mission & history
Mission
The mission of the Elmhurst Symphony Association is to entertain and enrich our community through live orchestral music.
Vision
Live orchestral concerts create a shared experience that strengthens the bonds of our community and provides a vehicle for artistic and intellectual fulfillment. Music makes the world a better place, and the Elmhurst Symphony envisions a world in which everyone in our community is enriched by live orchestral performances.
History
The Elmhurst community has a long and proud tradition of coming together to enjoy well-performed symphonic music. The encouragement and generous financial support of the community has allowed the symphony to provide quality concerts for more than 60 years. In the 1940s the Elmhurst Community Theatre Orchestra provided music between sets of summer plays at the Elmhurst Community Theatre. They also performed at schools, churches, parks and other civic functions. From 1959 to 1961 the Theatre Orchestra transitioned into the current organization led by its first Music Director John Lazich. The first performance of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra was on November 19, 1961.
The last thirty years has seen the successful accomplishment of more diverse and complex musical challenges and more and more talented professional musicians becoming a part of our rich symphonic traditions. We are especially proud of the contributions of former Music Director Dale Clevenger (1981-1995) to the growth of the ESO. The growing reputation of the Elmhurst Symphony has expanded enormously with the nationally renowned leadership of Dr. Stephen Alltop, who has been the Music Director since 1995.