(Feb. 20, 2025, Elgin, Ill.) – For his third season with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Music 

Director Chad Goodman will combine timeless masterpieces with “hidden gems” from major composers 

and an array of exhilarating works from some of the most exciting composers of today.

Subscriptions for the Orchestra’s 76ᵗʰ season Classics Series go on sale Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, and 

will be available through the ESO Box Office, 20 DuPage Court, Elgin, and by phone at 847-888-4000, 

during Box Office hours, Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Subscriptions for the 

six-concert Classics Series start at $98. Concerts will be held at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 

Symphony Way in Elgin, Ill. For additional information, visit www.ElginSymphony.org.

The ESO’s diverse season, which opens in October 2025 and runs through May 2026, includes 

favorites, such as Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, and Mussorgsky’s 

“Pictures at an Exhibition”, along with virtuosic works such as Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 and 

Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, and the complex, yet subtle Fauré Requiem. Works by Hanson, Mozart, 

Dvořák, and Barber which aren’t often found on concert schedules are stimulating, while compositions 

by 21ˢᵗ century composers Carlos Simon, Valerie Coleman, and Angélica Negrón may introduce 

audiences to new works.

The schedule features collaborations with the Elgin Master Chorale on the Fauré Requiem, and 

showcases the extraordinary talent of several celebrated guest soloists, including pianist Orion 

Weiss for the Gershwin Concerto in F; violinist Geneva Lewis, who is making her second appearance 

with the ESO, for Barber’s Violin Concerto; cellist Oliver Herbert for the Schumann Cello Concerto; 

and the ESO’s own principal horn player Greg Flint who will perform Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4.

“Whether you are coming to one of our concerts as a night out with friends and family, a 

celebration to cap off a busy work week, or to find a place of community, we look forward to 

sharing a season of carefully curated musical experiences that will excite and inspire,” Goodman 

said.

The complete season schedule is as follows. Goodman will conduct all concerts. 

Saturday, October 11, 2025, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, October 12, 2025, at 2:30 p.m.

Carlos Simon: ”Motherboxx Connection” Howard Hanson: Symphony No. 2. “Romantic”

George Gershwin: Concerto in F, featuring guest pianist Orion Weiss

Saturday, November 8, 2025, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, November 9, 2025, at 2:30 p.m.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 13

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4, featuring ESO Principal Horn player Greg Flint Clara 

Schumann/Benjamin de Murashkin: “Three Romances”

Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, “Italian”

Saturday, February 7, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, February 8, 2026, at 2:30 p.m.

Antonín Dvořák: “Othello”

Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto, featuring violinist Geneva Lewis Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 3

Saturday, March 7, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 8, 2026, at 2:30 p.m.

Special Guest: Elgin Master Chorale Valerie Coleman: “Seven O’Clock Shout” Edvard Grieg: Selections 

from Peer Gynt Gabriel Fauré: Requiem

Saturday, April 11, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 12, 2026, at 2:30 p.m.

Quinn Mason: “A Joyous Trilogy”

Robert Schumann: Cello Concerto, featuring Oliver Herbert, cello Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No.5

Saturday, May 2, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 3, 2026, at 2:30 p.m.

Angélica Negrón: “Moriviví”

Richard Strauss: “Death and Transfiguration”

Modest Mussorgsky/Maurice Ravel “Pictures at an Exhibition”

About the Elgin Symphony Orchestra

The Elgin Symphony Orchestra, one of the preeminent regional orchestras in the United States, is 

celebrating its 75ᵗʰ anniversary season in 2024-25.

The Elgin Symphony Orchestra is led by Chad Goodman, who was named the ESO’s Music Director – the 

fifth in the Orchestra’s history – in May 2023.

Since its founding in 1950, the organization has developed a reputation for artistic excellence, 

and innovative programming as demonstrated through its long history of highlighting the works of 

world-renowned conductors, composers, and musicians, and of promoting the advancement of women in 

the arts.

The ESO became a professional ensemble in 1985 in good part due to the leadership of the late 

Margaret Hillis, who served as the ESO’s music director from 1971 to 1985. Hillis was one of the 

first female to break through the male-dominated world of conducting and is credited with being 

the impetus behind the creation of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra Association, the formation of the 

ESO’s volunteer core – the Elgin Symphony League, and the start of the ESO’s commitment to music 

education and enrichment for youth.

Today, the ESO continues to draw its creativity and artistry from the Elgin area and gives back to 

the community through its Adopt-a-School program that provides supplemental music education and 

in-school performances to local schools; Musicians Care program that brings live music performances 

to local hospitals, hospices, and retirement homes; informational Listener’s Club events and other 

free programs at public libraries; In Harmony Program in places of worship; Ainsworth Concerts for 

Youth; free tickets for youth under 18; open rehearsals; and free community concerts throughout the 

region.

The Illinois Council of Orchestras has named the ESO Orchestra of the Year four times (1988, 1999, 

2005 and 2016). The ESO is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

To learn more or to support the ESO, visit www.elginsymphony.org.