2018–2019 SERIES: VIRTUOSOS

Founded in 1997, the Evanston Dance Ensemble’s mission is to deepen the exposure to and appreciation of dance for highly talented and committed young performers and diverse audiences in the greater Chicago area. We’re excited to have them back for the 10th time to celebrate the holidays with us. They’ll be dancing the March, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Candy Canes (Russian Trepak), Tea (Chinese Dance), Dance of the Reed Flutes, Chocolate (Spanish Dance) and Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker.

Music by three of the great Viennese Classical composers will launch the 2016-2017 season. Following a dramatic opening with Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, the October concert continues with Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, “Turkish.” One of Mozart’s most popular pieces, the concerto will be performed by Alexandra Switala in her first appearance with the Evanston Symphony.

Although there is no doubt that the "New World" is the most popular of Antonin Dvořák's nine symphonies, most musicologists and Dvořák scholars are in agreement that his greatest symphony is the Seventh.

Thank two trends of the 19th century for the high-spirited, rollicking dances on our June program. Dance-style pieces for piano four-hands (a single piano played by two pianists) and compositions inspired by Europe’s minority culture, particularly the Roma (Gypsy) culture, were all the rage.