• Our Next Concert

    The American-French Connection

    Sun., June 8, 2025, 2:30 p.m.

    Holland

    Still

    Ravel
    with Ko-Eun Yi, piano

    Debussy

    Copland

    Ko-Eun Yi, piano

    Buy Tickets

    Learn More

  • Announcing Our 2025–2026 Season

    The POWER of Music

    Subscribe Today*

    Save up to $50 and get the best seats

    TCHAIKOVSKY & MOZART
    LIFE, LOVE & DEATH
    RHAPSODIES IN RED, WHITE, AND BLUE
    SCHEHERAZADE

    Subscription Information

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    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.

  • Save the date:
    LAKESIDE POPS CONCERT

    Free Admission

    Tuesday, August 19, 2025
    7:00 PM

    FREE!

2024-2025 SERIES: Soul & Inspiration

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Musical Insights

Free Pre-Concert Preview Series!

June 6, 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, Ko-Eun Yi, at Musical Insights. She and our Maestro Lawrence Eckerling will explore the June concert program in depth.

 

The Merion
Friday, June 6 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

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.

Learn More!

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One-Hit Wonder

French composer Paul Dukas (1865-1935) is best known for a single orchestral work, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Based on a 1797 poem by Wolfgang von Goethe, the piece was written in 1897 and premiered later that same year in Paris with Dukas himself conducting the performance. The piece was an instant hit.

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Timeless Beauty and Vibrant Energy

Samuel Barber's (1910-1981) Adagio for Strings is a musical gem that has resonated with audiences for decades. Known for its emotional depth and hauntingly beautiful melody, this piece transports listeners to a realm where every note carries the weight of human experience. Originally part of the second movement of his String Quartet, the Adagio has found its way into the hearts of many through its transcendent orchestral arrangement.

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The Romance of a Bygone Era

John Williams was born in New York City in 1932, the son of a jazz drummer, Johnny Williams. The Williams family moved to Los Angeles in 1948, where John attended North Hollywood High School. He studied composition privately and for a short time at UCLA before being drafted into the U.S. Air Force. During his service, he arranged band music and began conducting.
 

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