Elgin Symphony announces 'fun and relaxed' upcoming season

Elgin Symphony Orchestra's upcoming season will feature a few firsts, audience favorites and returning hit guest musicians - always in the "fun and relaxed" atmosphere the downtown staple is known for, music director Andrew Grams said.

New for the 2016-17 seasons, which runs September through May, are two "Inside the Music with Andrew Grams" events featuring Stravinsky's Petrushka in November and Brahms' Symphony No. 4 in March. ESO held its season launch party Thursday evening at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin, where it regularly performs.

During the first half of the "Inside the Music" events, Grams will dissect the pieces by playing individual lines and parts and discussing them with audience. The pieces will be performed in their entirety after intermission.

"The goal is to basically lift the veil on what makes a masterpiece a masterpiece," Grams said. "How do composers create these pieces of music? What are the things that make them tick?"

Another first for ESO will be a live performance accompanying an on-screen movie, in this case Charlie Chaplin's silent film "City Lights" in October at the Schaumburg Prairie Center for the Arts. Guest conductor Stephen Squires will step in for Grams.

Film performances, Grams said, "are very different. The orchestra will have to watch like a hawk and react extremely precisely with the visual cues, much more than in a regular concert that has much more give and take."

Pianist Natasha Paremski is returning in April after delighting audiences last year, Grams said. "She was such a hit last year. She's a wonderful musician."

Grams said he's also excited about bringing in two young and talented violinists, Simone Porter for the opening concert in September, and Angelo Xiang Yu in January. "We are fortunate to have them in downtown Elgin," he said.

The lineup also includes audience favorites such as Gershwin Rhapsodies, of which Grams says he never gets tired. "I'm not quite sure why, it just always never gets old to me. Which is fortunate."

Classical concert attendance is steady at an average 850 to 900 people per event, said Cheryl Wendt, chief development officer for the orchestra.

"The shift we are seeing, and actually most orchestras are seeing, is the move away from the traditional subscription model. Tickets purchased through subscriptions continue to go down and single ticket sales continue to increase."

ESO has responded with different marketing plans, including a "Build Your Own" subscription where patrons can pick three or more concerts and still be considered subscribers, which entails them to a discount and other perks, she said.