ESO finishes 74th season with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9

Beethoven’s last symphonic work, Symphony No. 9, premiered 200 years ago on May 7, 1824, in Vienna, Austria. On the first weekend in May, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra will wrap up its 74th season with performances of this masterwork on May 4 and 5. This is the first time since 2015 the ESO has performed this work.

Soprano Laura Strickling, mezzo-soprano Mary Phillips, tenor Thomas Cooley, and baritone Hadleigh Adams, along with the Elgin Master Chorale, will join the ESO for this masterpiece conducted by ESO Music Director Chad Goodman.

Also included in the program are Jessie Montgomery’s “Hymn for Everyone” and Mozart’s Ave verum corpus.

Both concerts will be held at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, in Elgin. The Saturday, May 4, performance starts at 7:30 p.m., while the Sunday, May 5, performance begins at 2:30 p.m. Goodman will deliver a pre-concert chat, explaining the music to be featured in the concert, one hour prior to each performance. The pre-concert chat is free to ticketholders.

Tickets are available at www.ElginSymphony.org, by calling the ESO’s box office at (847) 888-4000, or 20 DuPage Court, Elgin. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Tickets start at $20. Students with a valid student ID qualify for a $10 student ticket. Youth age 17 and younger are free with a paid adult.

The Elgin Symphony Orchestra is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Generous support for the ESO’s 2023-24 season comes from Otto®, The Pepper Family Foundation, John B. Sanfillipo & Son, Inc., Seigle Foundation, Elgin Symphony League, Willow Springs Charitable Trust, and Elgin Cultural Arts Commission. The Elgin Symphony Orchestra also acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. To support the ESO, visit www.ElginSymphony.org.

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About the Elgin Symphony Orchestra

The Elgin Symphony Orchestra is one of the preeminent regional orchestras in the United States, led by Chad Goodman, who was named the ESO’s Music Director – the fifth in the Orchestra’s history – in May 2023.

Since its founding in 1950, the organization has developed a reputation for artistic excellence, and innovative programming as demonstrated through its long history of highlighting the works of world-renowned conductors, composers, and musicians, and of promoting the advancement of women in the arts.

The ESO became a professional ensemble in 1985 in good part due to the leadership of the late Margaret Hillis, who served as the ESO’s music director from 1971 to 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’s volunteer core – the Elgin Symphony League, and the start of the ESO’s commitment to music education and enrichment for youth.

Today, the ESO continues to draw its creativity and artistry from the Elgin area and gives back to the community through its Adopt-a-School program that provides supplemental music education and in-school performances to local schools; Musicians Care program that brings live music performances to local hospitals, hospices, and retirement homes; informational Listener’s Club events and other free programs at public libraries; In Harmony Program in places of worship; Ainsworth Concerts for Youth; free tickets for youth under 18; open rehearsals; and free community concerts throughout the region.

The Illinois Council of Orchestras has named the ESO Orchestra of the Year four times (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.