2023 Holiday Concert Video
The ESO celebrated the holidays with a wonderful concert with many community partners. Please enjoy this video.
-
Subscription Information
Subscribe at Early Bird prices through July 11. No credit card handling fee until August 1.
*renew or pre-order now; seat self-selection online starts 9/1.
-
FREE!
2025-2026 SERIES: The POWER of Music
Musical Insights
Free Pre-Concert Preview Series!
October 17, 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, Stephen Williamson, clarinet, at Musical Insights. He and our Maestro Lawrence Eckerling will explore the October concert program in depth.
Friday, October 17 at 1:30 pm,
Merion's Emerald Lounge 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.
Latest news
Health & Safety
Masks, vaccinations, and testing are no longer required to attend ESO concerts. However, after discussion with our expert physician consultant and given the recent rise in COVID, flu and RSV infections in the Chicago area, the ESO encourages masking during the concert. As always, we ask that if you are sick, please stay home to prevent the spread of illness. The ESO continues to monitor COVID and will adapt this policy as needed.
The ESO Welcomes New General Manager Michelle Pranger
The Evanston Symphony Orchestra has appointed Michelle Pranger its general manager effective May 1, 2023. Pranger will oversee all operations; work with Music Director Lawrence Eckerling and the Board of Directors on concerts, community programs and outreach; manage ticket sales and subscriber relations; and help manage communications.
Pages
Italian Passion in Prague
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's (1756-1791) Don Giovanni remains one of the most celebrated and influential operas in his impressive repertoire. Premiering on Oct. 29, 1787, the popularity of Don Giovanni spawned numerous arrangements and borrowings by future greats, including Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, and Ludwig van Beethoven, while "Là ci darem la mano" makes appearances in pop culture in the latter 20th century in Babette’s Feast and The Muppet Movie.
Studying Abroad in Italy
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was born in Salzburg, Austria, to a musical family where he and his sister, Nannerl, received musical training at a very young age. At 5 years old, Mozart could already read and write music; by age 6, he was writing compositions and was an accomplished keyboard musician. Escorted by his father, Leopold, Mozart and his sister performed across Europe, including for audiences of French and English royal families.
"A Soviet artist's response to just criticism"
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975), the Russian composer known for his many symphonies, chamber works, and concerti studied piano and composition at a young age. He achieved more success as a composer, and therefore, his public piano performances were often of his own pieces. As one of the most significant musical figures of the 20th century, his compositions widely varied in terms of style and emotion.
Exploring the Nuances of a Theme
Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840, in Votkinsk, a small town in Vyatka Governorate within the Russian Empire. He had five brothers and one sister, with whom he was very close. He was initially educated for a career as a civil servant, but when the opportunity to study music arose, he took full advantage and entered the newly formed Saint Petersburg Conservatory, graduating in 1865.