• Announcing Our 75th Anniversary Season, 2020–21

    CELEBRATING 75 YEARS of music making by and for our COMMUNITY

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  • Irina Muresanu - Cricket Dance by Mark O'Connor

    "From frequent guest artist Irina Muresanu’s Four Strings Around The World program."

  • ESO’s
    Share The Stage

    Share the Stage lets you sponsor a chair in the Orchestra. It’s our way of recognizing that the ESO Community is made up of Orchestra Members and Supporters.

     

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2020–2021 SERIES: 75th Anniversary

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Musical Insights

Free Pre-Concert Preview Series!

Friday, Postponed TBD

Enhance your concert experience with a sneak preview — Composers come alive and their passions take center stage when ESO General Manager David Ellis and ESO Maestro Lawrence Eckerling take you on an insider’s tour of the history and highlights behind the music.

Meet our soloist, Sophie Webber, at Musical Insights. She and our Maestro Lawrence Eckerling and David Ellis will explore the February concert program in depth.

The Merion
Friday, Postponed TBD,
The Merion Crystal Ballroom at
1611 Chicago Avenue at Davis Street, Evanston.
FREE and open to the public.
Please RSVP to 847-562-5318.

Light refreshments will be served and casual tours of newly renovated apartments will be available after the program.

Give the gift of music

Treat a friend or relative to the ESO

Give the gift of music by ordering directly from our website and purchasing a custom gift certificate in any denomination of your choice! Certificates may be redeemed for single ticket or season subscriptions for any of our concerts.

You will receive an electronic gift certificate or we can mail the certificate to you or directly to the recipient.

SHOP and Support the ESO!

Are you looking to buy a gift for someone at Amazon? Need to stock up on supplies from Amazon?

Amazon has a special program called Smile, where the company donates a small amount of your purchase to your designated charity. Once you select the ESO as your Smile recipient, just point your browser to smile.amazon.com each time you want to shop at Amazon and the Evanston Symphony will benefit. It won’t cost you a thing!

Thanks, and happy shopping.

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Latest news

February 2021 Concert Postponed, Virtual Performance Planned

As Coronavirus Pandemic Continues, Evanston Symphony Orchestra Announces Changes

November 4, 2020, Evanston, IL —With the COVID-19 pandemic in its third wave throughout the US, and case counts setting new records in Illinois, the Evanston Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Lawrence Eckerling have announced more changes to the 2020-2021 season, its 75th anniversary season.

Maestro Eckerling issued the following statement to the orchestra:

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ESO awarded "Community Relations of the Year" for 2020 by ICO

ICO

The Illinois Council of Orchestras is pleased to announce the 2020 recipients of its annual awards for excellence in the field of music performance and for support of musical organizations. An awards panel of judges drawn from the Illinois Council of Orchestras Board of Directors and independent professional conductors and musicians reviewed nominations representing orchestras, youth orchestras, and chamber ensembles from throughout Illinois.

…Community Relations of the Year, Evanston Symphony Orchestra

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Schedule update regarding COVID-19 concerns

All of us at Evanston Symphony Orchestra hope that you, our generous and loyal patrons, are safe and well. As you likely have heard by now, the Evanston Symphony Orchestra announced the cancellation of the remainder of our 2019–2020 season on March 26th.  We take the safety and health of our artists, staff and especially our audience very seriously, yet this was an incredibly difficult decision, as we were very excited to present our March and May concerts.

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Program notes for all ages

The Evanston Symphony Orchestra now offers three different program books at our subscription concerts so all can enjoy the concert to the full. We have KidNotes to help younger audience members learn about the concert and include puzzles and other 'fidget-reducing' activities. We also offer large-print programs for patrons with reduced eyesight, and then our regular program books, all of which contain so much information to help you enjoy the concert.

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More about the ESO

ESO Holiday Concert videos

Are you feeling the absence of the Evanston Symphony Holiday Concert this year? We have something to provide some cheer! Visit our Holiday Concert Videos page and soak in the spirit, the fun and the beauty.

David Ellis Is a Treasure

Most of our subscribers are well acquainted with our General Manager, David Ellis. They see him handing out tickets at the Will Call desk before concerts, watch him orchestrate our Musical Insights lectures at The Merion, or speak with him to renew their subscriptions and change seat selections. But having relationships with all our subscribers is only one of many remarkable things about David. His business acumen, analytical ability, and cash flow expertise were critical to helping us successfully navigate this challenging year.

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Artistic Artisan: Robyn Sullivan

Robyn Sullivan

Violist Robyn Sullivan first encountered stringed instruments at the age of five, when she heard the daughter of a family friend play the violin. It cast an instant spell, and Robyn knew immediately that she wanted to play as well. Two years of pleading finally paid off when Robyn’s mother signed her up for violin lessons. She continued for many years, eventually switching over to viola in high school and falling in love with the instrument’s sound and tone.

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Meet ESO Subscriber, Dr. Leslie (Les) Schier

When ESO subscriber Leslie (Les) Schier was 16 years old, he heard Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik for the first time. It was so simple, beautiful, and pleasing that it captured his attention and lit his passion for classical music. Growing up, his father would spend evenings sipping champagne in the living room and listening to operas like Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. But this piece by Mozart was the one that really inspired him. He would recommend it to any young aficionado.

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