Evanston Symphony Orchestra

The good cheer of the holiday season finds its most joyful expression through song, from the traditional carols we all know and love, to contemporary gospel and choral works. This year’s program will showcase it all, including Deck the Halls; What a Wonderful Child; This is Chanukah; John Rutter’s Gloria; and more. The Hallelujah from Quincy Jones’ Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration will delight the crowd once again, and it just wouldn’t be Christmas without the annual sing-along.

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.

The Evanston Symphony Orchestra will perform pieces by some of Vienna’s most celebrated composers at its season-opening concert this month. Among them is Schubert’s majestic Symphony No. 9, “The Great,” a work that lives up to its name.

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.

We open our first concert of our Symphonic Blockbusters season with Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture. This exciting overture reflects the drama of the story behind it. In 1802, he saw Heinrich Joseph von Collin’s play, Coriolan, based on one of Shakespeare’s less frequently performed tragedies, Coriolanus. The play was popular for a short time in 1802 and then faded from the stage. However, in 1807, it had a one-night revival at the palace of Beethoven’s patron, Prince Lobkowitz, solely for the introduction of Beethoven’s overture.

May 5, 2017, Evanston, IL — The Merion, in conjunction with the Evanston Symphony Orchestra, will host Musical Insights, a free lecture program open to the public on Friday, May 5, 2017 starting at 1:30 p.m.in the Crystal Ballroom of The Merion, 1611 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, with special guest pianist Jeffrey Biegel.

May 7, 2017, Evanston, IL — The Evanston Symphony Orchestra continues its 71st season — titled Symphonic Blockbusters — at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in Evanston conducted by Music Director Lawrence Eckerling on Sunday May 7, 2017 at 2:30 PM. The program includes the five part suite for orchestra composed by John Williams for the Star Wars movies and Prokofiev’s suite from the 1934 film Lt. Kijé, which has been used for many subsequent films including Love and Death.