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Evanston Symphony Orchestra

Lawrence Eckerling, Music Director

Announcing Our 2026–2027 Season

For The Love of Music

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Celebrating Beethoven’s Brilliance
Great Romantics
Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony
A Mass for Peace

Musical Insights

Free Pre-Concert Preview Series!

Musical Insights Icon

Enhance your concert experience with a sneak preview — Composers come alive and their passions take center stage when ESO Maestro Lawrence Eckerling takes you on an insider’s tour of the history and highlights behind the music.

Merion’s Crystal Ballroom

529 Davis St, Evanston.
FREE and open to the public.

Please RSVP to 847-570-7815.

Light refreshments will be served and casual tours of apartments will be available after the program.

Latest News

Seeking timpanist

The Evanston Symphony Orchestra, now in its 80th season is auditioning for a new timpanist to join this award-winning orchestra.

2026 Programming of the Year Award recipient

We are honored to announce that we have received the 2026 Programming of the Year Award from the Illinois Council of Orchestras. The award covers programming for the 2024–2025 season.

Peter Schmeiser
The view from the back of the stage

Jennifer and Peter Schmeiser moved to Evanston from Florida in 2017 for better jobs, better weather, and, as it turns out, a better orchestra!

Zhou Tian
Transcontinental Transcendence

GRAMMY-nominated composer Zhou Tian was born into a musical family in Hangzhou in 1981. His father was a composer for television shows, and Zhou often worked with him, having already begun playing piano in recording sessions and arranging music by the age of 12. The China of Zhou’s youth was one marked by economic reforms, which led to substantially increased incomes; greater availability of food, housing, and other consumer goods; and a rapid exodus of workers from traditional agriculture into manufacturing. Zhou’s own exodus, …

Ode to Joy

During Ludwig van Beethoven’s time (1770-1827), adding a chorus and vocal soloists to a symphony was never done and was considered highly unusual.

A Community of People

Since its inception in 1936, the North Shore Choral Society (NSCS) has grown to combine 120 voices in what is the preeminent mixed chorus on the North Shore. Over the years, it evolved from programming shorter works to presenting major choral compositions such as Bach’s St.