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.
Meet our soloist, Steven Banks, at Musical Insights. He and our Maestro Lawrence Eckerling will explore the concert program in depth.
Friday, May 31 at 1:30 pm,
Merion's Crystal Ballroom at
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.
Give the gift of music by ordering directly from our website and purchasing a custom gift certificate in any denomination of your choice! Certificates may be redeemed for single ticket or season subscriptions for any of our concerts.
You will receive an electronic gift certificate or we can mail the certificate to you or directly to the recipient.
It all began in February 1989 at an Evanston Symphony Orchestra rehearsal in the band room at ETHS. Fran Zirbel, then new to the Chicago area, had just joined the second violin section of the orchestra the month before. At that particular rehearsal, she and a handsome red-haired cellist made eye contact (as Jay says “from the back of the section you can look across and see almost everything”). At the break, Fran introduced herself to Jay Foley.
You may recall a previous article in which we shared music recommendations from Evanston Symphony Orchestra members’ pandemic playlists. One musician had been listening to Violin Concerto No. 2 by Florence Price and mentioned that the printed music for the work had something of an interesting history. Indeed, there is a fascinating backstory to the manuscript itself, but there is so much more to Ms. Price’s life that merits telling. Read on to learn more about her compelling story.
"Day Job": I am a professional luthier. I mostly do restoration and set up work for Chicago Strings, though I have made a handful of violins, violas, and a cello. Fun fact: I made the viola I play in the ESO. The rest of my time is largely spent with my family – married to the talented artist, Daniel Martin Sullivan, and busy with 7-year old Cooper and 4-year old Fiona.
"Day Job": Assistant Attorney General – Office of the Illinois Attorney General’s Antitrust Bureau
Most memorable performance with ESO: Mahler Symphony No. 2 in C Minor on June 11, 2017. 90 minutes of complete immersion in one of the behemoths of orchestral repertoire. And we sounded great, too!
Most pleased to have accomplished during your time staying at home: Improving my cooking skills. I can make Ina Garten’s Roast Engagement Chicken in my sleep, and I’ll never order in pad Thai again now that I can make it myself!
