French horn player to speak at league meeting
The final Elgin Symphony League meeting of the 2016-17 Elgin Symphony Orchestra concert season will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27, at the Evangelical Covenant Church, 1565 Larkin Ave., Elgin.
It will begin with a dinner, followed by a presentation by guest speaker ESO French horn musician Sharon Jones. The cost is $15. Anyone who is a prospective member of the ESL will be a guest at her/his first meeting. Reservations may be made by calling Jeanne Hebeisen at (847) 741-6264.
Sharon Jones, horn, is a member of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and an active freelance musician, and frequently can be seen performing as a pit musician in numerous productions with Drury Lane Theater Oak Brook, Broadway in Chicago, the Paramount Theater in Aurora and Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier. After earning a bachelor's degree from Indiana University-Bloomington and a master's from Northwestern University, she began her career with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, performing under the direction of conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Daniel Barenboim.
Established in 1971 to support the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, the Elgin Symphony League has become a prominent ESO ambassador in our community with members contributing thousands of hours of time and talent to promote and support this award-winning orchestra. League members learn more about the orchestra and its music with presentations by special guests at League meetings; meet other music lovers and Symphony supporters at League and orchestra events; promote the Orchestra's concerts and volunteer time to help with ESO events and fundraising. Membership is open to anyone who loves music. For more information, contact Diane Campbell, ESL chair, at (630) 329-7507.
Now at the end of its 66th season, the ESO offers programming unmatched for an entertaining, informative and relaxing cultural experience. The ESO has won Illinois Professional Orchestra of the Year an unprecedented four times - in 1988, 1999, 2005 and 2016. Area student musicians often perform in the lobby before concerts and patrons can purchase gifts at the Elgin Symphony League Boutique. Pre-concert chats are given by Andrew Grams, guest artists and others one hour before most performances and Saturday night patrons are invited after concerts to Mingle with the Musicians at the Elgin Public House. In addition, free Listeners Club lecture/discussions presented by music historian Jim Kendros are offered before ESO Classics Series concert weekends on Wednesdays at Greenfields of Geneva and the Gail Borden Public Library. The ESO is a world-class orchestra providing quality musical explorations that are entertaining, hassle-free and located close to home in the western suburbs. For more information, see ElginSymphony.Org.