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Four Live Subscription Concerts Fill Delayed 75th Anniversary Season

Four Live Subscription Concerts Fill Delayed 75th Anniversary Season

ESO’s 75th Anniversary celebration begins on Nov. 7 with a concert at the Evanston Township High School Auditorium. The program includes Johannes Brahms’ monumental Symphony No. 4, Mendelsohn’s beloved Violin Concerto in E Minor, featuring Arnaud Sussmann, and Wagner’s Overture to Die Meistersinger.

The remaining three subscription concerts of the 75th season, planned by Music Director Lawrence Eckerling, will be held as usual at Northwestern University’s Pick-Staiger Hall. On Feb. 13, 2022, audiences will enjoy Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, which was one of the pieces the orchestra had rehearsed and prepared for our canceled March 2020 concert. Also on the February concert, Evanston's own Hyejin Joo performs Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, and the concert features the first performance by the ESO of a work by the African-American composer William Grant Still, his prize-winning Festive Overture.

Then on April 10, the orchestra, the North Shore Choral Society, and four renowned vocal soloists perform Beethoven’s iconic Symphony No. 9. The final concert of the season on May 22 presents the local premiere of Transcend by Chinese-American composer Zhou Tian, which commemorates the completion of the transcontinental railroad. The ESO helped commission this important work. The program will also feature cellist Arlen Hlusko in Dvorak’s Cello Concerto, the final composition of his stay in America

All subscription concerts begin promptly at 2:30 p.m. All subscribers and attendees must show proof of vaccination for Covid-19.

ESO General Manager David Ellis wants all subscribers to know that “everyone who has purchased a subscription that was canceled will automatically have it transferred to this season, and their seat renewals/requests will also carry over. There will be no changes in ticket prices. All original order forms have been preserved.” He added that “anyone who cannot attend this upcoming season may either donate the value of their tickets to the ESO or carry over the ticket value to a future season.”

Those who have not subscribed can do so by visiting the ESO website or by calling 847-864-8804. Subscribers always get the best prices and access to the best seats.   

The ESO Board of Directors and Maestro Eckerling want to thank the entire community—and especially our orchestra members, donors, and subscribers—for their faithful ongoing support during the pandemic. Your patience and gracious financial contributions during the crisis have allowed the ESO to remain financially strong and ready once again to provide the community with the joy of live orchestral music.

The ESO’s pre-concert lecture series, Musical Insights, will continue each Friday before our regular subscription concerts and is generously sponsored and hosted by The Merion. The Beethoven 9 concert is sponsored by Westminster Place. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, the Cultural Fund of the City of Evanston, and the Kiwanis Club. Donations to the ESO can be made at the website or by calling 847-864-8804.