Music Director & Orchestra Personnel

Lawrence Eckerling

Conductor / Music Director

Music Director Lawrence Eckerling is in his 21st season with the ESO. He continues to be committed to the on-going artistic growth of the Evanston Symphony and its talented musicians. He was named 2014 Illinois Conductor of the Year (Community Orchestras) by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, and he also received this accolade in 2007.

Prior to his tenure with the Evanston Symphony, Eckerling served as Music Director and Conductor of the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra in Minnesota from 1986 to 2002. Earlier, he served as Assistant Conductor of the Omaha Symphony, and as Music Director and Conductor of the Omaha Area Youth Orchestra.

Born in Chicago, Eckerling grew up in Skokie and began his piano lessons when he was six in the Primary Piano Department at Northwestern University Music School. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education (in both instrumental and choral) at Indiana University, and completed his Masters in Orchestral and Opera Conducting from the same institution.

Eckerling is on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago, where he is Conductor of the Community Symphony, and teaches various other classes.

Eckerling is an active pianist, performing as both a chamber musician, and as a pianist/keyboardist in the pop/rock/jazz fields. He regularly can be heard accompanying Evanston Symphony Orchestra guest artists at Musical Insights (the ESO pre-concert lecture series), and can be heard as both conductor and pianist in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on the CD “Evanston Symphony Live!”.

Maestro Eckerling makes his home in Glenview, Illinois with his wife, Sharon.

Read more about Lawrence Eckerling at www.eckerlingconductor.com.

Behind the black ties

Behind those black ties and black skirts are your friends and neighbors, your co-workers, your acquaintances. These are people you see in the community, perhaps on a daily basis, who volunteer their time to make beautiful music together as the Evanston Symphony Orchestra performing world-class music right here in Evanston. On five Sunday afternoons a season, they transform themselves from their chosen professions into talented musicians sharing their love of music with you, their audience.