Another Disney concert, special Halloween concert in store from ESO
Elgin Symphony Orchestra patrons Wednesday got a glimpse of the upcoming season, which will feature a unique Halloween-themed concert, another Disney concert and an additional performance in Schaumburg.
Music Director Andrew Grams launched the 2015-16 season — which starts in October — by calling it a “continuation of the journey that we, the orchestra and the public, started together” last season.
“We've got some of the best stuff right here, in our own backyard,” said Grams, who flew in from Cleveland to attend the kickoff at the Hemmens Cultural Center, where the orchestra performs.
Among the season highlights will be “Musical Chills & Thrills” Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, which will include a narrator and Nathaniel Stookey and Lemony Snicket's “The Composer is Dead,” Grams said. “Your hair is just going to go backward,” he said.
Violin enthusiasts can see Grams perform in January and Rachel Barton Pine in April, while Schaumburg audiences can enjoy four concerts. All concerts will include an American composer.
Stronger footing
The symphony began straightening its finances in 2012 with the addition of CEO David Bearden, who at first worked pro bono and tackled a history of deficits of up to $700,000 annually. ESO's annual budget is $2.3 to $2.5 million.
The symphony was $260,000 in the black at the end of the 2012-13 season and in the red by $30,000 at the end of the 2013-14 season, although the latter figure still is to be audited, Bearden said. The disparity is due to where grants and donations fall within the fiscal year, he said; he declined to give specifics about the current season.
Grams' hiring in summer 2013 had a positive impact, exemplified by the fact audiences have grown from an average 840 people in 2012-13 to 950 this season, said Cheryl Wendt, ESO director of marketing and development. About 40 percent of income is from ticket sales.
“He's brought more than just a different attitude about the music we play,” Bearden said. “He's brought a different attitude about how we play the music.”
Donors who'd distanced themselves in the last few years are coming back energized, Bearden said. “We are making progress, but it's never a done deal,” he said. “We're in the penny business.”
Board President Karen Schock agreed. “It's a lean, green, fighting machine,” she said.
Seven people were added to the 23-member board in the last couple years, and they are leveraging their connections in sectors such as health care, investment, banking, education and more, Schock said. For example, board member Andrew Snyder, vice president of marketing for Alexian Brothers Health System, facilitated the making of a lullaby CD for new moms, she said.
ESO continually works on attracting younger and wider audiences, such as through last year's first Disney concert, where 25 percent of the audience was new to the symphony, Wendt said. Other initiatives include a family concert series at Gail Borden Public Library, student concerts and visits to schools by smaller musician ensembles.
In the end, though, it's not surprising that the symphony connects mostly with older audience, Grams said.
“Quite a large amount of the music that was written for orchestra is music for people that have lived,” he said.