Two beloved choral works to be featured at ESO concerts Feb. 10-11
The Elgin Symphony Orchestra, together with the Elgin Master Chorale, will perform two of the best known and beloved choral works of all time - Vivaldi's brilliant Gloria and Mozart's transcendent Requiem - at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11, at Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way in Elgin.
ESO Music Director Andrew Grams will lead the ensembles, and the program also features mezzo-soprano Julie Miller, tenor Scott Ramsay, bass Evan Boyer, and sopranos Melissa Pagano, Katherine Wells and Michelle Areyzaga.
Music historian Jim Kendros will lead free Listeners Clubs discussions at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, at GreenFields of Geneva, 0N801 Friendship Way, and 1 p.m. at the Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave. in Elgin.
Grams will lead pre-concert chats starting one hour before concert time. Saturday concertgoers are invited after the performance to "Mingle with the Musicians" at Bennigan's Elgin. Patrons may bring donations for Food for Greater Elgin at both concerts. Tickets start at only $30. Student tickets $12. Valet service or free parking. For more information, visit ElginSymphony.org.
A cultural cornerstone of Elgin and the Fox Valley, the Elgin Master Chorale creates a thrilling, emotional experience for audiences at each performance by achieving an overall level of excellence in singing, presentation and production. Under the direction of Maestro Andrew Lewis, the chorale is comprised of nearly 100 volunteer singers from across the Fox Valley. Far from a solitary organization, it creates collaborations with performing arts organizations that elevate and energize the entire community.
Incorporated as a nonprofit in 1966, the organization changed its name to Elgin Master Chorale in 2014. In residence at Elgin Community College, the Elgin Master Chorale presents several concerts per year at the Blizzard Theatre at the college, as well as the Hemmens Cultural Center and other locations in the Chicago area. Learn more at ElginMasterChorale.org.
Founded in 2011, Food for Greater Elgin is the largest client-choice food pantry in Elgin, South Elgin, East Dundee, and West Dundee. Its goal is to combat food insecurity in the most effective and supportive ways possible by giving the community the resources it needs. With collaboration from other organizations and businesses, it helps provide stability and peace-of-mind to more than 1,200 households every month, totaling almost 6,000 individuals, of whom nearly half are children. For more information, see FoodForGreaterElgin.org.
Andrew Grams, now in his fifth ESO season, became music director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra after an international search. His dynamic conducting and easy accessibility have made him a favorite of Elgin Symphony audiences. He has extended his contract with the ESO through 2021. This season, Grams is conducting the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Sacramento Philharmonic, the Tulsa, Santa Rosa, Kalamazoo, and Omaha Symphony Orchestras, and Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, Netherlands. Grams will also conduct the CCPA Chamber Orchestra, performing American music with renowned pianist and faculty member Winston Choi, at Roosevelt University's VIVID 2018 on March 14. For more information about Andrew Grams, see Andrewgrams.com. With a unique combination of intensity, enthusiasm and technical clarity, American conductor Andrew Grams has steadily built a reputation for his dynamic concerts and long-term orchestra building. He is the winner of 2015 Conductor of the Year from the Illinois Council of Orchestras and has led orchestras throughout the United States and abroad. He served as assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra from 2004-2007 where he worked under the guidance of Franz Welser-Möst, and has since returned for several engagements.
Now in its 67th season, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra 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. The ESO strives to create an enjoyable entertainment experience that goes beyond the magnificent music performed by some of the best musicians in the region.
Before concerts, area musicians often perform in the lobby, and patrons can buy drinks at the bar and purchase gifts at the Elgin Symphony League Boutique. Pre-concert chats are given by Music Director 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 area restaurants. In addition, free Listeners Club discussions presented by music historian Jim Kendros are offered in Geneva and Elgin on Wednesdays before ESO Classics Series concert weekends. Flex passes are available for purchase so that you can choose your concerts at a later date based on your own schedule. And if a patron can't make a concert, the ESO offers free exchanges to subscribers and to single ticket buyers for a small fee. There is accessible, free parking around the Hemmens Cultural Center and valet service available.
The Elgin Symphony Orchestra is a world-class orchestra providing quality musical explorations that are entertaining, hassle-free and conveniently located close to home in the western suburbs.