The beauty and enjoyment of creating music can be experienced at any age and the Evanston Symphony Orchestra is helping to inspire the next generation of musicians right here at home.
The Evanston Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Lawrence Eckerling, staged a free Young Persons’ Concert on Saturday, March 9 at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in Evanston, featuring well-known and popular works.
“This concert is important to do because it not only brings classical music to a younger audience but provides an opportunity for School District 65 students to perform alongside Evanston Symphony Orchestra members on stage,” Eckerling said.
According to Eckerling, the one-hour concert is an ideal way to introduce younger children and their families to the wonders of the symphony orchestra.
“The non-musical reason is that we also raise money to support D65 music students,” Eckerling added.
The ESO has partnered with Evanston District 65 orchestra directors, teachers and students for the concert. Organizers say a highlight of the program is D65 string students getting the chance to play side by side with ESO string players on two pieces.
“This program has fun music with stories as well as riveting rhythms to keep the audience entertained and culminates into the string-player students in District 65 joining the ESO on stage to make music together,” Eckerling said.
Concert works played by the ESO included “Sabre Dance” by Aram Khachaturian, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Paul Dukas, “Superman March” by John Williams, and the first movement of Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”, a piece for strings only.
The orchestra also played Daniel Dorff’s “Blast Off!”, a composition that imagines a trip into outer space, narrated by Charles Taylor, instructor for the ESO-supported Music in Your World programs for Head Start and Early Head Start children and families in Evanston.
A special edition of the ESO’s KidNotes program was distributed at the concert, a publication that brings to life the composers and works in a language young people can understand, adding to the educational and entertainment value, organizers say.
Penelope Sachs is a viola player for the Evanston Symphony Orchestra and vice president of the ESO board of directors.
“There is just something magical about coming together to play with a community orchestra, about being part of a whole that is better than the sum of its parts,” Sachs said. “We want the kids to feel some of that magic too.”
According to Sachs, funds raised from the concert will go to support District 65 instrument rental and repair programs, as well as scholarship instruments, with donations helping to put instruments in the hands of students. A fundraising goal for $2,500 was set this year.
Students from Haven and Nichols Middle Schools, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School and Dr. Bessie Rhodes Magnet School were also involved said District 65 orchestra directors/teachers Audrey Alger, Jim Janossy and Drew Ritchie.
Elijah Kirchner, a student bass player from Haven Middle School, was part of the performance.
“This has really been a brand new experience for me. Getting to play with the orchestra has helped me to learn about how a professional concert is actually run,” Kirchner said.
“This opportunity allows our students to experience how performing music can be a lifelong journey through this community-building experience,” said District 65 music educator Alyson Berger. She serves as Chute Middle School’s orchestra director and a music teacher at Chute Middle School and multiple District 65 elementary schools including Dawes, Oakton and Walker.
Eckerling says the arts are an important part of the quality of life.
“A program like the Young Persons’ Concert helps to enrich the lives of these young musicians now, setting the stage for their future,” Eckerling said.
Gina Grillo is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.
