• Announcing Our 75th Anniversary Season, 2020–21

    CELEBRATING 75 YEARS of music making by and for our COMMUNITY

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  • David Diamond, Rounds for String Orchestra

    "This group is just great! A great performance of a great piece!"

  • 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, Kariné Poghosyan, at Musical Insights. She and our Maestro Lawrence Eckerling and David Ellis will explore the October 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

ESO’s Vince Flood named 2018 Board President of the Year

Vince Flood Receives llinois Council of Orchestras Award

Evanston Symphony Orchestra is proud to announce that Vince Flood won the award for Board President of the Year 2018 from the Illinois Council of Orchestras. Vince has been a strong and effective leader, who has taken this vibrant community orchestra to new heights of performance, while also pioneering initiatives to make it a more inclusive organization that truly serves the whole of its community.

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Improved Pick-Staiger Access

Breaking news (1/19/2015): Arts Circle Drive, leading up to Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, is now fully open. You can drive all the way up to the entrance now to drop people off. Both levels of the parking garage are open, with exits at the east and west ends.

If you park on the upper level, the eastern pedestrian exit is now on the same level as Pick Staiger. There are no steps at all between the parking and the concert hall, and no hill to climb.

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More about the ESO

ESO videos

We are happy to share videos of previous concerts with you until we can get back to sharing live concerts with you.

William (Bill) Dawson, Contrabassoon, 10 Years

Bill Dawson

What is or was your "day job”? Retired from medical practice 22+ years ago and from music teaching one year ago.

Most memorable performance with ESO: Too many to name just one.

Biggest challenge during the COVID-19 lockdown: Dealing with the sameness, restriction, and boredom of living in a gated retirement community.

It has been my privilege and pleasure to be a member of ESO this past decade. Looking toward a 15th commemoration.

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Music Brings Joy and Learning to Our Youngest Residents

For more than 16 years, the Evanston Symphony Orchestra has provided free music education—Music In Your World (MIYW)—to pre-schoolers aged 3–5 in District 65’s Head Start and Pre-K programs. More recently, we expanded MIYW to our youngest and most vulnerable residents from 6 weeks to 3 years and their families in District 65’s Early Start program. ESO classes use music, movement, and experience with musical instruments. Singing develops important pre-literacy skills for these young students while building teamwork and cooperation, and instilling joy into their lives.

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Evanston Symphony Teachers Go Virtual: James Donahue

The Evanston Symphony’s principal flute, James Donahue, had to navigate through his students’ initial disappointment over canceled concerts, summer camps, and competitions and his own sadness at the missed opportunity to say goodbye to his graduating students, many of whom he had taught since elementary school. However, James quickly adapted to teaching via Zoom and Facetime, and he appreciates that the virtual lessons offer a great way for his students to keep up their skills.

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