Elgin Youth Symphony
The Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra was founded in the spring of 1976 as the Elgin Area Youth Orchestra. Margaret Hillis, then conductor of the Elgin Symphony and renowned Director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus wanted to establish an ensemble for the Fox River Valley’s exceptional musicians to gain additional orchestral experience.
The Elgin Symphony League, under President Jane Chipman, organized a Youth Orchestra of string players, conducted by Robert Hanson and managed by volunteer Chari Peterson, which gave its first concert at a meeting of the Elgin Symphony League in May 1976. The Youth Orchestra idea was such a success that in the fall of 1976 two orchestras were formed: a string orchestra for younger players, with John Smentowksi as conductor, and a youth orchestra, to which wind, brass, and percussion players were added, with Robert Hanson as conductor. Elgin Symphony League members Ann Walz and Judy Steffen, as well as Jean Hove (then Concertmaster of the Elgin Symphony) assisted in many hours of volunteer work to create a strong foundation for the youth orchestra organization.
In its history, the Youth Symphony was fortunate to play under a distinguished roster of conductors. Jeordano Martinez eventually shared conducting responsibilities with Hanson and Paul Patterson assumed the position of String Orchestra conductor. When Patterson later took over the Youth Orchestra, Ann Rapp was engaged to conduct the String Orchestra, which she did for ten years 1981-1991. Following a nationwide search in 1983, David Katz was named new director of the EAYO. Other EAYO conductors have included Kevin Miller, Elizabeth Prielozny, Mark Rachelsky, and Colin Holman for the Youth Orchestra and Ray Ostwald, Martha Henrikson, and Rebecca Blaho for the String Orchestra.
In 1997, Robert Hanson and Paul Patterson returned to repeat their roles as interim conductors of the Youth Orchestra and String Orchestra. In 1998, after another search, Randal Swiggum was hired as Music Director and an adjunct Brass Choir was created, conducted by Jason Flaks. In 1999, the EAYO was officially renamed the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, Kathy Matthews was welcomed as new EYSO Manager, and Sarah Heidegger Case, who had played in the EAYO as a youngster, was named the new conductor of the String Orchestra. The 1999-2000 season was marked with the premiere of Fanfare 2000 by renowned (and Elgin born) composer Daniel Brewbaker and commissioned by the EYSO. Other highlights of that season included joint performances with the Lisa Boehm Ballet Theatre, the Elgin Children’s Chorus, and baritone Nathaniel Stampley, as well as a spring tour to Wisconsin and Minnesota. In May 2000, the EYSO was presented with the Illinois Council of Orchestras’ prestigious “Youth Orchestra of the Year” award, which was followed in 2001 by the ICO “Marketing Program of the Year” award, in recognition of the increasing exposure of the EYSO in the Chicago area and huge annual increases in concert ticket sales.
In 2001, the EYSO celebrated its 25th anniversary season, initiating the Robert Hanson Award, a summer music camp scholarship for an outstanding member of the EYSO. The first award was presented at a gala concert that included alumni players from EYSO’s 25-year history joining the Youth Symphony in its now traditional spring concert finale, “The Turtle Dove.”
In the 2002-03 season, the Prelude Orchestra premiered the B Suite by Carrie Gruselle, and new works by John Stevens and William Hofeldt were premiered by the Brass Choir and Philharmonia in the fall 2003 concert. The Philharmonia expanded from a string orchestra to a full symphony orchestra in 2002.
At the May 2004 concerts, Beth Mazur Wood and Daniel Boico were introduced as the new conductors of the Prelude Orchestra and the Philharmonia, respectively. The Youth Symphony was invited to perform in the pavilion at Ravinia on July 10, 2004, making it the first youth orchestra in the 100-year history of Ravinia to do so. Maestro Leslie Dunner, Music Director of the Joffrey Ballet conducted Dvorak’s New World Symphony. In 2005, the EYSO received the “Programming of the Year” award from the Illinois Council of Orchestras, another unusual distinction for a youth orchestra. The 2004-05 season also included a joint performance with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra of Gottschalk’s A Night in the Tropics, and performances by two of its string quartets on WFMT radio.
The EYSO celebrated its thirtieth season in 2006, with premieres of newly commissioned works, an alumni reunion and gala concert, as well as new initiatives intended to strengthen its educational program. A Chamber Music Institute was founded, and a Parent Council was formed to complement the EYSO’s strong Board of Directors. In May, the Youth Symphony was featured on NPR’s “From the Top” radio show, and in August made its first overseas tour, performing in Scotland at the invitation of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, where they were a notable feature of the festival.
The 2007 season was another exciting one, with a second “Youth Orchestra of the Year” award from the ICO, and a performance by Youth Symphony members with Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble in Symphony Center. The EYSO artistic staff continues to grow, with the addition of Primo and its conductor, Gwen Armwood, as well as David Anderson, our new Philharmonia conductor and Ted Atkatz, percussion coach. Increasingly, the EYSO continues to attract a national reputation for providing rich and deep musical experiences for an ever-widening circle of young musicians.
2008 saw the first ever collaborations with the Metropolitan Opera singer Kitt Foss in March and with the independent rock band NYCO in May, premiering numerous commissioned pieces at the ECC Arts Center. A subsequent performance with NYCO was given at the beautiful Park West in Chicago. Music Director Randal Swiggum was named “Conductor of the Year” by the Illinois Council of Orchestras.
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