Evanston Symphony Orchestra

BREAKING NEWS: We caught up with Santa at his North Pole workshop, preparing for Christmas. But he was happy to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to talk to us about this year’s Evanston Symphony Holiday Concert. 

“Ho, ho, ho. It’s that time of year again, folks. And one of the great pleasures of the holiday season is the Evanston Symphony’s annual Holiday Concert, which will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11 at Evanston Township High School.

Martin Luther once wrote “as long as we live, there is never enough singing.”

Everyone is sure to find a song they’ll love this holiday season as the talented singers from three choirs join the ESO for a fun-filled family event!

It wouldn’t be the holiday season without Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, and this year the talented Evanston Dance Ensemble will be dancing the “Waltz of the Snowflakes,” the piece at the end of the first act of the ballet where the Nutcracker prince leads Clara through the moonlit forest as they travel to his kingdom, the Land of Sweets. The familiar favorite will feature the Evanston Children’s Choir.

Sounds of the season lift the spirit, spark warm memories of childhood, and invigorate body and soul. This December, the ESO will once again present a selection of holiday favorites for you.

Recapture the feeling of childhood delight as you listen to Sleigh Ride by Anderson, complete with the sounds of clomping hooves and shimmering sleigh bells. Our rendition of Winter Wonderland will have you humming along as you imagine a stroll along a snowy walkway, snowflakes gently falling from the sky.

BREAKING NEWS: We caught up with Santa at his North Pole workshop, preparing for Christmas. But he was happy to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to talk to us about this year’s Evanston Symphony Holiday Concert. 

“Ho, ho, ho. It’s that time of year again, folks. And one of the great pleasures of the holiday season is the Evanston Symphony’s annual Holiday Concert, which will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12 at Evanston Township High School.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote, "Human voice is the organ of the soul." Every ESO holiday concert includes the human voice. Voices lift us up and inspire us, and when many voices come together, it’s one of the most moving things a person can hear.  

This holiday concert will once again feature the Evanston Symphony Holiday Gospel Choir and the North Shore Choral Society. The Evanston Symphony Gospel Choir is a hometown favorite, led by Evanston’s own Reverend Kenneth Cherry, and the Northshore Choral Society brings together singers from all around Evanston.

Everyone’s favorite tap-dancing reindeer from the Evanston Dance Ensemble (EDE) return to join the Evanston Symphony Orchestra performing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but that’s not all! It wouldn’t be the holiday season without the Nutcracker, and this year the EDE will be dancing the Overture and Peanut Brittle Brigade (March) from Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker, a jazzy version of the classical holiday favorite.

What better way to ring in the concert and the season than with James M. Stephenson’s Holiday Fanfare Medley, which brings together some of the oldest and most beloved Christmas carols (Il est Né, le Divin Enfant; Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella; We Three Kings; Pat-A-Pan; Come All Ye Shepherds; Good King Wenceslas). These bright renditions full of brass and bells will evoke the magic of the season, yet even these ancient tunes do not reflect the oldest of the holiday traditions.

The Evanston Symphony Orchestra is delighted to again welcome the popular Evanston Symphony Holiday Gospel Choir led by Reverend Ken Cherry for the sixth year in a row! The Evanston Gospel Choir will perform "Oh, What a Pretty Little Baby." This is the first time they will perform this piece with full orchestra. The orchestration of this piece was graciously funded by the Evanston Arts Council.

Nothing brings fond holiday memories to mind quite like Christmas carols. The talented vocalists of the North Shore Choral Society will offer their renditions of See Amid the Winter’s Snow and the beloved Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. The rhythmic yet lyrical Gloria by Randol Bass is returning this year, which will also highlight the ESO brass section with its exultant fanfares.