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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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Save up to $50 and get the best seats

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

Musical Insights

Free Pre-Concert Preview Series!

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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!

Yuja Wang plays Tritsch-Tratsch Polka

"Virtuosic Piano. This short arrangement and performance are stunning spectacles, both musically and technically. It was often used as an encores by Gyorgy Cziffra, who created the arrangement!"

Haydn - Symphony No. 88, Movement 4 Leonard Bernstein, Vienna Philharmonic

"This video is extraordinary, because it demonstrates how important the face of a conductor is to an orchestra. Leonard Bernstein is using ONLY his face to portray the musical meaning of the piece. No arms! It also reveals how many emotions are actually contained in a piece of great music!"

Larry Recommends

Larry: “Especially since this is a Beethoven year, this riveting finale of his String Quartet Op. 59 #3 is captured with an equally riveting video.”