Violinist Geneva Lewis to perform with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra this weekend
Violinist Geneva Lewis, recipient of a 2022 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, will perform Brahm's Violin Concerto with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra on Jan. 7-8. Lewis replaces Stella Chen, who was not able to travel due to a foot injury.
The concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way in Elgin.
It will also include Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 and Canadian composer Jocelyn Morlock's "Oiseaux bleus et sauvages."
A pre-concert discussion for ticket holders will take place one hour before the performances. The Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra's Sterling Brass Quintet will perform in the lobby before the concert on Saturday, and the EYSO's Honors Flute Trio will perform prior to Sunday's performance.
The ESO concert will be conducted by Andrew Crust, an American/Canadian conductor, and a finalist in the ESO's music director search.
Crust is currently in his third season as music director of the Lima Symphony and served as associate conductor for the Vancouver Symphony from 2019-22.
Abroad, he has led concerts with the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana in Italy, Hamburger Symphoniker at the Mendelssohn Festival in Germany, the Moravian Philharmonic in the Czech Republic, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile in Santiago.
Crust is a versatile conductor. His experience includes working with orchestras, youth orchestras, and ballets.
As a Pops conductor, he has collaborated with artists including Rufus Wainwright, Steven Page, Tony DeSare, Michael Bolton, Dee Daniels, Cirque de la Symphonie, and the United States Jazz Ambassadors.
Tickets are available on the ESO's website, www.ElginSymphony.org, and, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, by calling its box office at (847) 888-4000.
Tickets start at $20. Student tickets are $10, and youth age 17 and under are free with an accompanying adult.