Relive the '60s as Elgin Symphony Orchestra and Jeans 'n Classics perform 'Sgt. Pepper' Feb. 18-20
Ask a group of musicologists to describe The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album, and you'll hear a litany of vivid descriptors: psychedelic, avant-garde, art rock.
Heralded as the start of the "album era," and heralded as the first example of pop music being elevated to the level of fine art, "Sgt. Pepper" draws upon a collage of musical genres and highlights a broad range of instruments.
This complexity is what makes it the perfect mash-up for the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and Jeans 'n Classics.
With music by the ESO, Jeans 'n Classics will interpret the music of this legendary Beatles' album at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie on Friday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m., and at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 20, at 3 p.m.
Tickets for the Skokie performance ($18-$46) can be obtained at NorthShoreCenter.org or by calling the North Shore Center box office at (847) 673-6300.
Tickets for the performances at the Hemmens (Gold: $65; Green: $30) are available at the ESO Box Office, 20 DuPage Court, Elgin, or by phone at (847) 888-4000, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Tickets may also be purchased online at ElginSymphony.org.
Masks and proof of complete COVID-19 vaccination are required for all attendees.
Student tickets are $10, and youth under 18 years old are $10 with an adult ticket purchase. Those who subscribe to three or more ESO performances at the Hemmens Cultural Center between now and May will receive $5 off each adult ticket price.
Upcoming ESO concerts will feature: Mozart's "Requiem," with guest conductor Matthew Halls, featuring soprano Amanda Forsythe, mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider, tenor James Reese, and bass-baritone Jonathan Woody, and The Adrian Dunn Singers with music director Adrian Dunn, on March 5-6 at the Hemmens; "Old American Songs" with guest conductor José Luis Gomez and bass baritone Ryan Speedo Green, featuring the overture from Barber's "The School for Scandal," Copland's "Old American Songs," and Dvorák's Symphony No. 9, from the "New World" on April 2-3; and "Mariachi!," featuring guest conductor Arturo Rodríguez with guest artists Mariachi Acero on April 30-May 1.
The season will close with "Scheherazade on the Farm" featuring a return of conductor Andrew Grams and featuring Robert Everson on timpani with Daugherty's "Raise the Roof" timpani concerto and Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade," op. 35 on June 11-12 at Goebbert's in Pingree Grove.
90.9 FM WDCB is the media sponsor for these performances, which are also partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.
Founded in 1950 and becoming a fully professional ensemble in 1985, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra has a long history of highlighting the works of world-renowned conductors, composers and musicians, and of promoting the advancement of women in the arts. Founded in 1950 as a community orchestra, the ESO became a professional ensemble in 1985, in good part due to the leadership of the late Margaret Hillis, who was music director at the ESO from 1971-1985. Hillis was one of the first females to break through the male-dominated world of conducting and is credited with being the impetus behind the creation of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra Association, the formation of the ESO League, and the start of the ESO's outreach to youth through concerts for school students.
Today, the ESO continues to draw its creativity and artistry from the Elgin area and gives back to the community through ensemble members' performances at local hospitals and retirement homes, free Listeners Club experiences, and open rehearsals.
The ESO has been named Orchestra of the Year four times by the Illinois Council of Orchestras (1988, 1999, 2005 and 2016).
The ESO is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. To learn more or to support the ESO, visit www.elginsymphony.org.
Volunteers needed
Want to experience live music for free?
The Elgin Symphony Orchestra is seeking volunteer ushers for its 2022 performances.
Ushers assist with greeting patrons, ticket taking, and seating. Ushers also receive free entry to the concert.
Sign up now by emailing boxoffice@elginsymphony.org.