ESO hopes to start new tradition

The Elgin Symphony Orchestra's festive Holiday Showcase concert at the Sears Centre arena may not yet be considered tradition, but with this third show it's beginning to look like its headed that way.

Maestro Robert Hanson, who was named 2001 Conductor of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras and whose name has become synonymous with the ESO, will conduct the orchestra in a variety of holiday music.

Hanson, who is also the music director for the organization, has had a number of challenges when choosing the evening's repertoire.

"The one thing that we try to keep in mind with this concert is that we have people who are probably four years old to people who are probably 80 years old in the audience," Hanson said. "So we try to make it a concert that has something for everybody."

"It's very difficult," Hanson admits. "Young kids don't have a very big attention span and sometimes its hard to keep things going enough. But I think our director, (Michael Weber) is really good at that, doing things with lighting and sound and how quickly we move from one thing to the next."

Aside from the entertainment, moving the orchestra from its home base at the Hemmens in Elgin to the Sears Centre arena in Hoffman Estates is a challenge for the company's operations department, according to Hanson.

"You have to bring everything with you, the lighting, the sound, the stage, the backdrops."

Once the equipment arrives, the work has just begun.

"The whole transformation of the arena from, say a basketball court, which it is now, to a concert hall with ice in the middle and cables around it happens within about a 24-hour period," Hanson said.

"There's literally scores and scores of these workers, workmen and union people that bring in the trusses and hang the lights. It's an amazing amount of work," he added.

The culmination promises to be a sparkling variety show with performances by a number of national entertainers to an expected crowd of more than 5,000 people.

"The show here is much more spectacular," Hanson said. "Whereas at the Hemmens it's much more of a serious concert."

Hanson's musical choices are greatly affected by the types of performances that will take place, he said. The orchestra accompanies such acts as Cirque du Soleil jugglers and aerialists and Olympic ice skating dancers Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov.

Another impact upon the music is the host, Tony Award nominee Jodi Benson. The Rockford native is most widely known as the voice of Ariel in Disney's "The Little Mermaid," and will sing a number from that movie, according to Hanson.

"It's a special arrangement that was done for her which we probably normally wouldn't do in a holiday concert."

But the traditional will hold a place of honor in the night's arrangements as well.

"There will be some Christian music, but then there's 'Sleigh Ride' and things from 'Nutcracker,' some secular Christmas pieces and so on," Hanson said. "We try to get as much variety as possible."

Perhaps the biggest challenge for Hanson is to bring a sense of intimacy to the arena. Assisting with that will be a performance by the Holiday Festival Chorus, which consists of 80 performers in the Dundee-Crown High School choral group.

The local singers are a little dazzled by the scope of the performance, according to Dundee Crown High School choral director Lisa Bettcher.

"Our two top choirs will be performing: chamber and concert," Bettcher said. "They have put together about 80 or 90 pages that is orchestral music."

Bettcher credits the performers with learning the music in a relatively brief time on top of their usual seasonal fare.

"We received the music in very late October and one of the pieces we just got a couple of weeks ago. Many of the selections are in eight-part, which means there are eight separate vocal parts to learn."

"We're doing traditional songs set to orchestration: 'Do You Hear What I Hear?' "O, Holy Night' and seven pieces in total," she added.

Working with Hanson and the symphony is a wonderful opportunity for the students, according to Bettcher.

"To work with someone who is that wealthy in musical knowledge is a great thing for my students. He has a lot of musical depth to share with them. I think it will be one of those life-changing moments."