Stephen Alltop has been Music Director and Conductor of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra since 1995. Under his direction, the ESO has presented first performances of many landmark orchestral works, including Symphonies 1, 2, 3 and 5 by Mahler, and The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky. During the pandemic season of 2020-21, the orchestra presented five filmed video concerts featuring the music of Jesse Montgomery, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Scott Joplin and Louis Moreau Gottschalk.
The ESO has been recognized for its excellence in programming by the Illinois Council of Orchestras. Stephen also serves as Music Director and Conductor for the Apollo Chorus of Chicago and the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Alltop has been a member of Northwestern University’s conducting and keyboard faculties since 1994 where he conducts the Alice Millar Chapel Choir and the Baroque Music Ensemble.
Stephen Alltop has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as both a harpsichord and organ soloist, and performs frequently with Chicago’s Music of the Baroque. He has played with Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, Chicago Bach Project, Chicago Sinfonietta, Joffrey Ballet, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Omaha Symphony, and the Peninsula Music Festival.
Dr. Alltop has guest conducted numerous orchestras and choruses across the United States, Europe and Korea. He has worked closely with leading composers of the day, including residency projects with Stacy Garrop, John Corigliano, Jeff Beal, Eleanor Daley, Stephen Paulus and Eric Whitacre, and has conducted world premieres of works by John Luther Adams, Jan Bach, Frank Ferko, Stephen Paulus, Joseph Schwantner, Alan Terricciano, and many others. Dr. Alltop lectures frequently for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Northwestern University Alumnae Continuing Education Series, Osher Lifelong Learning, and other organizations
Stephen is an avid squash player and baseball fan, and recently completed a personal fitness goal of running ten marathons and twenty half marathons over a ten-year period.
Stephen Alltop is represented by Joanne Rile Artist Management.