctions include being named one of 12 finalists in the 2007 Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition, where he was chosen from 223 candidates from 40 countries. He was awarded a fellowship to the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen, Colo., where he studied with Hans Graf, Hugh Wolff, Christopher Seaman, Robert Spano and Larry Ratcliff. He holds a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Performance Certificate in violin from DePaul University. 

Zikri has been the resident conductor for the Lira ensemble since 2011.  In 2018, Zikri made his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall with the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago, with a return performance in June 2019.