2023 Holiday Concert Video
The ESO celebrated the holidays with a wonderful concert with many community partners. Please enjoy this video.
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Evanston Symphony Orchestra | Evanston Illinois’ Community Orchestra playing classical music concerts at Pick Staiger Hall | 2014-2015 Season
2026–2027 Season: The Love of Music
Musical Insights
Free Pre-Concert Preview Series!
October 16, 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.
Irina Muresanu and Larry Eckerling will be playing the first movement from Beethoven's Spring Sonata No. 5 at Musical Insights.
Friday, October 16 at 1:30 pm,
Merion’s Crystal Ballroom 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.
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Charm and Passion
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. Still, when the opportunity to study music arose, he took full advantage and entered the newly formed Saint Petersburg Conservatory, graduating in 1865.
Written For a Friend
Of all the pieces Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) wrote, his Clarinet Concerto is the only one of its kind that he composed shortly before his death. Often described as Mozart’s “swan song,” the concerto was written for his friend, Anton Stadler, who performed in many of Mozart’s symphonies and operas. Stadler also inspired another one of Mozart’s popular works, the Clarinet Quintet, for two violins, viola, cello, and, of course, the clarinet.
Enchanting a Mythical Forest
Stacy Garrop is a contemporary American composer whose music often tells stories drawn from myth, history, and lived experience. Based in Chicago, she has built a reputation for writing works that are both dramatically expressive and immediately accessible to audiences. Her career began in academia, with degrees from the University of Michigan, the University of Chicago, and Indiana University, followed by a long tenure teaching composition before she turned her full attention to freelancing.
Join us Aug 19 at Gillson Park
Fifth Annual Lakeside Pops Concert
Tuesday, August 19 at 7:00 pm
Gillson Park, Wilmette