ESYO faculty to perform in fundraiser

For the first time, the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra faculty will take to the stage to perform together along with staff members and friends to raise funds for the EYSO Scholarship Fund. The concert will be from 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, at Advanced Technology Center auditorium at Elgin Community College Arts Center, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.

The concert is free, but tickets need to be reserved at tickets.elgin.edu. All tickets will be held at will call and distributed the day of the performance beginning at 1:30 p.m. Donations to benefit the EYSO scholarship fund will be accepted at the concert.

Audience members will enjoy an hour of exceptional music by professional musicians with truly impressive resumes. This is an opportunity to hear local world-class musicians play together.

To learn more about the conductors who will be performing, visit www.eyso.org. Brief biographies of each conductor can be found on the website along with more information about the EYSO. The following individuals will play at the recital:

Ÿ Randal Swiggum on piano, artistic director and Youth Symphony conductor;

Ÿ David Anderson on piano, Philharmonia conductor and Chamber Music Institute director;

Ÿ Daniel Beder on cello, Sinfonia conductor;

Ÿ Jason Flaks on trumpet, Brass Choir conductor;

Ÿ Andrew Masters on violin, Prelude Orchestra conductor;

Ÿ Beth Mazur Wood on violin, Primo Orchestra conductor;

Ÿ Thomas Vos on viola, EYSO communications director.

EYSO is committed to making participation accessible to any qualified student regardless of financial need. Students may earn part or all of their EYSO tuition. Since the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra is an In-Residence Ensemble at the Elgin Community College Arts Center, EYSO members who are 16 years of age at the beginning of a course may be eligible to earn college credit while playing in the EYSO.

The Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, an In-Residence Ensemble at the Elgin Community College Arts Center, is home to five orchestras and a brass choir with over 300 students from more than 60 communities. Founded in 1976, the mission of the EYSO is to create a community of young musicians, enriching their lives and the lives of their families, schools, communities and beyond, through the study and performance of excellent music. This program is partially supported by grants from the EFS Foundation, the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, the Grand Victoria Foundation, the Hoffer Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and the Palmer Foundation.