EYSO to host annual Faculty Recital

The Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra will host its fourth annual Faculty Recital from 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 4, in the Spartan Auditorium at Elgin Community College Arts Center, 1700 Spartan Drive in Elgin.

The concert is free and open to the public, but tickets do need to be reserved in advance at tickets.elgin.edu or by calling (847) 622-0300.

Donations to benefit the EYSO scholarship fund will be accepted at the concert, or may be mailed to EYSO, P.O. Box 6508, Elgin, IL 60121-6508.

The EYSO faculty and Chamber Music Institute coaches will take to the stage to perform an hour of music. This is an opportunity to hear local professional musicians play together.

Performances will be by EYSO Artistic Director Randal Swiggum; conductors Joseph Beribak, Gregory Beyer, Jason Flaks, Anthony Krempa, Andrew Masters and Daryl Silberman; Chamber Music Institute Director Jacqueline Fisher; and Chamber Music Institute coaches Tim Archbold and Danny Seidenberg.

Highlights of the program include the "Diogenes' Lantern" for solo marimba, played by Gregory Beyer, NIU's percussion professor, and the Saint-Saëns Septet for strings, piano, and trumpet, featuring Jason Flaks.

The program promises to be an eclectic mix of classical music and popular styles, including a contemporary digital loop on the traditional song "Black is the Color," played by Andrew Masters, viola.

For information about EYSO's 2014-15 season, or to be added to the EYSO mailing list, call (847) 841-7700 or email office@eyso.org.

The EYSO, an In-Residence Ensemble in the Arts Center at Elgin Community College, is home to five orchestras, brass choir, percussion ensemble, and a thriving Chamber Music Institute.

Founded in 1976, the EYSO today includes more than 350 students from 50 Chicago area communities. The EYSO is supported by grants from the EFS Foundation, the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, the Grand Victoria Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council (a state agency), and the Palmer Foundation.