Youth orchestra concert pays tribute to Elgin's clock-making history

Time and music will come together this weekend in the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra's season finale concerts.

“The focus is on the idea of time. (The concert) is called 'City of Time' and it's kind of a fun look at Elgin,” said EYSO artistic director and conductor Randal Swiggum.

Performances are at 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at the Hemmens, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin.

“We try to teach the kids about the history of Elgin and the most famous name in watchmakers since the 1860s.”

The students have spent the year studying music as “time art” and the way composers shape our sense of time and memory. They are also preparing highlights of the 40-year history of the EYSO, a vibrant force in Elgin with award-winning programming and one of the oldest and largest youth symphonies in the Chicago region.

The Elgin-based musical program will include a number of unique pieces, one of which is performed by the organization's Brass Choir. The piece recalls music that was played by the Elgin Watch Brass Company circa 1890.

“Our brass choir is playing music from the Elgin Watch Factory Brass Band, which toured in the 1890s,” Swiggum said. “They had a repertoire and they would go on tour, basically to sell watches. Kind of a dog and pony show.”

Sinfonia and Brass Choir conductor Jason Flaks gained access to the music through the Elgin Historical Society where it was boxed away. He ended up organizing and categorizing it before bringing it to the EYSO. The music was intricately recorded on paper.

“Each instrument had its own book and each book contained a completely handwritten card for each of the pieces. (The composer) must have spent hundreds of hours writing out the music for the band to play,” Flaks said.

Flaks said the music would probably be categorized as pop today.

“They did a mix of dances and polkas and mazurkas,” he said.

The musicians were Elgin Watch Factory workers who returned to their jobs making watches once the promotional tours were over.

“They were known as the best brass band west of New York,” Flaks said.

Another special feature of the concert is a piece called “Noble Elgin” written by composer and former Elgin Symphony Orchestra music director Robert Hanson, which was commissioned by the EYSO five years ago. Hanson based the piece on variations on the hymn-tune “Elgin,” for which the city was named.

“He took the hymn-tune and wrote a big orchestral piece,” said Swiggum.

“The Clock Factory,” written by Swiggum, will be included. The piece celebrates the Elgin Watch Company.

“The kids are singing and are playing the song in 1890s costumes,“ said Swiggum.

Works by New York composer Daniel Brewbaker, originally born and raised in Elgin, are also set to be performed.

“The concert will be especially interesting to people who are interested in Elgin and especially the Elgin Watch Company,” Swiggum said.

Two concerts are played on the same date and the orchestral students are divided by age and ability. The first show will include Prelude, Sinfonia, and Philharmonia Orchestras, including several premieres of newly commissioned works, the Brass Choir and Percussion Ensemble.

The later show features Brass Choir, Percussion Ensemble, the Sterling Brass Quintet, Hanson String Quartet for the Youth Symphony, and a collaboration with Primo, the EYSO's youngest orchestra. Also featured is the premiere performance of a new honors chamber ensemble, the Earl Clemens Wind Quintet.

The EYSO is composed of performers from fourth grade through high school, when the student is aged out. One of this year's graduating class is Ben Van Wienen, 18, of Sycamore.

According to Van Wienen, who plays trumpet, he will leave with not only a first-class musical education experience but also a foundation for life beyond the orchestra.

“EYSO has helped me grow incredibly as a person because it forced me to interact with people of the same interest but with different personalities and everybody interacts differently,” he said. “It's helped me to open up new avenues for myself and also to grow in the business world because it forces me to learn how to communicate with others clearly. There are so many opportunities and experiences with the EYSO.”

Of all his experiences, Van Wienen credits working with Swiggum as the most important.

“He is so tremendous with his art and how he teaches about music. It has been and incredibly rich and fantastic experience that I will miss dearly.”

The Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra's season finale, “City of Time”

<b>When:</b> 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday, May 15

<b>Where:</b> Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin

<b>Tickets:</b> $24 for adults, $19 for seniors and $13 for students. (847) 622-0300 or visit <a href="http://tickets.elgin.edu">tickets.elgin.edu</a>