Sara Swain – Cello – 15 Seasons
“Day Job”: I work in development (fundraising) at Ravinia, primarily as a grant writer.
2023–2024 SERIES: Feel The Passion
Musical Insights
Free Pre-Concert Preview Series!
May 31, Friday, at 1:30 pm
Enhance your concert experience with a sneak preview — Composers come alive and their passions take center stage when ESO Maestro Lawrence Eckerling takes you on an insider’s tour of the history and highlights behind the music.
Meet our soloist, Steven Banks, at Musical Insights. He and our Maestro Lawrence Eckerling will explore the concert program in depth.
Friday, May 31 at 1:30 pm,
Merion's Crystal Ballroom at
529 Davis St, Evanston.
FREE and open to the public.
Please RSVP to 847-570-7815.
Light refreshments will be served and casual tours of 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.
Charlotte Hadley – Violin – 15 Seasons
“Day Job”: A professional volunteer for many years, giving hours of time to the Art Institute of Chicago, presenting PowerPoint programs of art to seniors who are unable to get to the Art Institute. We travel to senior communities, churches, senior centers, anywhere with senior clientele. I am also involved at Ravinia, giving sculpture tours and serving on the Board of the Ravinia Steans Music Institute.
Silver Linings in a Pandemic
Thursday, March 12, 2020. Violinist Irina Muresanu was taking a walk in Evanston, a town she dearly loves. She had arrived here two days earlier and had rehearsed with the ESO that evening in anticipation of the concert on Sunday, March 15. Her performance of Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 was to be the highlight of the program. In addition, she, Maestro Eckerling, and ESO General Manager David Ellis had prepared a program for the pre-concert lecture series, “Musical Insights,” for Friday, March 13 at The Merion in downtown Evanston. Then her phone rang. It was Larry Eckerling.
The ESO Recommends
A recent survey of ESO musicians confirms that the radio dials have been turning both at home and on the road. Members have also been exploring new works via streaming services and YouTube, as well as supporting fellow artists by listening to programming from orchestras around the world, among other music media. Some have even turned back the dial on time by dusting off CDs, LPs, and iPods to revisit old favorites. Here are some of the selections that rose to the top: