This diverse program connects two influential French composers, Debussy and Ravel, and American icons Gershwin and Copland. Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major blends jazz and classical elements, while Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun showcases impressionistic textures. Copland’s Billy the Kid depicts lawlessness in the American frontier through folk-inspired melodies.
Subscription Series Concerts Venue:
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston
See map.
Tickets
All tickets are assigned seating.
Please call 847-864-8804 for wheelchair accessible tickets.
Advance Sales
$42 Adult, $36 Seniors, $5.00 Full-Time Student
Children Free
Children 12 and younger are admitted absolutely FREE, but must have an assigned seat.
Please call 847.864.8804 or email tickets@evanstonsymphony.org for all orders with children’s tickets.
At the Door Sales
$47 Adult, $41 Seniors, $5.00 Full-Time Student
2026–2027 SERIES SUBSCRIPTION
Three-concert Subscription
$111.75 Adults, $99.00 Seniors, $15 Students
Soloist
Musical Insights
Free Pre-Concert Preview Series!
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.
Series Sponsored by The Merion
May 21, Friday, at 1:30 pm
Merion’s Crystal Ballroom
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.
Program Notes
May 14, 2023
The Evanston Symphony Orchestra May 14 Concert and May 12 “Musical Insights” Feature Violins of Hope Instruments
Evanston, Ill.—When the Evanston Symphony Orchestra plays Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, and Mussorgsky at its May 14 concert, six members will be bowing string instruments played by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust, as the ESO participates in the Violins of Hope program. The instruments, four violins, a viola and a cello, will also be on display with details of their histories during this concert’s “Musical Insights” preview May 12. “Musical Insights” is sponsored by The Merion, Evanston’s signature senior living experience.
Antonin Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance Op. 46 No. 1 and his sublime and joyous Symphony No. 8 surround two exhilarating French works. The first is Henri Tomasi’s Saxophone Concerto performed by rising-star saxophonist Steven Banks, and the other is Paul Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
Program
Musical Insights Free Pre-Concert Preview the Friday before this concert.
Learn How to Attend!
Subscription Series Concerts Venue:
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston
See map.
Tickets
All tickets are assigned seating.
Please call 847-864-8804 for wheelchair accessible tickets.
Advance Sales
$42 Adult, $36 Seniors, $5.00 Full-Time Student
Children Free
Children 12 and younger are admitted absolutely FREE, but must have an assigned seat.
Please call 847.864.8804 or email tickets@evanstonsymphony.org for all orders with children’s tickets.
At the Door Sales
$47 Adult, $41 Seniors, $5.00 Full-Time Student
2026–2027 SERIES SUBSCRIPTION
Three-concert Subscription
$111.75 Adults, $99.00 Seniors, $15 Students
Soloist
Musical Insights
Free Pre-Concert Preview Series!
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.
Series Sponsored by The Merion
May 21, Friday, at 1:30 pm
Merion’s Crystal Ballroom
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.
Program Notes
June 2022 Concert
One of the fastest rising stars in the violin world, Indian-American Maya Anjali Buchanan, makes her belated ESO debut in the dazzling and difficult concerto by Tchaikovsky. The concert opens with a rousing French showpiece, Berlioz’ Roman Carnival Overture, and concludes with Mussorgsky’s monumental Pictures at an Exhibition in its resplendent orchestration by the Frenchman Maurice Ravel. The last of Mussorgsky’s pictures provides one of the ultimate climaxes in music—the “Great Gate of Kiev.”
Subscription Series Concerts Venue:
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston
See map.
Tickets
All tickets are assigned seating.
Please call 847-864-8804 for wheelchair accessible tickets.
Advance Sales
$42 Adult, $36 Seniors, $5.00 Full-Time Student
Children Free
Children 12 and younger are admitted absolutely FREE, but must have an assigned seat.
Please call 847.864.8804 or email tickets@evanstonsymphony.org for all orders with children’s tickets.
At the Door Sales
$47 Adult, $41 Seniors, $5.00 Full-Time Student
2026–2027 SERIES SUBSCRIPTION
Three-concert Subscription
$111.75 Adults, $99.00 Seniors, $15 Students
Soloist
Musical Insights
Free Pre-Concert Preview Series!
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.
Series Sponsored by The Merion
May 21, Friday, at 1:30 pm
Merion’s Crystal Ballroom
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.
Soloist Change for May 22nd
The Evanston Symphony Orchestra is sorry to report that Arlen Hlusko will no longer be the soloist in our upcoming May 22nd concert. Arlen has a serious shoulder injury. The Dvořák Cello Concerto soloist will now be Sihao He. He has already won numerous awards and has a close connection with Evanston. He has a Master's Degree from the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, and is currently studying there for his D.M.A.
The cello concerto of Antonín Dvořák is unsurpassed in the repertory of works for cello and orchestra and was the final composition of his stay in America; Arlen Hlusko debuts with the ESO in this passionate memorial to a lost love. Tragic love is also the hallmark of Tchaikovsky’s first masterwork, his Romeo and Juliet.
Subscription Series Concerts Venue:
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston
See map.
Tickets
All tickets are assigned seating.
Please call 847-864-8804 for wheelchair accessible tickets.
Advance Sales
$42 Adult, $36 Seniors, $5.00 Full-Time Student
Children Free
Children 12 and younger are admitted absolutely FREE, but must have an assigned seat.
Please call 847.864.8804 or email tickets@evanstonsymphony.org for all orders with children’s tickets.
At the Door Sales
$47 Adult, $41 Seniors, $5.00 Full-Time Student
2026–2027 SERIES SUBSCRIPTION
Three-concert Subscription
$111.75 Adults, $99.00 Seniors, $15 Students
Soloist
Musical Insights
Free Pre-Concert Preview Series!
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.
Series Sponsored by The Merion
May 21, Friday, at 1:30 pm
Merion’s Crystal Ballroom
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.
Program Notes
Schedule update regarding COVID-19 concerns
All of us at Evanston Symphony Orchestra hope that you, our generous and loyal patrons, are safe and well. As you likely have heard by now, the Evanston Symphony Orchestra announced the cancellation of the remainder of our 2019–2020 season on March 26th. We take the safety and health of our artists, staff and especially our audience very seriously, yet this was an incredibly difficult decision, as we were very excited to present our March and May concerts.The impact of these lost performances is large, but your understanding can make a difference.