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Violinist Ken Bohl gave us the scoop on his involvement with the ESO and how he got started...

How long have you played with ESO?

I played  in the Elmhurst Symphony while in high school and again briefly in the mid-1970s under John Duckwall. I've been with the ESO continuously now since 1984, playing under both Dale Clevenger and Stephen Alltop.

What instrument do you play and how did you gravitate to that instrument?

I play the violin.  My grandfather was a professional violinist (including some time in The Chicago Symphony).  He was my first teacher, and I play on his violin today.

What piece is on your bucket list to play with ESO and why?

Top of my list is The Planets, which we did recently.  A favorite of mine, which I don't believe the ESO has ever done, is Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony.

Biography

In addition to playing violin with ESO, Ken serves as concertmaster of the Senior Suburban Orchestra and the DuPage Sinfonietta under Dan D’Andrea.

Ken’s career was in I.T. Since retiring, he has expanded into a number of new occupations.  He volunteers at Naper Settlement as a blacksmith, and he is a tour manager, in which he has primarily led 1-to-2-day middle school tours to such locations as Springfield, St. Louis, and Indianapolis.

Ken is both president and facilities director of the The Maple Street Chapel preservation society. The chapel is a historic 1870 landmark in Lombard. Among his achievements is the spearheading of the project to install a fire sprinkler system, a project which required raising $160,000.  

Ken also produces an annual concert at this beautiful building in which he hires both the orchestra and the conductor, and arranges much of the music to accommodate the 21-piece orchestra.  In 2023, a 7-movement suite he wrote, Yellowstone - Nature's Symphony, was performed at The Maple Street Chapel.  

It was primarily his work for the chapel that earned him the honor of 2018 Lombard Man of the Year.

No story about Ken is complete without including his wife, Linda, with whom he celebrated their 50th anniversary last year. They initially met in high school while participating in a school concert.

Ken is honored to be recognized with the 2023 Silver Measure Award by such a fine organization as the Elmhurst Symphony, and feels very privileged to be a part of the orchestra.